Knicks report card at the NBA All-Star break

JALEN BRUNSON: A-

Deservedly an All-Star for a third straight season and maybe worthy of being in the MVP talk that Mike Brown uses to describe him as he keeps doing things that teams seem set on countering. You know he’s undersized and will rely on footwork and deception and he’s still averaging 27 points per game. You know that he’s going to use smarts to make up for defensive weaknesses and he’s leading the NBA in charges taken. You can pick apart that he has not seemed to find a way to fit with Karl-Anthony Towns on offense, unable to take advantage of the pairing of two elite offensive talents, and his defensive numbers, but he’s still the centerpiece around which all the Knicks' success revolves.

MIKAL BRIDGES: B-

If there was a player that might have expected to be unlocked with the change in coaches it was Bridges, who struggled to adapt to his role in his first season with the Knicks. With a coach who stresses running and cutting offensively, plus Bridges’ contributions in the playoffs, maybe you expected a breakout season. It doesn’t seem like it with the eye test, but his efficiency numbers have improved this season even if his scoring is down. The on-ball defense hasn’t been as advertised though. Is there any player like him who can carry a team at times and then seem to retreat so much that you forget they’re on the team?

JOSH HART: B+

I can list some of the numbers — his improved three-point shooting (and his number of attempts going up, too), but the most important number is wins (29-14 when he plays and 6-6 when he doesn’t). While the Knicks rotate around Brunson, there is no player that better complements Brunson on the court than his podcast partner and former college teammate. He relieves pressure offensively with his ability to initiate the offense like a point guard and does the dirty work on both ends of the floor with no need for shots. Started the season on the bench at the start of games, and often at the finish. When Mike Brown corrected that, the Knicks reverted to form. Hart's minutes, though, have gone from a league-high 37.6 per game to 30.6 per game this season.

OG ANUNOBY: B

Brunson is the unstoppable scorer. Hart is the pulse of the team. Towns is the No. 1 overall pick who remains a freakish talent. But Anunoby might be the player who holds the key to the Knicks' hopes. He is the best defender, able to clamp down on anyone from a point guard to a 7-2 center and hold his own. He can also pounce onto a double team, smothering the best offensive talents in the games.  His three-point shooting and aggressive drives and dunks are the weapons that seem to determine just how far the Knicks can go. But he’s also missed 14 of the 55 games with no clarity on if he’ll be back when the team reconvenes after the break. It's a mystery that may determine the Knicks' fortunes.

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS: B-

So you’ve got an All-Star center and if the last weeks before the break are any indication of what’s to come maybe by the end of the year KAT is an 'A' student again. But right now, it’s just odd what we’ve seen from Towns in Year 2 in New York. The season began with problems as Towns was openly asked to make the biggest adjustments after Brown’s arrival as head coach. Towns shifted position and roles. It was a change that basically removed the most glaring advantage he has offensively, limitless shooting range that dared defenders to come out to challenge him. But his season has been marred by foul trouble and shooting woes inside and outside the arc. In the last eight games ahead of the break he averaged 16.3 points and shot just 24% from three, but he jumped to 14.8 rebounds per game and suddenly appeared to be smiling again. Maybe because the trade deadline had passed?

BENCH: C

While injuries and rest time has shifted this group around, it’s hard to argue that the Knicks don’t have one of the deeper benches in the NBA this season — just not that it happened the way they expected. Mitchell Robinson began the season in the starting lineup, but back as a bench piece he’s been a huge factor on the boards and defensively. Landry Shamet has been a plug-in starter at times but has excelled everywhere, serving as a defensive stopper and hitting 42.2% from three-point range. Deuce McBride, although injuries have sidelined him, shot 42% from three. Rookie Mo Diawara has been a find and looks like a keeper. It’s just the offseason free-agent signings — Guerschon Yabusele and Jordan Clarkson — that haven’t worked out. Yabusele was traded at the deadline and his replacement, Jose Alvarado, looks to be much more useful. The Knicks then took a gamble for their last spot, adding Jeremy Sochan.

COACH: B-

Brown arrived with a lot of thoughts and maybe the best thing he’s done is realize quickly that he had to adapt to this team. The lineup plans? Scrapped after 15 games. Running KAT to the corners? Maybe discarded even sooner. Give up a midseason game rather than push the minutes on his stars? Not in New York and not with these expectations. Brown came to the Knicks with perhaps the highest level of expectations of any first-year coach. Tom Thibodeau was fired after reaching the Eastern Conference finals and the team owner stated his expectations that the team could win a championship this season. Brown still managed to navigate a 35-20 record and we won’t know until the postseason how it lands.

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.