Knicks again ready to clinch playoff spot
Knicks guard Josh Hart reacts after scoring a three-point basket against the Dallas Mavericks in the second half of an NBA game at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Tom Thibodeau never likes to look beyond the task at hand, to consider what lies ahead, whether it is a road trip approaching or a playoff berth on the horizon. So it’s hard for him to find the big picture in the Knicks’ season.
But with the Knicks on the verge of clinching a playoff spot for the third straight season, it was worth taking note of, even if it is just a steppingstone to what the Knicks hope is a much longer journey.
The playoff berth has not been in doubt with the Knicks tucked securely in the third spot in the Eastern Conference for nearly the entire season. Still, as they prepared to face the Los Angeles Clippers Wednesday night, their magic number was one to secure the playoff spot, joining Cleveland and Boston in clinching in the East.
“I think what you look to do is you take it game by game and you want to check boxes,” Thibodeau said before the game. “The first thing you’re doing is you have to qualify first. So get that done and you go on to the next thing, whatever’s in front of you. So stay locked in, don’t get distracted, understand what goes into winning that game that night.”
The Knicks have reached the Eastern Conference semifinals in each of the last two season. They rebuilt the roster in the offseason, adding Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges to try to construct a starting lineup capable of challenging the likes of the Celtics.
It’s been more than a decade since the Knicks reached the postseason three years in a row and it was another decade before that that they accomplished the feat.
When the Knicks did it from 2010-11 to 2012-13 they didn’t come close to the 45 wins the Knicks have posted in three straight seasons, and they exited in the first round the first two seasons. And even that team from a decade ago was running on fumes by the end and the roster was stocked with aging players.
The Knicks have managed to hold this together even as Jalen Brunson has missed the last 10 games and still doesn’t have a return date set as he rehabilitates from a sprained right ankle. What the Knicks have built here, whether they get to the eventual goal or not, is something that they can picture being in place for years to come.
“That’s part of the goal, obviously to get to the playoffs,” Josh Hart said. “That’d be a check. Check that box. I think it shows the stability that we’re building, the foundation that we’re building. Now it’s time to build off of that. Clinching would be nice. It shows the good stability and foundation that we’re building.”
Madison Square Garden chairman James Dolan, speaking earlier this month on “The Roommates Show” podcast hosted by Hart and Brunson, talked about the longevity and the window that this roster build has created.
“We have a team that’s going to be together for a while,” Dolan said on the podcast. “Leon [Rose] has done a good job of lining up the contracts. So this isn’t our only season. So we’re going to play a bunch of seasons together. You take a look at teams like Boston that have played together, they get to draw off something that they built off that period of time. And for this team, that’s really the challenge today, going into the playoffs. It’s to build that inside of the team, something that we can draw on. In order to do that, the first thing you have to have is belief that you can win, that you can win the championship.”
Notes & quotes: Deuce McBride was held out for a third straight game with a groin strain . . . Jeff Van Gundy, who joined the Clippers staff this season, was not with the team because of a family medical issue. Clippers coach Ty Lue was effusive in what Van Gundy has brought to the team. “He’s meant a lot. I think defensively, having that no-nonsense attitude, bringing in things differently that we haven’t done in the past, [being] active on defense to create more steals so we can get out in transition. And then just every day, just grabbing two or three guys, taking them to his office, showing them film, being there every day. He enjoys the grind of it. He’s been really good for us. Our thoughts, prayers are going out to him and his family right now with what they’re going through right now.”
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.
