The Upcoming schedule will seal the New York Knicks fate

At this time last season, the New York Knicks were playing surprisingly well, which for this franchise is .500 ball.

They were riding the success of the Derrick Rose trade, making their mark on the defensive end of the floor, and they scrounged wins with Julius Randle and RJ Barrett at the helm.

Eventually, they were at such a level that they pulled off a 9 game winning streak and ended the year as the 4th seed.

For months now, we have been waiting for the 2021-22 Knicks to look like that 2020-21 version. Unfortunately, we have only seen flashes.

Time is running out for this squad’s playoff hopes.

The remainder of the season will be tough for the New York Knicks

The upcoming schedule for New York is, in a word, brutal. And this isn’t just a rough stretch we’re talking about.

There are very few if any friendly segments over the next 34 games. Not to mention 22 of those games will be against teams currently above .500.

It all starts tonight with a matchup with the ironically red hot Heat in Miami. Currently the 1st seed in the East, they are 7-3 in their last 10 games and 12-4 in their last 16.

Win or lose, the Knicks prize will be a meeting with the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, who are 30-19.

Sounds fun right? Well, that’s not even the best part.

They’ll follow up the game in Milwaukee by facing the mild Sacramento Kings in MSG. However, here is the west coast road trip they’ll go on immediately afterward:

Knicks Schedule February 2-12

2/2 – Memphis Grizzlies
2/5 – LA Lakers
2/7 – Utah Jazz
2/8 – Denver Nuggets
2/10 – Golden State Warriors
2/12 – Portland Trail Blazers

Yup, add it all up and that will be 6 games in 11 days, 5 of which are against NBA Contenders seeded somewhere in the 2-8 range.

Ok, I’m back. Just had a good cry. Sometimes you’ve gotta just let it all out, you know?

Alright, I’m gonna try to pull through now and give you some more bad news.

Remember when I said the Knicks won’t be getting many breaks? Check out who they’ll be facing after that grueling stretch:

Feb. 14th – March 6th

2/14 – Oklahoma City
2/16 – Brooklyn Nets
2/25 – Miami Heat
2/27 – Philadelphia 76ers
3/2 – Sixers @ Philly
3/4 – Suns @ Phoenix
3/7 – Clippers @ LA

New York gets the lowly Thunder right after a battle with the Lillard-less Blazers, but will see the Nets right before the All-Star break.

I hope the Knicks enjoy that rest, because they’ll get thrown right back into the fire when they face the Heat again, the Sixers twice, and the West’s 1st seeded Suns.

Those are the next 16 games for New York. And here’s a tidbit for you; 10 of those games as of right now will be nationally televised.

On the bright side, the New York Knicks have actually been great in nationally televised games, so maybe those contests prove to be a much-needed kick in the butt.

But, if the team continues to play like garbage during the coming weeks, then the entire country will have the pleasure of pointing and laughing almost nightly.

After all of that, New York still has to battle Miami, Memphis, and Utah again, along with the Nets and Charlotte Hornets twice each, and the Chicago Bulls.

All of those games will take place during the last three weeks of March.

Lastly, what would I say is the New York Knicks’ easiest group of games coming up?

Besides the back-to-back games against Portland and OKC in February, they play Portland (3/16) and the Washington Wizards (3/18).

Also, their last 4 games are against the Orlando Magic, Brooklyn, Washington, and the Toronto Raptors, respectively.

So, maybe the Knicks pull off a miracle and find themselves in the 6th seed come April and finish the season strong going 3-1 in those 4 games. Or they just manage to make the play-in and try to win a game or two to make the playoffs that way.

Orrrrrr… they remain as one of the bottom five teams like they are right now, fall multiple games under 500., and become lottery bound for the 11th time in the last two decades.

The Knicks’ chance to take advantage of an easy schedule just came and went. They looked great for about a week but then lost three straight games in despicable fashion to the Hornets, Wolves, and Pelicans.

Reality is staring them in the face telling them they’ve already buried themselves.

To prove they haven’t, New York has to turn back the clock real fast.