A Good Midseason Report Card, but the Final Grade is What Matters

We have reached the All Star break of this 2025-2026 NBA season.

As a whole, I’d say the Knicks are basically right around where I thought they would be at this point.

They are 35-20 and have the third best record in the Eastern Conference. 1/2 game back of Boston for 2nd place and 6 games back of upstart Detroit for 1st.

The narrative around the team is actually quite similar to where we were a season ago.

Last year, it was the struggles with the Boston Celtics that appeared incredibly problematic.

This year, it happens to be the Knicks struggles with the Detroit Pistons.

In both match-ups this year, the Knicks have been absolutely dominated and it sounds the alarm of concern for Playoff Time.

For me, I’m not there with that narrative. Last year is the perfect lesson for why I am not.

The Celtics won all 4 match-ups with the Knicks in the regular season. 

The Knicks flipped that vibe on its head winning the 2nd round playoff series in 6 games.

Yes, the Knicks play the Pistons this coming Thursday.

I’d prefer to see the Knicks win that game and silence this building narrative.

That said, the bigger concern for the team moving forward is 

1. The question of how do you mask the defensive deficiencies of Jalen Brunson and Karl Anthony Towns on the floor together?

2. How do you get Karl Anthony Towns back offensively to where he was a season ago?

If the Knicks can solve those two riddles, they will be playing in the NBA Finals.

If they don’t, they will be soul searching in a big way this summer.

The Knicks midseason report card grade is a solid B, but it will be a monstrous swing between now and the spring.

For a group thats been knocking at the door the past few seasons, the only grade that matters is the final.

Stay tuned for the result!

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