Barrett had his best game of the season in the 113-108 win over the Hawks, pouring in 26 points and grabbing 10 boards for his first double-double of the season. He also chipped in five assists and two steals on the night.
Randle is averaging 22.1 points, 11.4 rebounds and 7.4 assists, while Barrett is putting up 18.3 points and 7.6 boards a night.
"I like the confidence of our group," Randle said after the win in Atlanta. "Every game we come in we expect to win, even if it’s a (tough) matchup we expect to win the game. And I love that about our group. And I think it’s also a testament to the coaches. [Coach Tom Thibodeau] every day is on us. He’s a great leader for us and giving us a game plan we believe in every day and we’re coming into every game focused and locked into the game plan of what we need to do.
"I feel like if we do that we have a chance to win the game so we’re just trying to give ourselves (a chance) every night and like I said learn how to win games."
With Barrett or Randle — or both — leading the way nearly every night, the Knicks have been getting solid contributions from one or two more guys to help the cause.
Monday night saw Elfrid Payton score 14 points and dish out five assists, while rookie Immanuel Quickley scored a career-high 16 points off the bench — the Knicks were also plus-17 during his 19 minutes of play, the best plus-minus on the team.
Combine all their efforts, and the Knicks find themselves winners of four of their last five games and sitting at the No. 5 seed in the East at 4-3.
"Playing hard. That’s it," Barrett said of the team's solid start "We’re playing hard every single night. We’re fighting. As long as we do that, we should be ok."
"It starts with Thibs and then it goes all the way down. Julius is tough every night. It goes all the way down the line. Everybody that comes in the game plays hard, plays with an edge. Everybody on the team contributes in many different ways and it’s been great so far."
The Knicks are likely to make some moves at some point before the trade deadline, either taking on a bad contract for draft capital if they're doing badly or pulling the trigger on a big deal if they're in playoff contention, but the young group the team has put together, including Mitchell Robinson and Obi Toppin, may be enough to do something this year.
We're only about two weeks in, but the Knicks are turning some heads here — and don't intend to stop doing so.
“I think we can do something special this year. I think a lot of people should be looking out for the New York Knicks this year," Quickley said Monday night.
A lot can happen over the next few months, and Knicks fans don't have much to rely on based on the teams' recent history, but in a year that's going to be special no matter what due to COVID-19, why can't the Knicks be, too?
