3 Reasons Why the New York Knicks Will Skip the Play-In Tournament

Knicks: Home-Heavy Final Stretch

According to Tankathon, the Knicks currently have the 6th most difficult remaining schedule in the league. However, this mainly comes from their tough road trip to finish out the season. New York has a 6-game Western Conference swing where they match up against top teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns.

Outside of that road trip the schedule should be manageable, if not favorable. 8 of the Knicks’ final 14 games are at Madison Square Garden, where the team currently holds an 18-10 record. (64% winning percentage)

Those 18 wins at MSG have come by an average margin of victory of 11.1 points per game.

Additionally, the combined record of New York’s next three opponents is 80-88 which is a winning percentage of just 47%. All three of those games are at home.

Julius Randle has also been downright dominant in Madison Square Garden, averaging 24.7 points, 10.6 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game on ridiculous 47-41-79 shooting splits.

The Knicks have gone back to being an imposing force at home and teams can no longer walk into MSG expecting an easy victory. If they can build up some wins among their nine remaining games in New York it would provide a cushion for potential losses when they face off against numerous Western Conference contenders.