Three keys for the Knicks as they begin stretch run

It was a breather, a week away for the Knicks to rest and rehabilitate. But they return to the final stretch of the schedule Thursday and a sprint to the finish line will determine just how this rebuild of the roster has worked . . . or has not.

The newly acquired pieces have fit together as well as could have been hoped for when the Knicks swung the offseason deals to acquire Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns. But the Knicks still need more and it’s coming internally now. So here are three keys to look for over the final two months of the regular season.

Help from Robinson, OG

The Knicks let the trade deadline pass understandably without a major move. They shifted out Jericho Sims for Delon Wright as the only deal. But after seeing their seasons end in the Eastern Conference semifinals in each of the last two seasons they’ve yet to show that they have progressed. They still lag far behind Cleveland in the standings and trail Boston, too.

So how do they make up that ground now? The Knicks have to hope that Mitchell Robinson’s long-awaited return is worth it, and the lengthy rehab process will allow him to play at the level he was at 14 months ago when he underwent the first of two surgical procedures on his left ankle. If he’s the rim-protecting force he was then, the Knicks will have added a key component to the roster. Less uncertain, the Knicks are also crossing fingers on the return of OG Anunoby, who sat out the last five games before the break with what the team called a mild sprain to his right foot.

Schedule to be stern test

It won’t take long to get an idea of where the Knicks are headed down the stretch. They have a two-game road trip to Cleveland and Boston right after a home game Thursday against Chicago. But it goes beyond that quick trip. The Knicks have the eighth-toughest remaining strength of schedule and in the East it is second only to Milwaukee. In those final 28 games, which include seven back-to-back sets and 16 games on the road, the Knicks will face the front-running Cavs three times and the Celtics, who have already dominated them twice, in two more meetings.

Learning curve at an end

The learning curve for the Knicks went as well as could be expected. The addition of Towns provided a boost to the offense with the Knicks ranking second in the NBA in offensive rating at the break and seemingly growing by leaps and bounds. It’s the additions to the offense that allow the Knicks to consider shifting, at least for periods in the game, to a two-big lineup with Robinson and Towns playing together.

The risk of remaking the roster with Towns arriving just at the start of training camp was that the work of last year was mostly discarded. The roster was remade and new roles needed to be settled on and grown into. At times it has looked as if it is perfected, but the lapses tell you otherwise.

By Steve Popper

steve.popper@newsday.com@StevePopper

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.