Move Over Celtics? Knicks Continue to Play Like Top Dogs in East

If the New York Knicks keep up their current pace of play, the Boston Celtics' spot atop the Eastern Conference could be threatened.

Adversity has hit the New York Knicks time and time again during the 2023-24 season.

Whether it was potentially losing starting center Mitchell Robinson for the season, trading away two young guards in RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley, or even watching All-Star Julius Randle abscond to the locker room in a late win, the basketball gods have apparently prepared their toughest challenges for the Knickerbockers.

New York has been more than happy to accept the call each time.

Saturday afternoon's 125-109 win over the Miami Heat, less than 48 hours after a 38-point demolition of the defending champion Denver Nuggets, was more than the Knicks announcing themselves as a top team in the Eastern Conference and more than Jalen Brunson continuing to show that he's one of the best guards in basketball.

Bittersweet as it was thanks to Randle's early exit, Saturday's win was a message to every team that currently sits above the Knicks (29-17) on the Eastern Conference leaderboard.

Bob DeChiara, USA TODAY SPORTS

New York is 12-2 since they traded for OG Anunoby and one can't claim they're fattening up on subpar competition: among their victims are the Nuggets, Philadelphia 76ers, and Minnesota Timberwolves - all teams with championship aspirations. While the Heat has frozen up in the new year, an emphatic victory on Saturday no doubt offered a hint of euphoria after Miami ended the Knicks' championship dreams last season.

Vocal as they were, the recent victories could serve as unspoken warnings to the Knicks' ultimate enemy: the Boston Celtics.

Fresh off another disappointment in the conference final, Boston has been the most dominant team in basketball all year: the Celtics are 35-11 atop the Eastern Conference and own a 20-2 record at home. Entering Sunday play, they own a three-game lead over Milwaukee for the Eastern Conference's top seed and are 2.5 ahead of Oklahoma City for the Association's best record.

As good as the Celtics have looked though, the Knicks are playing even better basketball of late. The aforementioned 12-2 mark in the new calendar year (the Association's best in that span) has been a clear sign that they aren't too far off from truly competing for an Eastern Conference championship anytime soon.

Sure, Boston is 3-0 against New York this season, but the Knicks (3-1 against the hated Heat last year) know the concept of throwing records out the window come the spring all too well. Each of those Boston victories also feels like ancient history considering they were earned before Dec. 30's fateful trade with the Raptors that yielded Anunoby in exchange for homegrown talents Barrett and Quickley. 

Another arrival from that deal, Precious Achiuwa, came up big in the wake of an injury to Robinson's replacement Isaiah Hartenstein and could be asked to do so again if Randle is forced to miss any extended action. Such resilience could prove to be an x-factor if when the Knicks are called upon to battle Boston.

If the standings remain the same as they are now ... and presuming they each handle business in the opening round ... the Knicks and Celtics will meet in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. With the way things are going, there's an excellent chance that the Knicks would not only stay with the Boston juggernaut but match up well enough to beat the Celtics in a seven-game series.

Will it be difficult? Of course. Are the Celtics going to be favored for a reason? Absolutely.

Sixth in the City; Heat Burned by Brunson as Knicks Win Again

But if there's one thing this current Knicks group is showing is that they can beat absolutely everyone and have the muscle now to finally blow through some of the best teams in the Eastern Conference and beyond.

It may seem like a long shot on paper, but the team style of play the Knicks employ might just be the absolute best thing to combat a star-studded Celtics lineup.