Top of the Heap: Knicks Top Power Rankings Amid Winning Streak
The New York Knicks are the NBA's hottest team after their seventh consecutive victory on Monday night against the shorthanded Charlotte Hornets, tied for the third-longest among all teams this season.
Not only are the Knicks (30-17) racking up victories (currently placing them fourth in the Eastern Conference entering Tuesday night play), they're doing so in fairly decisive fashion: despite losing Isaiah Hartenstein (Achilles) for two games and Julius Randle (shoulder) for potential weeks, they've won by an average of 12 in the last seven, all but two coming in double-figures.
Their progress has been awarded with the top spot in CBS Sports' latest NBA power rankings, moving all the way to No. 1 after placing eighth last week.
"The Knicks picked up four more wins this week, somewhat easing the blow of Julius Randle's shoulder injury that is expected to sideline him for multiple weeks. The Knicks aren't just winning, they're absolutely destroying everyone, with a net rating of plus-21 points per 100 possessions this week," CBS Sports' Colin Ward-Henninger writes. "Jalen Brunson wasn't named an All-Star starter but continued to dominate with 29 points and six assists per game this week on 55 percent shooting."
Keeping the good times rolling won't be easy: the Knicks immediately return to action on Tuesday against the Utah Jazz (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG), who have inched their way back into the Western Conference postseason conversation. The Indiana Pacers visit on Thursday in a homecoming for former Knick Obi Toppin while the Los Angeles Lakers come by for a nationally-televised interconference showdown two nights later.
