The New York Knicks have not been easy to like. A long run of short-sighted moves has produced a squad full of big names that don’t seem to fit together, and team president Phil Jackson’s love of the triangle has forced them into an offense that no one else seems to want. The franchise entered this season with no clear direction and, at worst, the potential to hold back the development of extremely promising second-year big man Kristaps Porzingis.

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Suddenly, though, the Knicks have turned into a pretty darn fun team to watch. With Jackson announcing his commitment to winning — triangle or no triangle — last week and Porzingis appearing to make a leap to stardom, the Knicks are playing with newfound freedom and have won four of their last five contests. It’s too early to project immense success, but the Knicks are at least giving their fans and neutrals reasons to get excited when they take the court. That’s a meaningful sign of improvement.

Tuesday’s 107-103 win over the visiting Portland Trail Blazers offered a particularly good example of the Knicks’ new sense of fun. It started with Porzingis, who put up 31 points (13-of-23 FG, 3-of-8 3FG) on a variety of moves including driving dunks, tough finishes against multiple defenders, and open jumpers.

It was the performance of a player beginning to understand that he is a nightmare for defenses. Porzingis has the ability to score from anywhere on the court but appears to be gaining a better sense of when to seize specific matchup advantages and when to go elsewhere. His development is far from complete, but he should see the bulk of the minutes at center no matter Joakim Noah’s health. He’s been the Knicks’ best player so far this season and deserves to be given every opportunity to develop properly.

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The rest of the Knicks are having some trouble coming to that realization. The crunch-time offense was curious, to say the least — Derrick Rose and several others looked off a dominant Porzingis in favor of seeking out their own shots. It’s hard to explain why this happened, but the Knicks were fortunate enough to face a Trail Blazers offense that ranks last in the league in points allowed per 100 possessions. In fact, Rose thrived in the fourth. He scored 10 of his 18 points in the period and made this jumper with six seconds left to steal the win:

It’s important not to cover the Knicks in glory for a win against a team that came into the night with three losses in their last four games and copious issues at both ends of the floor. New York’s defense wasn’t especially great, and it’s quite possible that defenses will begin to figure out their non-triangle attack once they have a chance to review more film. An 8-8 team with one road win all season can only be so good.

Sometimes, though, it’s enough to escape directionless mediocrity and offer the audience new hope for a brighter future. If nothing else, the Knicks now contain a number of new possibilities. If Porzingis continues to develop and the rest of the team organizes around him, the Knicks could turn Madison Square Garden into a happier place soon.

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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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