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Could this finally be the year the New York Knicks turn it around? The Knicks have been the league's laughing stock for the last seven years, which is how long it has been since they last made the NBA playoffs. Despite suffering a loss tonight to the Detroit Pistons, the Knickerbockers continued to show signs of potential.
The New York Knicks are focusing on building from the draft. They are the fourth-youngest team in the NBA and do not have a player over 30 years old. As the New York Knicks just finished up their NBA preseason matchup against the Detroit Pistons, let's look at how Twitter reacted to the young team play.
RJ Barrett shines in loss to the Pistons
The second-year, first round draft pick RJ Barrett stole the show in tonight's preseason game. The guard out of Duke University led the game in scoring with 25 points and was the best player on the court.
Having his rookie season cut short due to COVID-19 and not getting another round of summer-ball play, there were questions of whether Barrett would show improvement in his second year. He let his play prove the critics wrong tonight.
The New York Knicks drafted RJ Barrett with the third pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. Barrett was the number one ranked high school player in the nation going into his freshman year at Duke, where he led the ACC in scoring.
The New York Knicks will need this kind of performance out of RJ Barrett consistently to have even a half-chance at earning one of the final seeds for the Eastern Conference playoffs.
New York Knicks draft pick Obi Toppin looks NBA ready
The New York Knicks have had a surprisingly impressive offseason up to this point, as they've signed some quality players in free agency and drafted players that could impact this upcoming season straightaway.
One of those players is Obi Toppin. Toppin is a 6'9" forward out of the University of Dayton. Some would call Toppin a "late bloomer," as he is already 22 years old. He had a great first preseason game, and fans were calling him 'the savior of New York.' Although he dropped off from that status tonight, he continued to show flashes of potential.
Obi Toppin was born and raised in New York, and already has a strong fanbase solely for that reason. If he can be even average for the Knicks, he will be a fan favorite.
Although it seems the New York Knicks still have a lot of work to do, their young players have shown signs of potential and seem to finally be moving in the right direction. Knicks fans should not get their hopes up about returning to the playoffs.
Still, after a year of player development and another free agency signing, the Knicks could find themselves back in the playoff contenders conversation for the 2021-22 season.
