The NBA regular season has entered the sprint finale, and the east-west pattern is turbulent. On the Western side, the Nuggets are in the dust, the Suns are chasing the Kings and Grizzlies, the gap between other teams is within millimeters, the Warriors, who are No. 5 in the West, are only 3.5 wins ahead of the Thunder, who are 13th in the West, and the play-offs are particularly competitive; in the East, the Bucks have the upper hand in the battle for the top spot, and the Green Army, 76ers, Cavaliers, Knicks, Nets, Heat, Hawks and other teams are almost ranked in an equal margin (2), and the ranking and pattern are beginning to take shape. The Eastern Conference is a big favorite, and teams that want to go further in the playoffs are better off squeezing into the top half, and the New York Knicks are working in this direction, and a 9-game winning streak comes suddenly and blissfully.
With a 19-point comeback and a 24-point win, the Knicks went 9 straight to win
As of now, the Knicks have a 39-27 record, ranking 5th in the East, eight wins behind the Eastern Conference hegemony Bucks (46-18), six wins behind the 2nd 76ers (45-21) in the East, 4 wins behind the 3rd 76ers (42-22) in the East, 1.5 wins behind the 4th Cavaliers (41-26) and 2 wins ahead of the Nets (36-28) who are 6th in the East. In short, the Knicks have come to a good position with this nine-game winning streak, and keeping 5-4 for 3 is a very pragmatic regular-season goal. More importantly, compared with the ups and downs at the beginning of the season, the Knicks have shown different combat effectiveness and cohesion in this wave of 9 consecutive wins, punching hard when encountering weak teams, and no longer making promises when encountering strong teams.
Let's take a look at how the Knicks won this 9-game winning streak. Playing the Nets and Hawks, the Knicks led by as many as 25 points, pushing opponents to the ground and rubbing; Playing the Wizards, the Knicks played a beautiful counterattack after trailing by 19 points in the opening game to complete a big comeback; Playing the Pelicans, the Knicks led by as many as 32 points, eventually achieving a 22-point victory; In the Nets, the Knicks led by as many as 30 points, and finally won by 24 points; Playing the Heat, Randle contributed a three-point shootout; What's more, the Knicks beat the Green Army twice, winning by 15 points and narrowly winning by 2 points in double overtime. This is the recent Knicks, whose ability to fight hard battles completely exceeds the expectations and perceptions of the outside world.
Hart was a fish in water, and the 4-for-1 deal was a huge success
The Knicks' strong rise may seem sudden, but it is inevitable, and there are many reasons. On the one hand, the Knicks are young and energetic, and their talent is not bad, and the addition of Brunson has injected an iron-blooded and tough temperament into the team, and Randle, Barrett, and Quickley are now learning and making progress visible to the naked eye. In this winning streak, Brunson and Randle have both performed 40+ per game, and Quickley also set a new career high for points in a single game. On the other hand, the Knicks are no longer an overly reliant team on offense, and the defensive end is more three-dimensional. The Knicks have strong rebounding protection, defensive habits and awareness are getting better and better, they no longer lose their original defensive position in order to grab a ball as in the past, and the scene of "picking up a sesame seed and losing a watermelon" is becoming more and more rare.
It is worth mentioning that the Knicks brought in Hart in the middle of the season and the deal was very successful, which played a "moisturizing and silent" effect. Before the mid-season trade deadline, the Knicks completed a 4-for-1 deal with the Blazers, and the Knicks sent Reddish + Mikhailyuk + Archidiakono + 2023 first-round pick (lottery protection) to get Porter from the Blazers. Hart is a fish in the Knicks, he played 9 games, 9-9 wins, Hart averaged 11.3 points + 5.7 rebounds + 3.2 assists + 1.2 steals per game, shooting 61.7% from the field, 59.1% from three-point range, and +116 on the court! You can say that the Trail Blazers are violent, or you can say that Hart is a lucky player for the Knicks, and Hart plays the role of the team's second-team leader on both ends of the offensive and defensive ends, plug-and-play, too fragrant.
The eastern giants are reborn, and the knights should be careful
After this nine-game winning streak, it's time for the world to take a fresh look at the Eastern Conference giants. A hundred flowers bloom on the offensive end, and the flames of everyone collecting firewood are high; The defensive end starts from the details, and the Knicks are completing the rebirth of Nirvana, and they want to be the Eastern Conference spoilers! The Cavaliers, in particular, need to be careful, with 16 games left in the regular season, the Knicks have every chance to storm the fourth place in the East. Ten thousand steps back, even if the Knicks are ranked 5th in the East, it is difficult to say who will die when the Cavaliers and Knicks meet in the first round. In the 3 regular season meetings between the two sides, the Knicks have a 2-1 advantage! The Knicks haven't won a series in 10 years, and expect them to make a big move this year. The only thing that hurts a little is that the Knicks' strong rise is likely to mean that Rose will leave the Knicks or even the NBA. Fans, what do you think about this? Come leave me a comment to discuss it.