Five keys for Knicks' second-half playoff push
Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau reacts during the first half of an NBA game against the Magic Monday at Madison Square Garden. Credit: AP/Kathy Willens
With a new coach, a new front office and a handful of new roster pieces the Knicks navigated the first half of the season as well as they could have hoped, avoiding the COVID-19 pitfalls that sent many teams spiraling down the standings. The Knicks now find themselves battling not just for a spot in the playoffs, but in the mix for a top four seed in the Eastern Conference. Can they keep that up in the second half of the season? Here are five keys to making that happen.
1. You gotta believe: I know this was trademarked by another blue and orange team in town, but the point remains — the Knicks learned something in that 19-18 first half of the season. The players who may have hesitated at the workload or the accountability demanded by Tom Thibodeau have seen the results. The payoff for the long minutes and careful studying is winning more than maybe anyone outside of their locker room believed possible.
That’s important because it is going to get harder for the Knicks when they resume play Thursday night in Milwaukee. The 35-game schedule is tightly condensed and starts with a four-game road trip, including the three top teams in the East, Milwaukee, the Nets and Philadelphia. There is a six-game West Coast trip in May that could end any hope if they haven’t done work before then.
2. Three for all: The Knicks were 29th in three-point attempts last season and 27th in three-point percentage and a part of that drag on the numbers was Julius Randle, who shot just 27.7% from the distance. This season he is shooting 40.8%. The Knicks are still 29th in attempts per game but have jumped up to 12th in percentage. More important, they were 28th last season in opponents' three-point percentage and this season they are No. 1. Can they keep up the defense or do the law of averages catch up and some of those shots begin to fall? And can Randle keep up his career-best shooting beyond the arc?
3. Lucky or good: The Knicks have been exceeding expectations this season with their players, but there was an element of luck, too. As LeBron James said at the All-Star break of his own ability to avoid a COVID-19 shutdown, "I can’t sit here and say I’m a ghostbuster when it comes to COVID, because I’m not." The Knicks had only one game postponed because of the Health and Safety Protocols and it was because the opponent, the San Antonio Spurs, could not field a team. Two players were struck by protocols — Frank Ntilikina quarantined a week for contact tracing and Derrick Rose sidelined after a mix of positive, negative and inconclusive tests that will sideline him for a third straight game Thursday. Can they continue to avoid playing shorthanded because of the virus? Because any team that can, has a huge advantage.
4. Second choice: Randle became an All-Star this season, but the Knicks have yet to find a consistent second option. RJ Barrett seems ready to rise to that at times, but there was an 0-for-21 stretch from three-point range earlier this season and still too many 1-for-9 or 2-for-8 nights. It is the same with rookie Immanuel Quickley. Can one of them be that every night threat?
5. Deadline deals? The Knicks may have entered this season as sellers, bringing in a handful of players on short-term deals, the kind of deals that can be moved at the trade deadline. Now, two weeks from the deadline the Knicks likely will be at least searching around as buyers. Already, Thibodeau got his way with the acquisition of Rose, providing the Knicks with a more consistent veteran presence in the backcourt. Now, do the Knicks try to find the shooter who would be as consistent as Randle?
"I have a strong bias towards good players," Thibodeau said Wednesday. "I know they’re looking at all the possibilities. If something makes sense for us, we’ll do it. If not, I love the team that we have. I love the guys that we have on the team."
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
