We have spent a lot of time in recent days fretting over the Knicks, and fileting them, and frying them on a griddle of foiled expectations. We have focused, exhaustively and exhaustingly, on the things they do not do well — specifically, the things that have failed them, time and again, against the NBA’s best teams.
They are both fair and important, these critiques.
But they also tend to obscure — if not outright minimize — some important things the Knicks do well, and one of them, a key one, was on full display: The Knicks have become awfully proficient at winning basketball games. This isn’t a skill that is nearly as praised as it should be — and, in truth, Tom Thibodeau is often lampooned for his fervent demand to treat each game with similar urgency.
And, yes, it helps to have Jalen Brunson on your side.
