The Knicks aren’t exactly lighting up the championship radar just yet, but their current four-game win streak is turning some heads - and not just because of who they’ve beaten. Sure, the Nets, 76ers, Kings, and Raptors aren’t the league’s elite, but this stretch has shown something different.
It’s not just about wins. It’s about how they’re winning - with more cohesion, sharper execution, and a renewed sense of identity on both ends of the floor.
Let’s rewind for a second. Not long ago, the Knicks were stuck in a 2-9 skid that had fans wondering if the early-season promise was just a mirage.
The offense was stagnant, the defense disjointed, and the overall product? Tough to watch.
But after some honest locker room conversations and a bit of soul-searching, the team has come out looking reenergized. The numbers back it up - and more importantly, so does the eye test.
Offense: From Isolation to Integration
During that rough patch, the Knicks’ offense leaned heavily - and predictably - on Jalen Brunson. It was a lot of isolation, a lot of standing around, and not enough movement or creativity.
The result? Some of their worst shooting nights of the season and a team that struggled to crack 100 points.
But over the past four games, there’s been a noticeable shift. The ball is moving, the pace is quicker, and guys are playing with purpose.
Even when individual players have struggled - and there have been some rough nights - others have stepped up. That’s the hallmark of a team starting to figure itself out.
Take the win over the Nets. Brunson led with 20 points, but it was the bench that brought the spark - Landry Shamet dropped 18, and Deuce McBride added 14.
In that 54-point blowout, every starter had at least three assists. That’s not just stat-padding - that’s team basketball.
Against the Sixers, Brunson was back in the spotlight with 31 points, but OG Anunoby quietly stole the show with 23 on 10-of-15 shooting. The Kings game saw Mikal Bridges bounce back with 18 points to complement Brunson’s 28. And in Toronto, with Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns combining for just 21 points, it was Bridges again leading the charge with 30, followed by Anunoby’s 26, Josh Hart’s 22, and rookie Tyler Kolek dishing out 10 assists in just 20 minutes.
That kind of balanced scoring and unselfish play has vaulted the Knicks to fourth in offensive rating during this stretch. On the season, they’re now sitting behind only the Nuggets and Celtics in overall offensive efficiency.
And while three of the four teams they just beat are in the bottom five in defensive rating during that span, it’s worth noting that the 76ers still rank 13th defensively on the season, and the Raptors came into that game with the sixth-best defensive rating in the league. So no, it’s not just about beating up on bad defenses - this team is executing at a high level again.
Defense: Turning the Corner
If the offense has been encouraging, the defense has been downright eye-opening. Yes, they’ve still had their issues - Joel Embiid got his, as did DeMar DeRozan and Brandon Ingram - but the overall effort, energy, and connectivity have taken a major step forward.
Last Wednesday, they held the Nets to just 66 points. And before anyone shrugs that off, consider this: the Nets scored 117 against the Suns, 103 against the Magic, and 96 against the Rockets - all teams currently boasting better defensive ratings than the Knicks. That’s not a fluke.
In Philly, the Knicks held Tyrese Maxey - who’s had his fair share of big games against New York - to just 22 points and limited the Sixers to 13 points in a pivotal third quarter. Against Sacramento, they never allowed more than 26 points in any quarter and clamped down with a 15-point fourth.
And in Toronto, even without Deuce McBride and Mitchell Robinson - two of their top defenders - they held the Raptors to just 64 points over the final three quarters. Ingram got his, but nobody else did much damage.
No, they haven’t gone toe-to-toe with the league’s top offenses during this stretch. But they’ve shown significant improvement against teams that had previously lit them up.
Just a couple weeks ago, they were getting torched by the same Kings, Mavericks, and Pelicans - all teams that rank near the bottom in offensive efficiency. Now, they’re the ones dictating the terms.
The results speak for themselves: first in defensive rating over the past four games with a stingy 91.7 mark, thanks in part to that Brooklyn beatdown. On the season, their defensive rating has climbed back up to 14th - a number that felt out of reach not long ago.
The Bigger Picture
With this recent surge, the Knicks are one of just four Eastern Conference teams riding a four-game win streak. They also lead the league in net rating over that span at +25.6.
Yes, it’s a small sample. And yes, tougher tests are looming.
But for a team that looked like it was teetering not long ago, this is a much-needed course correction.
More than anything, the Knicks are starting to look like a team again - one that’s rediscovering its identity, playing for each other, and finding ways to win even when key players have off nights. That’s the kind of growth that matters in the long run.
The upcoming schedule will offer a clearer picture of who these Knicks really are. But for now, they’re playing like a team that’s figured something out - and that’s a storyline worth watching.