Getty The New York Knicks can claw their way back into the playoff race.
The New York Knicks are riding high after their Christmas Day win over the Atlanta Hawks where Kemba Walker put up a triple-double.
Walker has looked like a new player following his return to the lineup and the Knicks will be looking to ride his hot hand now more than ever considering Derrick Rose is gone for a minimum of two months.
After getting off to a hot start, the team finds themselves at 15-18 as the midway point of the season approaches. This is obviously not what they expected coming into the season, but the next 10 or so games give them a good chance of clawing back into the playoff race.
“Easy” Slate of Games Coming Up
GettyObi Toppin, Evan Fournier and Julius Randle.
Obviously, no opponent is easy in the NBA and any team can beat you on any given night, but the Knicks do have an easier strength of schedule ahead of them.
In the next 10 games, they matchup up against the Timberwolves, Pistons, Thunder, Raptors, Pacers, Celtics twice, Spurs, Mavericks and the Hawks. The first four games are on the road, and long road trips can be brutal for an NBA team.
While they still have to go out there and win the games, these are among some of the worst teams in the NBA so far this season, so the Knicks could really get on a run here.
The win over the Hawks on Christmas could prove to be some sort of turning point because it was definitely a strong team effort that led them to the victory. If Walker can keep up this hot stretch of the games, the Knicks could easily find themselves right back into the thick of things.
Then again, they could also drop the contests against the Pistons, Pacers, etc. and dig an even deeper hole for themselves.
For this stretch to make a real difference, they’ll need to absolutely dominate the competition. There’s a possibility the Knicks could come out the other side of this as a .500 team or better, but the possibility is just as great that they could sink even deeper.
Lots of Questions to Ask
GettyKemba Walker celebrating.
The Knicks are as close to being a lottery team as they are to a fringe playoff team at this point. On paper, it looked like they were ready to take a big step forward and make a deep run into the playoffs.
Of course, the dominoes haven’t exactly fallen that way for them and the lose of Rose is a massive hole to fill. So far, the team is treading water but they’ll likely feel his absence a lot going forward.
With Evan Fournier signed to a massive deal this offseason, the expectation was that he and Walker would help the team significantly, but it just hasn’t panned out.
If the Knicks do find themselves fighting for a top draft pick this season, then something really went wrong. A swing for the fences for a name like Damian Lillard has never come into fruition, and now fans have to ask themselves if that would have made a difference at all.
While the Knicks do have their share of veterans on the roster, much of the core is made up of players still on their rookie contracts like Mitchell Robinson, RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley and Obi Toppin. If the team wants any hope of competing this season and in the future, there will need to be a lot of development out of them.
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