NCAA Tournament, Knicks, Nets, Rose

Knicks 5-Game Win Streak Puts Team On Brink Of The 5th Seed

Coming out of the All-Star break on Thursday, the Knicks were two games behind the Brooklyn Nets for the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference. A few days later, the two teams sit in a virtual tie with New York at 35-27 and Brooklyn at 34-26. With the way both teams have been playing out of the break, it would stand good reason to believe that the Knicks could be taking sole possession of the 5th seed soon.

From the Nets perspective, their two games out of the break could not have gone much worse. On Friday, the Bulls stomped Brooklyn by a whopping 44 points, and on Sunday the Hawks took the Nets down on a Trae Young buzzer beater. On the other hand, the Knicks played seven impressive quarters on the way to two wins.

Slow Start, Strong Finish

In their first game out of the break, New York came out a little slow in Washington DC. The Wizards, more specifically former Knick Kristaps Porzingis, could not miss from behind the arc. Porzingis was 5-5 in just the 1st quarter, and the team was 6-8. If not for Julius Randle scoring 12 of his eventual 46 in the 1st quarter, the lead could have gotten way out of hand. But it was only an 11-point deficit even with the Wizards' hot shooting.

After the tough 1st frame, New York would not lose another quarter the rest of the game. The hot start from Porzingis was put to bed immediately, as he did not make another shot from the field after the 1st quarter. That was in large part due to the return of Mitchell Robinson who had 10 points, 12 rebounds, and a block in his first game back. As a team, the Wizards only had 32 points in the paint compared to the Knicks' 58. New York has done an admirable job in his absence of steadying the ship inside, but having Robinson back on the floor is enormous for the Knicks' defense.

Although Robinson's impact was incredibly important, no one was more important than Randle on Friday night. The now two-time All-Star had a stellar scoring performance. Randle scored 46 points on an efficient 16-29 from the field, 7-14 from three, and 7-7 from the free throw line. Forty-six points tied Randle's career high, and although he shot the three-ball very well, his force inside the paint was the most noticeable part of his game. As of late, Randle has been using his size and speed to attack the rim with a force that few others can. This dunk was one of many for the All-Star.

Honoring The 1973 Champions

On Saturday, the Knicks came back to New York to face off against the New Orleans Pelicans. The team celebrated the 50-year anniversary of the 1973 New York Knicks championship team at the game. The current day New York team certainly did not let down the former championship squad, as the Knicks took control early and did not let go for a 126-108 victory.

Randle put another elite performance on display with a game high 28 points on 11-20 from the field and 5-10 from deep. RJ Barrett also had a big game with 25 points on an efficient 8-13 shooting, while also having a career-high seven assists.

In Barrett's case, the star duo that has formed between Jalen Brunson and Randle has put him squarely as a third option which he has had difficulty with at times. And with the acquisition of Josh Hart, Barrett is now in a position where it is not a guarantee that he will be on the floor at the end of games. This was the case against the Wizards, as Thibodeau rode the hot hand with Hart, and it paid off with a win.

Barrett will have to have performances like this more often to prove that he should always be in end of game lineups. Outside of Brunson, Randle, and Robinson, there are two spots, but four players who could see time at the end of the game. Barrett, Grimes, Hart, and Immanuel Quickley have all been used at end of game lineups, and to this point it appears that Thibodeau is comfortable playing whoever he thinks gives the team the best chance that night. Against the Wizards, Hart and Quickley played all 12 minutes in the 4th, while Barrett played four and Grimes played 11 seconds.

This "problem" more so speaks to the depth that New York now has as a result of picking up Hart at the deadline. Having seven players that a coach feels comfortable finishing close games with is a luxury that not many teams in the NBA have, but the Knicks do, and it is clear Thibodeau is ready to take advantage of this privilege.

Ahead of the Knicks this week could the their most important 4-game stretch remaining this season. New York will face the top seeded Celtics twice, while also playing Nets and the Heat. If all goes well, the Knicks could have sole possession of the 5th seed, but they could very easily fall back to the play-in with any type of hiccup.