Everyone loved the OG Anunoby trade for the Knicks, but nobody could’ve seen this coming. Over 11 games since the deal, in which the Knicks are 9-2, New York has outscored opponents by a preposterous 190 points during Anunoby’s minutes.
Through a point-differential prism, no player in NBA history has had a greater impact through his first 11 games with a team. Anunoby has been incredible. No question about it.
But he’s not the only reason for this defensive run the Knicks are on. In fact, I wouldn’t even call him the biggest reason. For my money, that distinction goes to Isaiah Hartenstein, followed closely by the super-soft offensive schedule the Knicks have faced over this stretch.
Other than the 76ers, the Knicks haven’t beaten a team in January that ranked higher than 17th (Raptors) in offensive rating entering play on Monday. Minnesota was 19th. Houston, Orlando, Washington and Chicago all rank in the bottom 10. Portland and Memphis are the two worst offensive teams in the league. New York is feasting on some pretty weak prey.
That’s not to diminish what the Knicks have done in registering as the league’s second-best defense since Anunoby arrived. That’s just proper perspective. They are likely not the second-best defense in the league. That said, they are a potentially elite defense if this kind of multi-level effort continues.
It starts with Anunoby and New York’s gang of perimeter defenders — Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo, Miles McBride, Quentin Grimes, even Jalen Brunson — who are consistently committed to fighting over screens, containing penetration and flying around in rotation. It finishes with Hartenstein protecting the rim, where teams are converting just 58.2% of their shots against the Knicks since the Anunoby trade, per Cleaning the Glass, and 61.3% dating back to December 9 when Mitchell Robinson went down.
Those are the second and third stingiest marks in the league, respectively.
And Hartenstein deserves much of the credit.
Consider that through the first seven weeks of the season, the Knicks,…
..
