Knicks' Championship Push Begins Now

The New York Knicks have fallen short of reaching Phil Jackson's "40-20" theory, which maintains team's that win 40 games before losing 20 are the only true title contenders - only four champions since 1980 have reached the 20 loss benchmark first. But make no bones about it, the Knicks have championship aspirations and can dream about being the fifth team to buck the premise.

The Knicks entered the All-Star break at 35-20 and are on pace for 52 wins, one more than last season. They have won ten of their last 12, culminating with a record-breaking 49-point road victory in Philadelphia. Over their last ten games, New York ranks sixth in offensive efficiency, first in defensive efficiency and first in net efficiency, per NBA.com.

Despite hitting the midway point of the season on a high-note, New York gained virtually no ground in the standings. The top seeded Pistons, who the Knicks will kick-off the second half of the season against later tonight, have won both prior matchups by a combined 69 points, including a 38-point walloping earlier this month.

Knicks Can Begin Second-Half With A Statement

New York is currently third in the East with the fourth best betting odds to win the conference behind Cleveland, Detroit and Boston, per FanDuel. They sit as close to the play-in as the seven seed (six games) than as the top seed (six). It has at times felt like an underwhelming season, given the expectations of entering the year as favorites to win the weakened Eastern Conference.

The Knicks have endured many highs and lows, with rock bottom arguably being their overtime loss to the tanking Pacers last week. The first 32 games saw the team go 23-9 and take home the NBA Cup. There was the next eleven games where the Knicks lost nine of 11 games. Then there’s been these last dozen games.

There's the question, if the Knicks are at their best when their two All-Stars star as role players. When Jalen Brunson takes 20 or fewer shots the Knicks are 20-3. They are 14-13 when the captain has more than 20 attempts. The three-time All-Star loves putting on his super hero cape, but he doesn’t need to play hero ball so often, especially with this collection of talent.

Brunson Doesn't Have To Be A Super Hero For Knicks To Be At Their Best

Meanwhile, during the last 11 games Karl-Anthony Towns has the best net rating on the team and second best defensive rating. The sign of a great player is how they impact the game without scoring and the seven-foot big man has only averaged 15.5 points during his recent stretch of reengagement.

The team is wining, but Towns’ efficiency and foul woes could decide the playoffs. Last season, Towns shot 70% at the rim, 46.2% on catch-and-shoot 3’s and 42.6% on open 3’s. Those numbers through 48 games are 61%, 35.9% and 35.8%, respectively. Regaining his shooting superpower and limiting his league-leading 48 offensive fouls can tilt the East in the Knicks favor.

There's been a fair share of injuries. Landry Shamet missed 25 games, Josh Hart hasn't played in 12 games, and OG Anunoby has sat out the last four games due to a toenail avulsion and been unavailable for 14 games total. Mitchell Robinson has missed time due to his injury management program. Miles McBride, who underwent core muscle surgery two weeks ago, will be out until the final days of the regular season, at best.