Can the Knicks Make the Playoffs?

Author: Billy Taylor

Editor: Aaron Mesco

Going into the 2020-2021 NBA season, the New York Knicks were an afterthought in the conversation of what the Eastern Conference standings would look like at the season's end. Some may argue that they are still an afterthought, but there is no denying that the Knicks have made some noise this year and the idea of them making the playoffs is not completely out of the conversation.

In Leon Rose and William Wesley’s first year at the helm of the New York Knicks front office, they have suddenly curated a roster with a very young and solid core. There is definitely room for improvement, but new head coach Tom Thibodeau gets the most out of this roster and that is what counts for this year.

There are quite a few bright spots on this Knicks roster. R.J. Barrett is continuing to develop and looks as though he is blossoming into a certified shooting guard in the NBA. R.J. is averaging 17.2 points per game, nearly 3 points higher than last year. His field goal percentage has also improved from last year. Immanuel Quickley is proving to be a savvy draft pick by Leon Rose, averaging almost 13 points off the bench. You would like to see a better field goal percentage from him, but that could improve as time goes on similar to R.J. Barrett.

Derrick Rose is also a pleasant surprise to this Knicks team. When they initially traded for Rose, there was lots of warranted caution from fans who were let down by his first stint with the Knicks. When the Knicks traded for Rose in 2016, fans were hoping he could tap into his MVP talent from earlier in his career. When that didn’t happen, many fans in the NBA wrote him off. After playing with LeBron in Cleveland for two years, Rose landed in Minnesota with current Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau and reinvented himself. Fast forward to 2021 and Rose is under Thibodeau again with more experience than ever. His stat sheet doesn’t jump out at you, but he has proven to be a valuable commodity to this team who can run the offense and keep the young players at ease in high leverage situations. He will be a free agent at season's end, and I believe the Knicks should strongly consider giving him another contract.

And of course, the biggest bright spot and certified MVP of this New York Knicks team is forward Julius Randle. Julius was the dreaded “consolation” prize of the Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving sweepstakes in the summer of 2019. He was a nice player to acquire, but when your expectations were as high as Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, it was a massive disappointment. However, he has improved in almost every category when compared to his 2019-2020 campaign and has proven himself as a guy who needs to stay on this Knicks team.

The Knicks don’t have the most talented roster, but what they lack in talent they make up for with heart and tenacity. They know they’re not the most talented, but on some nights that doesn’t matter. The problem with that is that it’s just SOME nights.

The biggest problem with this Knicks team is their inconsistent play. Despite their loss to Brooklyn on Monday, they didn’t give up until the final buzzer. Yes, they lost, but they lost to one of the best teams in their conference and made sure Brooklyn played until the end. They then followed that up with a loss to the best team in the east; the 76ers, in which they blew a 9-point lead in the fourth quarter. The 76ers have way more talent than the Knicks, but the Knicks will lose out on a playoff spot if they continue to let games like this slip away. This is even more important as the Knicks face a pretty harsh schedule in the second half of the season.

The remaining games left on the schedule for the Knicks will be quite the test for them. They have to face teams like the 76ers, Nets, Heat, Lakers, Clippers, and Nuggets. They also face some teams who are average on paper but aren’t pushovers by any stretch of the imagination. They have to not let games that are winnable slip through their fingers and watch whatever chance they have to make the playoffs wither away.

The Knicks also have to get healthy. They’re a little banged up right now with Derrick Rose missing time due to COVID protocols, Immanuel Quickley’s sore ankle, and Mitchell Robinson’s hand fracture.

As of right now, my confidence isn’t the highest with this team, but they have the chance to turn things around, as they have done several times this year. If they have enough resilience to steal a playoff spot with the schedule they have ahead of them, my confidence and the confidence of Knicks fans will shoot to highs we haven’t felt since 2013.