Getty Vince Carter looks on during a 2019 game between the Atlanta Hawks and the New York Knicks.
Don’t look now, but the New York Knicks are the hottest team in the NBA outside of Milwaukee (where the Bucks have won 16 in a row). The club has yet to taste defeat since Josh Hart was acquired at the trade deadline and it boasts a 10-2 record since the beginning of February.
Not only that, they have the Association’s No. 3 offensive rating (118.5), No. 7 defensive rating (112.6) and No. 2 net rating (5.9) since December 4. For the record, that’s a sample size of 41 games — so Tom Thibodeau’s squad has literally been crushing it for half a season.
For his part, ESPN’s Zach Lowe has been convinced that the Knicks can cause a postseason stir in the Eastern Conference (at least against the lower 3/4 of the bracket).
“This team is different [from the one that lost in Round 1 to the Atlanta Hawks in 2021],” Lowe said on Get Up! on Thursday. “Jalen Brunson completely changed this team. Immanuel Quickley as a Sixth Man of the Year candidate off the bench — completely changed this team. Quentin Grimes, Josh Hart… They’re deep, they’re tough… Absolutely, they can make some noise.”
For his part, former New Jersey Net and future Hall of Famer Vince Carter felt inclined to agree — with a few caveats.
Vinsanity Addresses New York Knicks’ Postseason Prospects
While he clearly has a feeling about the Knicks, Lowe stopped short of saying they could shock the Bucks or the Boston Celtics, and Carter spoke similarly about them.
“[Lowe] said a lot right there, but I agree with him as far as, like, they are a better team,” Carter said. “But you think about how they imploded in the playoffs against the Hawks… Now, you see that they have… even RJ Barrett — that Zach didn’t mention — Mitchell Robinson; they have more experience, more confident players and they’ve been through this situation before.
“So, yes, they can make some noise in there. And I think, either Knicks-Cleveland or Knicks-76ers, those are two good series that they could possibly [come out on top].”
The Knicks split the season series 2-2 with Philadelphia, most recently dropping a 119-108 decision at Wells Fargo Center on February 10. However, Hart had yet to make his Knicks debut at that point. Meanwhile, New York has taken two out of the three games against Cleveland to this point with a fourth and final bout slated for March 31.
If the playoffs were to start on the day of this writing, the fifth-seeded Knicks would begin on the road against Donovan Mitchell and Co. in the fourth seed.
Jalen Brunson Nets Player of the Month Honors
He may have been snubbed from making his first All-Star appearance a couple of weeks ago, but Brunson did receive some flowers from the league office for his play throughout February.
As announced by the league on Thursday afternoon, Brunson has been recognized as the Player of the Month in the Eastern Conference. Over 10 February games, the 26-year-old averaged 27.3 points, 6.0 assists and 4.3 rebounds per outing while connecting on 52.9% of his field-goal attempts and 42.6% of his tries from deep. Meanwhile, the Knicks were 9-2 on the month.
Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic took home the honors in the West by logging a 23-14-10 line and leading the team to a 9-3 mark.