Would Falling to Play-In Tournament Actually Benefit Knicks?
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Whoever holds the Infinity Gauntlet must not like the New York Knicks: with a snap of their fingers, half of the team's rotation disappeared.
Knicks fans probably can't help but believe there's something supernatural after their squad after a fearsome February: the month began with All-Star honors for both Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle before the team struck a trade deadline deal that acquired Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks from the Detroit Pistons, one that sacrificed no first-round picks from the team's expansive draft cabinet.
But without the services of Randle and OG Anunoby, the Knicks lost eight of a dozen, with Thursday's Leap Day providing a de facto faceplant in the form of a 110-99 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Brad Penner, USA TODAY SPORTS
February Follies
There's undoubtedly asterisks attached to the Knicks' past 12: the month proved painful literally and figuratively for the Knicks as Brunson, Bogdanovic, Donte DiVincenzo, and Isaiah Hartenstein were all forced to join Anunoby, Randle, and Mitchell Robinson on the injury report.
On three occasions (all losses), the Knicks dressed no more than nine men due to injuries and transactions. While it probably shouldn't have been so close, an ill-advised foul call indirectly cost the Knicks a game in Houston, though things evened out this week ... though that mulligan came against the lowly Pistons.
“We are playing as best as we can with the bodies that we have," Josh Hart said after Thursday's loss, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. "We’re playing our (butts) off. It’s not like we’re just sitting there and crying about injuries and laying down.”
But excuses are as valuable in New York as a gift card to Gimbels these days. Newly-burdened with expectations, the Knicks are sputtering, as they've gone 2-6 since the arrivals of Bogdanovic and Burks supposedly gave them one of the Association's deepest 11-man sets.
Where Things Stand
All things considered, the Knicks (35-25) got off relatively easy for their Valentine vexing.
Entering March, New York is still in fourth place on the Eastern Conference playoff bracket despite surges from Florida. The Orlando Magic leaped back into the top six by going 9-3 in February while the Miami Heat found their footing with an 8-3 mark.
The Joel Embiid-less decline of the Philadelphia 76ers certainly helped the Knicks' case, though the top three are getting smaller in their windshield: catching Boston (46-12) was always a pipe dream but New York currently sits four games behind Cleveland and Milwaukee, each tied for second. Despite holding active homecourt duties, the Knicks are just a game up on seventh-place Indiana to avoid the East's Play-In Tournament.
This month features potentially deadly bookends: the Knicks go to Cleveland on Sunday night (7 p.m. ET, MSG/ESPN) and go to Oklahoma City on Easter Sunday. Those games partly sandwich a four-game Western swing (capped off with a visit to Denver on March 21) as well as visits from the Sixers and Magic, though things do considerably lighten up leading into egg hunts (facing Brooklyn, Detroit, Toronto, and San Antonio going into the holiday).
Brad Penner, USA TODAY SPORTS
All-In For Play-In?
Though good medical news has trickled in (head coach Tom Thibodeau mentioned in Thursday's pregame that OG Anunoby was cleared for on-court work), there are still no timetables on Anunoby and Randle's returns. Even if/when Anunoby and Randle lace up their sneakers again, it'd be foolish for anyone to rely on their returns as a be-all, end-all solution to the current woes (just look at Randle's return from a late ankle injury last postseason).
The Knicks' rise of substitute heroes has been admirable: Brunson should have a legitimate MVP case while Hart and Precious Achuiwa have brilliantly manned the interior. But if moral victories counted, the poor Pistons would be fighting for homecourt advantage and the Knicks would be more than a game up on seventh and a game-and-a-half up on eighth (Miami).
In other words, the Play-In Tournament is suddenly a true possibility for this meandering group.
That sounds like a major downgrade for a fanbase that possibly began planning parade routes at the start of the last month. Considering the Knicks wiped out a major landmark on the slow path to championship contention last season (winning a playoff series for the first time in 10 years), the Play-In also feels like a cringe-worthy step backward.
Obviously, the Knicks should go all out over the next 22 games and keep the four-team ode to mediocrity far from their list of goals. But Play-In participation, should it come to pass, could wind up becoming a blessing in disguise, one that can set the stage for their present and future.
Pros of the Play-In
If one must, must, must, must go there, falling to the seventh/eighth seed and then winning the Play-In opener would steer clear of the mighty Celtics until the conference final round. Then again, any Knick fan who has endured the past dozen games should be well aware of the pratfalls of premature celebrations, so cast that thought aside.
One reason why there mere presence of Anunoby and Randle won't immediately solve the Knicks' problems is the fact that they'll come back to a relatively brand new team. It's not like their impact was riding on the play of Motor City-bound Quentin Grimes but Bogdanovic and Burks are two key members of the ongoing rotation that will need some getting used to.
The Play-In, no matter how short, would serve as an extra opportunity, an extra game-day situation for the Knicks to get to know each other a bit. If anything, the Knicks have proven well-capable of adaptation when high-profile newcomers enter the fold: in addition to going 12-2 after Anunoby came over, the Knicks won nine in a row once Hart came over from Portland last year. The collaboration has plenty of time to figure itself out, but pulling that off in a win-or-go-home scenario could be particularly interesting.
Prevailing in a do-or-die scenario can also help the Knicks down the road: when this season lets out, Achuiwa and Hartenstein are due to hit free agency and Anunoby will probably join them with a $19 million player option looming. Others (i.e. Brunson) will be starting to think about long-term deals.
In other words, Anunoby and Randle's returns to the lineup will start a countdown of sorts on what the Knicks have spent two years assembling. Even when that clock starts ticking, it's destined to be a relatively small sample size. How the group performs in a postseason setting, however, could hit fast forward on certain decisions and give management a better idea of where things stand.
Again, the competitive Knicks would be foolish to immediately make tracks for the Play-In just because of one tough, shortened month of play loaded with caveats and clarifications. If the unthinkable does come to pass, though, it's certainly not the end of the world as they know it ... though it can be if they want it to.
