NY Knicks: 3 Eastern Conference Rivals who upgraded at the trade deadline

Well, the NBA trade deadline has come and gone and despite a lot of NY Knicks fans and ‘experts’ saying there was no doubt New York would make some sort of impactful roster move, that didn’t happen. While we did say goodbye to Austin Rivers and saw him replaced by 22-year-old guard Terrence Ferguson and a couple 2nd round picks, there aren’t going to be any changes to the rotation of ten guys we see take the floor every game (pending the signing of any bought out contracts).

Yes, the orange and blue didn’t steal the spotlight but that is definitely not the case for a lot of the teams the Knicks are competing with for playoff position in the eastern conference. There are currently just 2 games that separate the #4 seed Charlotte Hornets and the #9 seed Indiana Pacers. A lot of teams took some risks and traded away their future in order to “win now” and try to earn themselves a higher playoff spot.

The NY Knicks will have a tough road ahead

The NY Knicks recently lost Mitchell Robinson to yet another significant injury while Derrick Rose and Elfrid Payton have gotten back to full health. They’re going to have to rely on Rose and Payton as their trade deadline acquisitions and prepare for themselves for a lot of heated games as these teams give it their all to place in the top ten. With the Celtics, Bulls and Heat all making major improvements past the midway point of the season, the Knicks need to get ready for an intensified road to their first playoff appearance in the last eight seasons.