The New York Knicks are coming off arguably their most impressive game of the 2017-18 NBA season after defeating the surging Oklahoma City Thunder without budding superstar center Kristaps Porzingis. Much like they have all year, the Knicks relied on a gritty overall effort to pull out their fourth straight win.
Needless to say, the Knicks have made tremendous strides following their tumultuous 2016-17 NBA season. According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News, Porzingis credits their success on head coach Jeff Hornacek's newfound sense of freedom:
“He just has more freedom,” Porzingis said. “He's running the stuff he wants to run and what he sees for us. And you can tell he's more comfortable. He's not balancing between different things. So that's a good thing. We also feel confidence from that. They're 100-percent confident in what they're doing. We also feel that. Players always feel that. And there's a difference between last year and this year.”
One of the major headlines last season was that fact they then-President of Basketball Operations Phil Jackson wanted New York to run elements of the triangle offense. Given his success as one of the all-time winningest coaches in NBA history, Jackson was notorious for enforcing the system on his teams.
However, Hornacek has somehow pieced together a formidable scoring unit with essentially a team of ragtag players. The Knicks currently own the 10th best offensive rating in the league.
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