The Knicks are clicking at an opportune time for big litmus test

Slowly, steadily, deliberately, the plan rises off the page, shifting from Leon Rose’s imagination to the court in Madison Square Garden. Slowly, steadily, deliberately, the Knicks seem to be having a great time, enjoying each other, enjoying the passing of the basketball, embracing the grind.

“We’re starting to get comfortable with each other and it shows,” Jalen Brunson said.

Sure, the Wizards are a terrible team, and so in the smaller frame, the Knicks’ 134-106 thrashing at the Garden on Monday night was just what happens when a team with aspirations of right now goes up against a team that’s rebuilding for three or four years from now.

But the Knicks aren’t really about the quick snapshots anyway. They are for the long term. They are about getting used to playing with each other, getting used to instincts and tendencies and habits. A team assembled on the fly is always more useful to see at 30,000 feet, and right now from that vantage point the view is getting better and better.