Knicks are above .500, in fourth place and believe in themselves
Knicks guard Derrick Rose (4) attempts a layup as Detroit Pistons guard Dennis Smith Jr. defends during the first half on Feb. 28, 2021. Credit: AP / Carlos Osorio
The Knicks woke up in San Antonio on Monday morning to a well-deserved day off, and if most observers had a difficult time believing that the conference standings are accurate, there was little doubt within the team’s locker room.
The Knicks are not threatening to move to the top of the standings, but they are exceeding expectations like no other NBA team this season. Sunday night’s win in Detroit was their third straight and seventh in the last nine games, putting their record at 18-17 — the first time the franchise has been above .500 this late in a season since 2012-13, when the Knicks won 54 games.
More important, the win gave them sole possession of fourth place in the Eastern Conference behind only Philadelphia, the Nets and Milwaukee and ahead of the likes of Boston and Miami, teams that met in the Eastern Conference finals last season.
It might not stay this way — with those teams stepping up after injuries and COVID-19 troubles and the Knicks’ schedule growing tougher in the second half of the season — but for now, they have defied predictions.
"The reaction to the winning record, honestly in our locker room, it’s expected," Julius Randle said. "I said all year, we feel like every time we go out, we have a chance to win the game. I’m not really surprised where we’re at as a team. We have a certain level of focus on a night-to-night basis that gives us a shot every night."
That belief took hold from the start of training camp under new coach Tom Thibodeau, and while three of the wins in the last four have come against the league’s doormats — Minnesota, Sacramento and Detroit — the Knicks also beat Indiana, and there is something to beating whom you should beat. Any Knicks-watcher from the last two decades might be satisfied by the fact that there actually are games the Knicks should win.
Part of that has come about because of Thibodeau’s insistence and the team’s belief that every game is a game they should win.
"It’s a proud organization and I was here during the ’90s, but that doesn’t have anything to do with today," Thibodeau said. "So just like I wasn’t looking ahead, I don’t want us looking behind and what happened in the past.
"I think it’s important to know the history of the organization; that part is important. But our focus has to be exactly on what’s in front of us, and that’s each day, each game and each practice — just keep trying to improve. And we have a young team. We have a team that can grow. So if we get everyone committed and get everybody to sacrifice and put the team first, good things can happen."
"It starts with the work," said Pistons guard Wayne Ellington, who was with the Knicks when they went 21-45 last season. "Those guys, I was in New York last year, and I was talking to Julius before the game, and he was like, ‘Man, it’s completely different. It’s night and day.’ Just [their] approach, [their] mindset coming in, how Thibs has those guys working and how he has them competing on the floor.
"It’s a process. They have a lot of the same guys that they did have last year. Those young guys have taken a step forward and they’re learning how to play and how to win. And it’s showing."
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
