NBA Power Rankings: New York Knicks Fall After Close Losses

The New York Knicks took a slight tumble in NBA power rankings after consecutive close losses.

The New York Knicks are feeling the pressures of a tight playoff race.

Entering Tuesday night, New York (44-30) has a precarious hold on fourth place in the Eastern Conference, situated a half-game behind Cleveland for third and the same above Orlando for fifth. The Knicks closed March on a bit of a downward spiral, however, dropping consecutive games for the first time since the end of February. New York fell in overtime to the San Antonio Spurs on Friday before dropping a 113-112 game to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Easter Sunday.

Those losses, by a combined five points, caused the Knicks to drop four spots in CBS Sports' power rankings, appearing at 11th after coming in seventh in the prior edition.

Mar 31, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jalen Williams (8) brings the

John Jones-USA TODAY Sports

"Jalen Brunson must be wondering what a man needs to do to get his team a win. He scored a career-high 61 points in Friday's overtime loss to the Spurs (one off of Carmelo Anthony's franchise record), then put up 30 more in a one-point loss to the Thunder on Sunday," CBS Sports' Colin Ward-Henninger writes. "The Knicks are still essentially tied for the No. 3 spot in the East, and within striking distance of the No. 2 Bucks, though time is running out."

With Brunson running the show, the Knicks are in good hands. However, his superhuman efforts aren't enough to sustain a playoff run, as they found out the hard way in Miami last season. He'll need help from his healthy teammates and hope that injured starters OG Anunoby, Julius Randle, Mitchell Robinson, or some combination thereof can return soon from their respective ailments to embark on a lengthier playoff run.

The Knicks hope to improve their playoff positioning this week with four tough games against teams with something to play for. It starts on Tuesday in South Beach against the Miami Heat (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG) before the team hosts the Sacramento Kings on Thursday. A two-game road trip awaits over the weekend, as the Knicks face the Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks on Friday and Saturday respectively. New York has a remote chance of catching the Bucks for second, currently sitting three games behind with eight to go.