Knicks face tough road to playoffs
Tyson Chandler #6 of the New York Knicks celebrates against the New Jersey Nets at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Knicks defeated the Nets 99-92. (Feb. 4, 2012) Credit: Getty Images
Jeremy Lin helped point the Knicks in the right direction when their season seemed to be dangerously close to slipping away two months ago. Now he's going to need an assist from his teammates to have any chance of playing again this season.
With 13 games remaining, the Knicks hold a 21/2-game lead over Milwaukee for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. To reach the postseason, they'll have to navigate through a difficult schedule without Lin -- and probably won't have Amar'e Stoudemire the rest of the way, either.
But the Knicks have won three of their last four without those two starters. They're confident that they can keep winning and secure a playoff spot.
"The good teams do that no matter who's in and out of the lineup," Tyson Chandler said. "Good teams in our league still find a way to win. That's what we've got to do."
Lin will have arthroscopic surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his left knee and likely will miss six weeks. The Knicks would have to make the playoffs and win at least one round for Lin to play again this season.
On Wednesday, the Knicks said Stoudemire was expected to miss two to four weeks with a bulging disc in his back. He had an epidural shot Thursday and is rehabbing, hoping to return and to have a reason to return.
That will be up to the remaining healthy Knicks, with "healthy'' being the operative word.
Carmelo Anthony, Chandler and Lin's replacement, Baron Davis, all have nagging injuries that limited them in Friday's loss in Atlanta. They fought through it in Saturday's win over Cleveland. It was a sluggish game by the Knicks, who showed the effects of the wear and tear and grind of playing shorthanded through eight games in 12 days.
The Knicks now have somewhat of a reprieve; they don't play until Tuesday and have only three games in a nine-day stretch. But of the three, two are at Indiana and Orlando and the only home game is against Chicago.
Eight of the Knicks' remaining games are on the road, including four of the next five. In addition to the Pacers and Magic, they face strong opponents in the Bulls (twice), Heat, Celtics, Hawks and Clippers and have a crucial game in Milwaukee on April 11.
"We just got to hang in there together and keep the bodies that we do have healthy, keep them alert and ready to play when we step on the floor," interim coach Mike Woodson said. "The season is what it is. It's not going anywhere. We still control our own destiny and they got to understand that."
With Davis at the point instead of Lin, the Knicks won't be as up-tempo. But Davis can run an offense and knows his limitations.
Offensively, the Knicks will rely heavily on Anthony, who is averaging 27.0 points and shooting 47.9 percent in the last four games. Anthony said everyone needs to chip in and specifically mentioned that J.R. Smith has to have more games like his 20-point outing against the Cavaliers on Saturday.
But to make the playoffs, the Knicks also will need to continue playing stingy defense. In 11 games under Woodson, they've given up 86.3 points per game, 83.7 in their nine wins.
"We're the same team that we've been over the last couple weeks, and that's been defense-driven," Chandler said. "Our offense has to take a back seat because I really feel like defense is the most important thing. Defense is what's going to get you over the hump. There's going to be nights you can't make shots. Every night you can play hard defense."
