After limping to the All-Star break on a four-game losing streak, the Knicks look to reset and return to their winning ways against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday. While the injury report is still stuffed with big names, the Knicks must find a way to keep themselves afloat for this final stretch as the playoffs are right around the corner.
Currently the fourth seed in the East with only a half-game advantage on the Sixers for home-court advantage, Thursday’s game is not only a battle for fourth place, but positioning for a tiebreaker that will be determined when the two teams match up again for two games in mid-March.
New York is fortunate their injury-riddled stretch has directly coincided with other teams around them struggling too, except for the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are 9-1 in their last 10 games and have usurped the two seed from the Milwaukee Bucks.
The No. 3 Bucks and the No. 5 Sixers are each 3-7 in their last 10 games as Doc Rivers struggles to find his footing in Milwaukee and Philadelphia adjusts to life without Joel Embiid. So while New York is only 5-5 in their last 10, it could certainly be a lot worse for them.
While the Knicks are still on track to get their star players back and healthy for their playoff run, the next 10 games will play a crucial role in how desperate they are to get their stars back.
Seven of those 10 are against teams in the East playoff picture with three being against the Sixers. With games sprinkled in against Cleveland, the Atlanta Hawks, and Orlando Magic, New York is going to need to bring their best even if they don’t have their full squad available.
This only puts more pressure on Jalen Brunson, who is fresh off an All-Star appearance in Indiana. Brunson is averaging 32.9 points per game since Julius Randle and OG Anunoby went down with injuries against the Miami Heat. Brunson has taken the onus on himself to carry the Knicks through this dark stretch offensively as he has elevated his game to another level and cemented himself into the MVP conversation.
Through this tough stretch for the Knicks, their bench has shown up and prevailed as head coach Tom Thibodeau has been forced to rely on role players heavily.
Over the last nine games, the Knicks have three of the top five players in terms of minutes per game as both Precious Achiuwa and Donte DiVincenzo are averaging over 40 minutes a night while Josh Hart is averaging just over 38.
This additional load on role players may not be sustainable for Thibodeau as Josh Hart is the only player with experience playing over 30 minutes a night, let alone 40 or more.
Make no mistake about it, the Knicks are currently in the most promising position they have been in this century. Brunson is a bonafide superstar and the fact the role players have kept the Knicks afloat in the standings says volumes about how the team is constructed. Now, the Knicks need to get healthy and get their starters back into game condition before the playoffs. Once the postseason comes around, it’s time to prove they are different from than teams of the Knicks’ past and are serious title contenders.
