Knicks' second half of season begins with positives and negatives

The Knicks knew that the start of the second half of the season was going to be a test. And just how they judge what they saw might decide the direction of the franchise moving forward.

The Knicks have lost three out of four games since returning from the All-Star break. As it might have been predicted, they lost in road meetings with the three front-runners in the Eastern Conference playoff race, a blowout at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks and a pair of narrow misses against the Nets and Philadelphia with a win in Oklahoma City.

So just what do these losses mean, putting the team at 20-21? The Knicks are in eighth place and, depending on your perspective, just two and a half games out of fourth place in the East or two games out of dropping all the way to 11th.

If you believe the near-miss comeback from 18-points down in Brooklyn or the blown lead in the fourth quarter in Philadelphia indicate a team able to compete with anyone, then you can point to the impending return of Derrick Rose (health and safety protocols), Elfrid Payton (hamstring) and Mitchell Robinson (fractured right hand) and picture the Knicks as a team ready to make a run.

Or if you believe that the Knicks showed that they are not on the level of the 76ers even without MVP candidate Joel Embiid or the Nets without Kevin Durant, then you might want to start perusing the possibilities before the March 25 trade deadline and the draft lottery.

"Sometimes you find some things very good for the team," Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said after the loss in Philadelphia Tuesday. "Taking a look at this game and the Brooklyn game, there’s a lot of good things to take from it. Obviously, we fell short in the end. It shows us the work necessary to get over the hump. But the last two games you’re on the road against a Brooklyn and Philadelphia and it comes down to the last possession.

"You’re on the road. Coming back off the break it’s a challenge in itself. You have to go through all the COVID protocol stuff. Your practice time is very limited. You have to be ready to go. Our guys have been great. Our guys have been great with walk-throughs in the ballroom, been very good at practice. We have to be ready and find a way to win."

The Knicks now return home for four games, three against teams out of the playoff picture right now. The Knicks have started rookie Immanuel Quickley the last two games and while he produced points, he has not run the offense with the veteran knowledge of Rose. And reaching down into the bench they have gotten solid defense, but nothing offensively from Frank Ntilikina.

"Obviously we want to capitalize on those games," Quickley said. "But those are two top of the East teams. We never want to come into a game losing but for us to be right there, we know we just have to make those extra effort plays, extra hustle plays to get over the hump."

Notes & quotes: Robinson, who has been sidelined since Feb. 12, has progressed in his workouts. Thibodeau said he can't have game contact yet. "There’s a progression to what he has to go through," Thibodeau said. "Everything looks good. He’s done a lot of running on the court and that sort of thing, ball handling with the left hand. Now the next phase is for him to go through practice, take contact there. We all know that the intensity of a game is a lot different than practice. That’ll be the next step. Once he clears that step he’ll be ready to go."

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

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.