Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart Get Honest About Knicks Turnaround

Two franchise faces of the New York Knicks offered their thoughts on where the team stands at the latest NBA checkpoint.

Nov 20, 2024; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) and guard Jalen Brunson (11) against the Phoenix Suns at Footprint Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

There's no doubt that the Jalen Brunson-Josh Hart administration has gotten high approval ratings from New York Knicks fans and the two were able to put forth a state of the union on their latest edition of the "Roommates Show" web series.

Guest Taylor Rooks turned the tables on her hosts as the TNT Sports/Thursday Night Football broadcaster questioned Brunson and Hart about their thoughts about where they stand as the NBA season nears the trade deadline and All-Star break checkpoints. As it stands, the Knicks (32-16) place third in the Eastern Conference entering the weekend despite several new moving pieces in the lineup.

"I don't want to say we're happy because I don't want to make it sound like we're content [but] I think we're pleased with where we are," Hart said. "We have 16 losses. I think we can look at five or six [and say] we should've won those. Those were very easily winnable games that we didn't execute. But I think that mentality is positive, because, okay, we let some slip away, we're still really good and we just have to continue to build off of it."

To Hart's point, half of the Knicks' 16 losses have come by 10 points or less but they haven't had to worry about that over the past week-plus: the five-game winning streak is tied for the longest active tally in the Association and includes wins over Western contenders from Memphis and Denver.

All that and more has been the work of a headlining rotation that features newcomers Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns, as well as, as Rooks mentioned, OG Anunoby, who is working through his first full year in New York.

Even if some would say the Knicks are overachieving, Brunson refuses to accept any verbal in-season accolades.

"I feel like we're good, our record says that," Brunson said. "But we're not where we want to be yet, which is perfectly fine, it's January."

For the record, the Knicks have posted what's tied for their best 48-game win tally since 1996-97. They'll have a chance to go for six straight on Saturday when the Los Angeles Lakers come by for a prime time visit (8:30 p.m. ET, ABC).

Make sure you bookmark Knicks on SI for the latest news, exclusive interviews, film breakdowns and so much more!

• Injured Knicks Draft Pick Makes Pro Debut
• Hart, Knicks Snubbed From Eastern All-Star Reserves
• Jokic Sings Knicks' Praises
• Ionescu Appears in Super Bowl Ad
• Knicks Laugh Off Notion of "Complete Game"