Regular Season Grades
With just three games remaining in the regular season, let's hand out some grades, law school style.
Good morning! The Knicks have another night off before facing Boston tomorrow. Speaking of the Celtics, they beat the Hornets last night to take a three game lead on New York with three to play. Charlotte is now in ninth in the East, one spot ahead of Miami, who got shellacked in Toronto. The Raptors are now a game up on both the Sixers and Magic for sixth place. The madness has just begun!
With a little time to breath, let’s hand out some report cards...
Regular Season Grades
It’s that time of year.
Yes, there are three games left to go, but with 79 of 82 in the books, we’ve got all the data we need. Now its just about figuring out who deserves what.
Looking back at my Midseason Report Card, more than half of the grades I dolled out - including for all five of the regular starters - were either a B-, B, or B+. That’s a little boring, so I thought we might switch it up this time around. To do so, I’m going back to law school.
As I assume is the case for all law schools, we were graded on a strict bell curve, meaning there were a certain number of each grade handed out regardless of how well (or poorly) the class performed as a whole. Most students received the median grade - often set at 3.0, or a straight “B” - while very few students received a 4.0 (A) or a 2.0 (C). For exceptional performance, teachers were allowed to go “above” the bell curve and hand out an A+ (4.3), but this didn’t affect the rest of the curve. Similarly, for truly desultory work, a C- or lower came into play1.
For this round of grading, we have 17 individuals who have compiled enough of a portfolio to receive an evaluation. Based on the bell curve, barring any A+ or C- marks, we’ll be handing out five B grades, three B+ and B- grades, two C+ and A- grades, one A and one C. Let’s start at the top…
A: Casey Smith (& the Knicks Medical Staff)
Our only A goes to the group of individuals responsible for getting 59 games (and counting) out of Mitchell Robinson, who played 48 games between the last two seasons combined. They also managed to successfully guide Landry Shamet and Deuce McBride back from in-season injuries. Every Knick starter is on track to play at least 65 games, which is the minimum qualification for postseason awards, and no player on the roster is currently dealing with an injury.
And while Leon Rose and Mike Brown (and, frankly, James Dolan) share the credit for lessening the minutes of the starters while having the team on pace to exceed last year’s win total, Smith and his crew get the bulk of the kudos for that as well.
A-: Mitchell Robinson, OG Anunoby
The two A- grades go to the two Knicks having career years.
