Knicks Must Take Advantage of Upcoming Schedule

The New York Knicks only have a handful of games left in the regular season and the team is zeroing in on the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference.

That spot was in jeopardy when Jalen Brunson sprained his ankle on Mar. 6 against the Los Angeles Lakers, but the Knicks have been able to win three of the five games since he went down.

The Knicks are expected to be without Brunson for at least one more week, but they have a schedule coming up where they should be able to piece together a few more wins and even start a long streak.

The Knicks have a difficult setup with two tipoffs in a 24-hour span beginning with the San Antonio Spurs and ending with the Charlotte Hornets. Even though there are two games with a quick turnaround in between, both opponents are dealing with a number of injuries and are bound for the lottery.

The Spurs have been without Victor Wembanyama since the All-Star break and new point guard De'Aaron Fox since last week with a pinkie injury that will require surgery.

Meanwhile, the Hornets have won three of their last five games, but they still are a beatable opponent, even on the road in the second night of a back-to-back. If the Knicks can pull off wins against both teams, they should feel pretty good about themselves.

After the back-to-back, the Knicks return home for a date with the Washington Wizards, who recently shed the title of the worst team in the league. The Wizards have strung together some wins lately since Khris Middleton was introduced into the lineup, but the Knicks should be overwhelming favorites against them still.

After the Wizards game comes the Dallas Mavericks, who have dealt with so many injuries that they are barely fielding a team of eight players every night.

This could lead to another four straight wins for the Knicks, and if they find themselves undefeated over the next week, it could be enough to comfortably keep them at No. 3 in the East.