All Knicks

NBA Power Rankings: Knicks' 'Belief & Fight' Reaches Top 10

The New York Knicks are back in the good graces of NBA power rankings after a four-game winning streak.

Jeremy Brener

In this story:

The New York Knicks are surging into spring with a four-game winning streak, the last three victories coming on the road. Monday's addition was a 119-112 win over the Golden State Warriors featuring a career-best scoring showing for Miles McBride.

Entering Tuesday, the Knicks (41-27) are a game up on Orlando for fourth-place in the Eastern Conference and the streak has also moved them within striking distance of the Cleveland Cavaliers for third. Last week's wins also moved the Knicks up eight spots in CBS Sports' power rankings, where they sit in sixth with less than a month remaining in the regular season.

Screenshot 2024-03-19 13.49.42
USA TODAY SPORTS

"'Belief' and 'fight' were two of the words Tom Thibodeau used to describe his team's recent run, which included wins over the 76ers, Blazers, Kings, and Warriors this week," CBS Sports' Colin Ward-Henninger writes. "OG Anunoby missed Monday's win in Golden State with some soreness at his surgically repaired elbow, but it doesn't seem to matter who's been on the floor for the Knicks lately."

"Case in point, Miles McBride got the start in Anunoby's place against Golden State and put up a career-high 29 points and six three-pointers. It didn't hurt that Jalen Brunson averaged 35 points for the week, either."

Despite their recent success, the Knicks are only a game away from fifth and 3.5 games up on Indiana, the top seed in the current Eastern Conference Play-In Tournament matchups. Even with Anunoby set to miss extended time, New York will have to continue playing with that "belief and fight" mentioned by Thibodeau if they want to hold homecourt advantage in a first-round playoff series for the first time since 2013.

Deuce's Wild! McBride Showcase Helps Anunoby-Less Knicks Conquer Warriors

The Knicks finish a four-game road trip on Thursday as they visit Nikola Jokic and the defending champion Denver Nuggets (9 p.m. ET, MSG). Their return to Madison Square Garden features manageable matchups against the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday and the Detroit Pistons two days later.

Published
Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

Home/News