The New York Knicks are starting to look like the team many expected them to be - not just on paper, but on the floor, where it matters most. After a month of trying to find their rhythm, they’ve ripped off four straight wins, including a convincing 116-94 statement over a surging Raptors squad. And while the offense has remained steady, it’s the defense - and the details - that are telling the real story of this team’s recent rise.
Let’s rewind a bit. The Knicks entered this season with big expectations.
A new head coach, a deep roster, and a wide-open Eastern Conference had fans and analysts alike penciling them in as a top-tier team. But early on, the chemistry wasn’t quite there.
The principles were new, the rotations were still forming, and the mistakes - especially on defense - were piling up.
That’s changed.
Over the last week, the Knicks have started to look like a team that knows who it is and what it wants to be. They’re defending with purpose, talking more on the floor, and cleaning up the kind of small mistakes that can quietly lose games in the NBA. And when you talk to the players, it’s clear they’re buying into the details.
“We’re holding each other more accountable,” Jalen Brunson said. “We’re paying attention to detail a little more - we can still do better at that. I think the little things matter more than people think.”
He’s not wrong. The NBA is a league where margins matter.
A missed rotation, a late closeout, a lazy pass - those things add up. But so do the good habits.
And right now, the Knicks are stacking those up.
Defensive Communication: The Turning Point
Talk to anyone in the locker room, and they’ll tell you the biggest shift during this four-game win streak has been communication on defense. That’s not just lip service - it’s showing up in the film.
The Knicks are rotating with purpose, helping at the right time, and recovering with urgency. They’re playing connected basketball.
One possession against Toronto stood out. The Raptors tried to break down New York’s “shift” defense, but the Knicks were a step ahead.
When Immanuel Quickley drove, Tyler Kolek helped off his man, then recovered out to the corner just in time. Mikal Bridges picked up Brandon Ingram on the baseline drive, then pointed Kolek back out to Quickley, who had relocated to the wing.
It was textbook team defense - five guys moving as one, covering every read, every option, until the shot clock ran dry.
“We’re communicating a lot better,” said Deuce McBride. “Tonight, we had a few bumps getting back in transition, but that’s what they do really well, so give credit to them. But I feel like defensively we’re just locked in a lot more.”
And the Knicks are doing it without two of their best individual defenders. OG Anunoby and Landry Shamet are both out with injuries, but the group hasn’t let up.
McBride and Josh Hart have taken on more responsibility at the point of attack, and they’ve brought a level of physicality that’s contagious. Bridges, meanwhile, has been a force in gap coverage, turning stops into fast breaks and adding a jolt of energy to the entire unit.
Earlier in the season, the Knicks’ defense struggled at the source - on the ball. Guards were getting beat too easily, forcing the rest of the defense to scramble.
That’s changed. There’s more discipline at the point of attack, more urgency to fight through screens, and more pride in not letting your man get by you.
Josh Hart put it plainly: “(Assistant coach) Darren Erman talked to me about being more physical on the ball. That’s something I’ve been trying to do the last two, three games. I got to continue to do that and help set the tone, at least while I’m starting, in those positions.”
Offensive Glass: A Hidden Weapon
Offensively, the Knicks continue to generate quality looks. But what’s really giving them an edge is what happens after the miss. They’re crashing the glass with purpose - and it’s paying off.
Against Toronto, New York pulled down 25 offensive rebounds and turned them into 22 second-chance points. That’s not just effort - that’s execution.
Mitchell Robinson led the charge with seven offensive boards, but it wasn’t just him. The whole team is buying into the crashing principles, and it’s giving them extra possessions and momentum-swinging plays.
It’s the kind of gritty, grind-it-out work that doesn’t always show up in highlight reels but wins games in the margins. And right now, the Knicks are owning those margins.
Still Room to Grow
This isn’t a finished product - and the players know it. There are still wrinkles to iron out on both ends of the floor.
But what’s encouraging is that the foundation is starting to settle. The Knicks are playing with identity, with intensity, and with a shared understanding of what it takes to win.
“I still think we have room for improvement,” Karl-Anthony Towns said. “But we did a great job tonight of competing with a team that’s really hot and playing well and finding a way to play Knicks basketball.”
That’s what it’s about - finding a brand of basketball that works, then committing to it night after night. For the Knicks, that means defending as a unit, crashing the boards, and doing all the little things that tip the scales in a long NBA season.
They’re not perfect. But they’re trending in the right direction - and that should have the rest of the East paying close attention.