Why the Knicks’ playoff hopes are better than you think
The optimist will look at the list of remaining NBA games and say, “Oh, wow, the Knicks are entering the easy part of their schedule.”
The cynic will look at the same list, see an opponent about to face the Knicks and think that same rival is entering the easy part of its schedule.
While the collision of “Knicks” and “playoffs” in the same paragraph always conjures up images of Jim Mora and his famed NFL tirade, the simple truth is while it certainly will be no cakewalk, the Knicks, in fact, have an easier remaining schedule than some key rivals.
From strictly a won-loss percentage standpoint of remaining opponents, the Knicks have it better than the five teams positioned directly above them in the chase for Eastern playoff berths.
One wet blanket on the notion already has been mentioned: teams positioned directly above them. The Knicks are in 12th place in the East exiting the All-Star break, and barring a presidential or TV-mandated dispensation, eight teams will make the playoffs. So the Knicks need to pass at least four teams. But the playoffs are the goal.
“Compete and make it to the playoffs,” said Derrick Rose when asked Tuesday for his post-break plans. “We’re only a couple of games out, probably three or four games out. So we still got a legit shot to make it. But it takes everybody being on the same page and giving the same effort.”
And winning a few more games, of course. Five teams with losing records — Chicago (28-29), Detroit (27-30), Milwaukee (25-30), Miami (25-32) and Charlotte (24-32) — reside above the Knicks (23-34). Two additional teams, Philadelphia (21-35) and Orlando (21-37) are within 2 ½ games of them. But the Knicks are only looking up. The postseason is a definite motivator.
“You always put it out there but the second half you’re just trying to play your best basketball,” coach Jeff Hornacek said.
The Knicks have 25 remaining games, including 14 against teams below .500. The overall won-loss percentage of the Knicks remaining opponents is .472, the lowest percentage of the six teams in terms of remaining games. One negative on the schedule for the Knicks: they play 13 of their final 25 games on the road, where they’ve pretty much stunk (9-19) all season.
The Bucks, currently in ninth place, have the toughest remaining schedule in terms of winning percentage: 27 games against teams at a .507 pace. That number gets skewed because they still play the Warriors (47-9) but are done with the Nets (9-47), who face the Knicks twice more.
The next toughest schedule belongs to Miami, currently 10th in the East. Miami’s remaining opponents carry a .502 percentage, but only 12 of 25 have winning records. And the Heat have 14 games at home.
Chicago, in seventh place, has 25 more games against opponents who have played .495 ball. The Bulls have 14 sub-.500 foes, including the Nets twice. Charlotte, above the Knicks in 11th, has 26 games against teams with a .486 mark, only 11 of them above .500. Eighth place Detroit’s remaining opponents carry a .476 mark and only 10 of the 25 foes are above .500.
“We know that we got a lot of games to play,” Rose said. “I think one of the years in Chicago, it took to game actually 82 to make it to the playoffs. So we know we have a shot.”