Check out a second excerpt from The Strickland Press’ first book, “Fred From Fresh Meadows: A Knicks Memoir” by Fred Cantor, about the legacy of Pat Riley vs. the famed Celtics coach Red Auerbach, and how each fared in their careers minus the biggest stars they coached.

Thursday night was throwback night for the New York Knicks, who got blown out by the Milwaukee Bucks, 134-101.

Two things are abundantly clear if you watch even a handful of Knicks games this year: they play great defense, and they play at a glacial pace on offense. Could that glacier afford to melt a little bit, though?

Nerlens Noel has stepped in in a big way for Mitchell Robinson, leading the Knicks to a top-10 defensive rating in Mitch’s stead. But for all of his defensive prowess, it’s impossible to ignore the fact that he just can’t hold onto the ball. Does Noel’s defensive dominance outweigh the limitations of his suspect hands?

From the time he entered the NBA and leading into his second season, RJ Barrett had two skills that could define his career in the league: finishing and shooting. He’s shown some improvement in both, but is it sustainable? And how do his improvements compare to others at his age?

Obi Toppin has unexpectedly been dropped into a very precarious development situation behind Julius Randle’s emergence. How has Obi fared on both sides of the ball? Could he actually be further along on defense than on offense?

Obi Toppin will compete in the Slam Dunk Contest this weekend, becoming the latest in a long line of Knicks to compete. Vivek Dadhania goes back through all the previous Knicks Dunk Contest participants and ranks them from worst to best, along with some historical context from the moment.

The Knicks have been winning a lot more this season, but they’ve often won “ugly.” But does winning itself make basketball enjoyable? Is it possible to play an aesthetically-pleasing brand of losing basketball?

The Knicks are a game over .500 heading into the All-Star break, their first time being over .500 this late in a season since the fabled 2012-13 campaign. Bask in the light that is a good and fun Knicks team.

Julius Randle has already won over our hearts and minds with his ascent to NBA All-Star this year. But in a league that’s constantly looking towards the next big thing, what could be the next step in Randle’s development? The most popular play in basketball might hold the answer.

The New York Knicks failed to capitalize on the San Antonio Spurs’ second night of a back-to-back and dropped Tuesday’s contest 119-93.

What has led to RJ Barrett having such an up-and-down sophomore season? Is it him? His surrounding personnel? The playbook? Jack Huntley examines the film to try to get to the bottom of sophomore year RJ.

The Knicks got above .500 at the latest point in the season since 2013. By game’s end, they were playing like the fourth seed that they would be after their record settled at 18-17. With each passing game, they play that part even more convincingly.

The Knicks are .500 — 17-17 — through 34 games, almost the halfway point of the season. Relive a most enjoyable win, featuring Julius Randle owning a fellow All-Star, RJ Barrett coming up big, Nerlens Noel playing a marathon second half, and Frank Ntilikina securing the W with a game-winning steal.

How do RJ and Elfrid stand up against starting backcourts in the league? Could Myles Turner make more sense than Mitch? What if the Knicks got Seth Curry instead of DSJ in the KP trade? All that and more in this installment of the mailbag!

The Westchester Knicks are back in the playoff picture in Orlando, winners of three straight heading into this weekend. Can they keep their hot play going behind Iggy Brazdeikis and Jared Harper?

The Knicks scored a season-high in points, Frank Ntilikina made his (very successful) return, Immanuel Quickley broke his slump, Derrick Rose and Alec Burks both were on fire at different times, Julius Randle played like an All-Star as always… This was just a fun game.

The midrange shot is generally derided in the modern NBA, but Julius Randle has built an All-Star campaign on the back of that very shot, placing himself in the company of some of the best midrange assassins in the game while buoying the Knicks’ offense. Benjy Ritholz breaks down the nuts and bolts of Julius’ midrange come-up.

The Knicks lost to the Warriors last night, but you should’ve seen that coming. If you didn’t, step into Prof. Miranda’s classroom for a lesson. Here’s the syllabus.

Alec Burks has quietly been producing at a solid rate this season off the bench for the Knicks, a vital cog in the second unit. But could the best move be to trade him, as it has been for his last few teams in recent years?