Which NBA team has been the most surprising this season? If I had to choose, it would definitely be the Knicks. So far, the Knicks have achieved a record of 24 wins and 10 losses, ranking third in the Eastern Conference. After defeating the Jazz on January 2nd, they secured their ninth consecutive win, showing great momentum.
Given the Knicks' impressive lineup, featuring Brunson, Towns, Bridges, Anunoby, and Hart as starters, along with rotation players like McBride, Payne, Achiuwa, and Shamet, one might expect them to perform at this level. What's so surprising about that?
At the beginning of the season, you didn't think so.
At the start of the season, the Knicks were almost in shambles. They struggled to find chemistry, playing awkwardly, with Towns and Brunson seemingly fighting their own battles. In the first 18 games of the season, they only managed to secure a record of 10 wins and 8 losses.
But in the last 16 games, they've won 14 and lost 2.
This transformation is centered around Towns.
The "disliked" Towns was suddenly "informed" of a trade to the Knicks before the new season began. The Timberwolves had two reasons for doing this: to save money and to believe in Edwards' talent and potential.
With no choice, Towns bid farewell to Minnesota, where he was drafted, and headed to New York.
Towns has a classic meme that emphasizes his softness: Cousins' expression seems to say, "Put some effort into it, little brother."
But now, Cousins can no longer play in the NBA and has resorted to making money by playing in Asian leagues, while Towns has gradually transformed from "soft candy" to "hard candy," becoming tougher and tougher.
In the game against the Jazz on January 2nd, Towns drove to the basket, fell, and hit his head on the backboard. After a brief pause, he quickly got up and continued playing, displaying incredible toughness.
In the final quarter, Towns faced the Jazz's big center, Kessler, and delivered an impressive breakaway dunk, stunning everyone.
Towns, undoubtedly the best facing-up center in the world, has surpassed Embiid. This breakthrough space is also a reward for his ability to shoot three-pointers: if you don't pose a long-range threat, why would Kessler rush out? He could just stand back and block your path.
In this game, Towns performed exceptionally well, dominating the paint in 37 minutes. He went 10-for-20 from the field, scoring 31 points, grabbing 21 rebounds, dishing out 3 assists, stealing 1 ball, and blocking 1 shot, including 3 three-pointers.
This isn't just an occasional performance for him; it's become the norm.
This is the 14th time this season that Towns has grabbed 15 or more rebounds in a single game, ranking first in the league. The second is Clippers center Zubac.
This is also the second time this season that Towns has scored at least 30 points and 20 rebounds in a single game. He becomes the first Knicks player since the 1989-90 season's Ewing to achieve this feat multiple times in a single season.
On December 31st against the Wizards, Towns scored 32 points and 13 rebounds with a shooting percentage of 68%; on December 29th against the Wizards, he scored 30 points and 14 rebounds with a shooting percentage of 68%.
"He's an elite-level big man who has always been outstanding. Now he's one of the top 3 big men in the league, and I'm thrilled to see it," said NBA veteran Jeff Teague.
Thunder's starting center, Harkless, is always paying attention to his former team, the Knicks, and straightforwardly praised them, saying, "I think (the Knicks getting Towns) was a perfect trade."
Considering the Timberwolves' obvious decline this season and Edwards' struggles leading the team, the Knicks might really have to thank Hua Zi and the Timberwolves.
Currently, the Knicks have quietly formed an explosive trio of Brunson (25.2 points, 7.7 assists), Towns (24.9 points, 13.7 rebounds), and Bridges (18.3 points, 1.2 steals), each fulfilling their roles and complementing each other, with Towns standing out the most.
Most importantly, Towns has perfectly integrated into Thibodeau's tough playing style.
Some joked earlier that the Nuggets' teammates must be terrible to drag their record down to the point where Jokic couldn't win the regular-season MVP.
Now, it seems that things might not be certain anymore, as Towns could potentially sneak away with his first regular-season MVP award.