Will Knicks Finally Reach 50 Wins?
Before they go for the elusive 16 wins necessary for a championship, the New York Knicks are taking aim at 50.
Entering the weekend, the Knicks (39-27) hold fourth place in the Eastern Conference with 16 games left on their docket. While it's no guarantee, getting to 50 wins would give them a solid chance at locking up that fourth spot and the homecourt advantage that comes with it.
An updated Bleacher Report projection has the Knicks falling just short of that mark with 48.
USA TODAY SPORTS
"If the Knicks can get to full strength by season's end, they can really go on a tear," Bleacher Report's Zach Buckley writes. "The Knicks must have really ticked off the basketball gods given the wrath laid upon them by the injury bug. However, they are as healthy as they've been in some time, even while still awaiting the returns of Julius Randle (shoulder) and Mitchell Robinson (ankle)."
To that point, the Knicks got OG Anunoby back in the lineup earlier this week after an 18-game absence. New York is 14-2 when Anunoby plays and won two in a row for the first time since early February with wins over Philadelphia and Portland upon his return.
That resulting 48-34 record (a 9-7 record the rest of the way) would tie the Knicks with the Orlando Magic for the fourth-best record in the East. But the Magic's 3-1 mark against the Knicks would give them the tiebreaker good for homecourt advantage in the resulting playoff series.
Orlando's relatively easy remaining schedule (nine games against teams currently stationed outside their conference's top six) should further incentivize the Knicks to go for 50, which they haven't hit since 2012-13.
The Knicks will look to get healthy and play with the same level of physicality and defensive strength that has helped them survive the injury story, but their remaining games are nonetheless daunting: a four-game road trip continues against Sacramento on Saturday (10 p.m. ET, MSG) before wrapping up in Golden State and Denver. All three are jostling for Western playoff slots and the month closes out with a visit from conference leader Oklahoma City.
