Knicks Fall in Latest Power Rankings

The New York Knicks are hoping to erase their past two games, both of which ended in losses to the Oklahoma City Thunder and Chicago Bulls on back-to-back nights.

The losses prompted NBA.com writer John Schuhmann to drop the Knicks one spot in his latest power rankings. After starting the week at No. 3, the Knicks moved down to No. 4.

“The Knicks’ nine-game winning streak came to an end with a second-half collapse in Oklahoma City on Friday. They’re not the only team to suffer that fate at the Paycom Center last week, but had another collapse in Chicago just 24 hours later,” Schuhmann writes.

“The Knicks will play 12 of their next 14 games at home, they’ll have a rest advantage when they host the Magic on Monday, and they’ll get another shot at the Thunder on Friday night.”

The teams ranking higher than the Knicks were the Boston Celtics, Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder, who won their 30th game on Sunday.

The Knicks are 24-12, so they aren’t totally far off, but there is still a considerable gap between them and the top two teams in the league.

The Knicks are not in a position to where they need to panic, especially considering how many games they will be playing at Madison Square Garden in the near future. This will give the Knicks plenty of time to establish themselves and gain an even bigger lead on the teams that are trying to chase them in the Eastern Conference.

This week, the Knicks have another meeting against the Orlando Magic before hosting the rebuilding Toronto Raptors on Wednesday, the aforementioned Thunder on Friday and Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks for a matinee game on Sunday.

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