The New York Knicks are in a position unfamiliar to anyone who wasn't around for the Patrick Ewing era—or perhaps the 1970s. After decades of inconsistency, New York has officially made the leap to true contender status.
As the Knicks navigate the highs and lows of the 2024-25 regular season, however, there's a truth emerging that some might view as an excuse: Only the playoffs truly matter.
New York is well on its way to one of its best seasons of the 21st century. At 28-16, it's set the pace for its most regular-season wins since 2012-13, as well as the No. 3 seed in an Eastern Conference that looks as winnable as ever before.
Unfortunately, the Knicks are also in the midst of a stretch in which they've gone 4-6 over the past 10 games—thus squandering a golden opportunity to pass the slumping Boston Celtics.
For as disappointing as that may be, the Knicks are finally in a position to say that the regular season is secondary in importance. They'd certainly prefer to hold home-court advantage during what's shaping up to be an inevitable second-round encounter with the Celtics, but there's a bigger picture to consider.
New York built this roster to compete for a championship—making the regular season nothing more than a platform to resolve its issues before the playoffs arrive.
Knicks are built for the playoffs—even more so than the regular season
Make no mistake: The Knicks constructed their roster with the specific intention to counter the Celtics at every turn. That includes a trade for Karl-Anthony Towns that intended to match the game-breaking ability of former New York draft pick and current Boston standout Kristaps Porzingis.
Perhaps most significantly, it resulted in Leon Rose stacking the perimeter with three of the best wing defenders in the NBA: OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart.
The intention, of course, is to throw enough high-level on-ball defenders at Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum to slow them down. It's a task far easier planned than executed, of course, especially when one considers the lack of perimeter depth beyond Anunoby, Bridges, and Hart.
That's one of the issues that Tom Thibodeau and the Knicks will spend the regular season attempting to resolve, however, with Rose likely looking to the trade market for answers himself.
Furthermore, New York was all but destined to endure a trial-and-error period after acquiring Mikal Bridges and Towns, losing Donte DiVincenzo, and trading a ball-dominant All-NBA player in Julius Randle. It's a valid explanation for how a 4-6 stretch across 10 games could come about.
The Knicks didn't build this team to secure the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference, however, but instead to be able to compete across a seven-game series with the defending NBA champions.
Perhaps this comes across as a cop-out that minimizes the importance of seeding in a top-heavy Eastern Conference. It's admittedly understandable to be skeptical, as the Cleveland Cavaliers are 21-2 at home in 2024-25, while Boston went 9-2 at TD Garden during the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
The Knicks, however, have built a team that can travel—wanting to rely on their defense first and their two All-NBA scoring threats second. Only time will tell if it's enough, but the strategy is clear.