NBA Standings: Where Do Knicks Stand With 12 to Go?
Even with a three-game losing streak, the New York Knicks are sitting relatively pretty in the NBA playoff picture.
The efforts of Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson have led the Knicks to a 40-30 record with 12 games remaining in the 2022-23 regular season. All signs point to New York enjoying a trip to the playoffs for the second time under coach Tom Thibodeau. Of course, a dozen games on the NBA docket might as well be an eternity and there's plenty of time for the Knicks to fall victim to a late drought.
Here are the current Eastern Conference standings:
As it stands, the Knicks could at least expect to host a Play-In Tournament game at Madison Square Garden, as the 10th-place Chicago Bulls (31-36) have games in hand but sit 7.5 games behind New York. The top Play-In reps, Miami and Atlanta, however, sit at 3.5 and five games back of the Knicks respectively and will have just enough time for one last push toward one of the East's six automatic playoff spots.
Miami has not won more than four straight games this season while Atlanta has only done so once, pulling the feat off to the tune of five in a row in January. Each side will obviously have to better those marks over the stretch if they want to catch the Knicks ... who will obviously have to suffer a few more losses if their pursuers want any hope of catching up.
Looking up, New York is in a tight race with their crosstown foes, the Brooklyn Nets, for the fifth seed. Both the Knicks and Nets (39-29) are 9.5 games behind Milwaukee for first, but the latter has two games in hand.
Despite dealing away Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving at the Feb. 9 trade deadline, the Nets' new cast of characters has kept them afloat. Mikal Bridges, the primary yield from the Durant deal with Phoenix, has put up 25.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.1 steals a game, helping the Nets keep pace in the Eastern logjam. With Bridges in tow, Brooklyn is 5-5 over their last 10 games.
New York also has an outside chance to take the fourth seed from the Cleveland Cavaliers, currently sitting three games behind Donovan Mitchell's group.
Over their last 12 games, the Knicks will see the Heat and the 11th-place Indiana Pacers (a half-game behind Chicago for 10th) twice, as well as the Cavaliers once in pivotal matchups. The Knicks will be on the road six times, where they own a 21-14 record. That's tied with Boston for the best road win tally in the Association.
The final dozen's path begins on Tuesday when the Knicks take on the Portland Trail Blazers in the final game of a four-game Western Conference road trip (10 p.m. ET, MSG).
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