NBA 1st Quarter Grades: How Did New York Knicks Do?
The first quarter of the 2023-24 NBA season is officially complete, as each team has played at least 20 games.
With that in mind, Bleacher Report graded each team's first 20-plus with the New York Knicks receiving a "B" in a rollercoaster opening.
RJ Barrett has been one of the Knicks' primary contributors over the first quarter of the season
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The Knicks' Manhattan settings set them up for increased scrutiny and a 3-9 record against teams with active winning records will only raise further concerns. But the Knicks' key contributors have helped stay on course and take care of business against lesser competition: their 10-0 record against teams at .500 or worse has sitting in a respectable sixth in the Eastern Conference standings and their main attractions have come through statistically.
"(The Knicks) are in the top 10 of offensive, defensive, and net rating," Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey wrote. "Jalen Brunson is playing like an absolute star, with averages of 24.8 points, 5.5 assists, and 3.0 threes. Immanuel Quickley is a Sixth Man of the Year candidate. Even (RJ) Barrett is posting an above-average three-point percentage."
Despite rumors of a big trade peppered through this season, the Knicks (13-9) have played well in the immediate follow-up to their most successful showing in a decade. There is, of course, always room for improvement, and New York has a prime opportunity to do so with a five-game road trip looming.
That trip, tied for the Knicks' longest of the season, begins on Wednesday night when New York travels to the Delta Center to face the Utah Jazz (9 p.m. ET, MSG).
