NBA Power Rankings: Jalen Brunson 'Elevating' Offense, But Are Knicks Moving Up?

The New York Knicks are hovering around the .500 mark, but where does that place them in this week's power rankings?

Jeremy Brener | Nov 7, 2022

The New York Knicks are entering the third week of their season playing average basketball.

The team currently sits 4-5 with the eighth seed in the early Eastern Conference standings, right in the middle of the Play-In proceedings. New York also sits right in the middle of Sports Illustrated's latest power rankings, claiming the 15th spot ... a slight jump from the 16th position in last week's rankings.

Here's what SI had to say about the Knicks ...

The Knicks didn’t defend home court well last week and logged double-digit losses to the Hawks and Celtics. They did go on the road to Philadelphia and score a narrow win against the 76ers, who were without Joel Embiid and James Harden. This is a middle-of-the-road team that’s playing as such. Jalen Brunson has elevated the offense, but he can only do so much. The Knicks and Nets meet for the first time in a nationally televised game Wednesday, though the way both teams have played it’s not necessarily a marquee matchup.

The Knicks have three very winnable games this week against the Brooklyn Nets, Detroit Pistons, and Oklahoma City Thunder, all of whom have the same or worse records than New York.

A formidable test, however, opens the week on Monday night, when the Knicks face off against Karl-Anthony Towns, Anthony Edwards, and the Minnesota Timberwolves (9:15 p.m. ET, MSG). Minnesota, fresh off a Saturday win over Houston, is one spot above the Knicks at No. 14.

Jeremy Brener is on Twitter @JeremyBrener

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Published Nov 7, 2022

JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.