New York Knicks: Month-by-Month Record Predictions for 2017-18 Season
Two of the New York Knicks' division rivals, the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets, have lost key starters to season-ending injuries in heartbreaking fashion. How will the absences of Gordon Hayward and Jeremy Lin, respectively, impact the Knicks' record this year?
The Celts and Nets are two of the best-coached teams in the league. They won't go down easily, especially not against a rebuilding New York team harassed by nagging injuries itself.
So what should weary Knicks fans expect to celebrate in the W column this season?
The short answer: not much.
October Record: 2-4
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The Knicks meet both the embattled Celtics and Nets right away. Despite the loss of Hayward, Boston coach Brad Stevens may find a way to guide the talented Kyrie Irving and the indomitable Marcus Smart to a victory over the disorganized Knicks. However, if rookie Frank Ntilikina (and his troublesome knee) can help Courtney Lee and Tim Hardaway Jr. keep Irving in check, the Knicks will have the advantage.
A win over Brooklyn should come more easily because head coach Kenny Atkinson may need a bit more time to bring his less talented players up to speed.
New York already has one L on the books. The Knicks predictably fell to Carmelo Anthony and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night, 105-84. Although Kristaps Porzingis' performance was exceptional, including a beautiful block on Anthony, the Knicks' 25 turnovers and squishy second-half defense did them no favors.
The continued health of Porzingis and the status of Willy Hernangomez (who was only granted garbage-time minutes Thursday) will make big differences in how the Knicks fare against the frontcourts of the Denver Nuggets and Detroit Pistons.
While Joakim Noah is serving the last 12 games of his suspension, expect Knicks big men to get into early foul trouble while trying to contain Denver's Nikola Jokic and Paul Millsap and Detroit's Andre Drummond and Tobias Harris. Drummond's outrageous rebounding could inhibit the transition game the Knicks have been trying to get going.
As for the Cleveland Cavaliers, while they are still mixing up chemistry with their new roster, they're loaded with talent that will power them over the Knicks.
November Record: 5-10
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After a walloping by the Houston Rockets to start the month, the Knicks might string together a few early wins. They next meet the Phoenix Suns (who kicked off the year with a cringe-worthy 124-76 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers), Indiana Pacers, Charlotte Hornets, Orlando Magic and Sacramento Kings.
The scoring potential of Indiana, led by Victor Oladipo and Myles Turner, could be a challenge for the Knicks' wobbly defense, but all the games are winnable.
Then Joakim Noah will return from his suspension just in time for the fans to blame him for a loss to the Cavaliers.
Noah may need to beg Jeff Hornacek for minutes now his coach seems to have taken a shine to Enes Kanter. The Knicks will need Noah's defense, however, when they run headlong into the Utah Jazz, Toronto Raptors (twice), L.A. Clippers, Atlanta Hawks, Rockets and Blazers. It may be a chilly Thanksgiving in Knicks players' homes. No gravy for anyone.
The appearance versus the Hawks on Nov. 24 will serve as a good checkpoint to see the team's potential. The Knicks have recently played some of their best ball against the Hawks (including a quadruple-overtime loss last year). Securing a W will depend upon which version of Dennis Schroder, Atlanta's mercurial starting point guard, shows up. If Courtney Lee (and perhaps Frank Ntilikina) can force Schroder to have a bad night, it could turn fortune in New York's favor.
December Record: 6-9
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The highlight of December will be the unveiling of the Christmas jerseys.
The lowlight of December will be when healthy Ben Simmons and healthy Joel Embiid ruin Christmas, while my Philadelphia fan husband rubs a Sixers win in my face and my in-laws persist in mispronouncing all the players' names and using closed-captioning that covers the basket.
On the plus side, New York will twice meet the highly dysfunctional Chicago Bulls, who were already headed for misery before Bobby Portis knocked teammate Nikola Mirotic in the face and out of the lineup. Those two meetings could result in wins for the Knicks.
Sadly, three potentially winnable and certainly important conference matchups—versus the Pacers, Hawks, and Pistons—fall on the sore-and-sleepy side of back-to-backs. The Knicks also meet both the Celtics and Nets again, which at this point will have shown how competitive they can be without their fallen stars.
The month closes with an intriguing contest of big men. If the New Orleans Pelicans' experiment with DeMarcus Cousins is successful, then the muscle-bound frontcourt of him and Anthony Davis will be a big test for the Knicks D.
January Record: 4-12
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Hoooo-boy. The dog days of the NBA season will be particularly hard on the Knicks: 16 games, four back-to-backs and a seven-game road trip.
The fun begins with the San Antonio Spurs, the Washington Wizards—who may very well beat out the Cavaliers for the top spot in the Eastern Conference—and the Miami Heat, who ended their 2016-17 regular season with a blistering 30-11 charge. Containing Kawhi Leonard (when healthy), slowing down John Wall, squelching the jump shot of Bradley Beal, stealing rebounds from Hassan Whiteside and maintaining bravery in the face of Marcin Gortat's mohawk (it's back!) will all be difficult.
Even the Knicks' matchup against the pitiful Phoenix Suns, which should be a cakewalk, won't be easy. It is not only the second game of a back-to-back after a night battling out in the Rockies with Jokic and Millsap, but it's also the final game of that interminable road trip. Devin Booker may score 60 points.
New York had better hope to scrape out wins versus the Bulls, the Dallas Mavericks Comeback Kids and the Minnesota Timberwolves, who may be worn out by Tom Thibodeau training by January.
February Record: 4-6
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No big deal. Just nine straight conference games followed by the Golden State Warriors.
By now, though, several of the finest Sixers may have hit the rookie wall (or the honorary rookie wall), so if Hornacek has found workable lineups and built some chemistry, Philly might be easier to take down around Valentine's Day than on Christmas.
The bigger challenge will be the two contests versus the Milwaukee Bucks, twice in four nights. The Knicks might have a Latvian, Lithuanian, Spaniard and Frenchman, but they don't have a Greek Freak. Last season, Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks shattered New York fans' souls with a late win at Madison Square Garden, but the Knicks glued those souls back together and defeated the Bucks in Milwaukee two days later.
The Bucks are en route to being one of the best teams in the conference, and Antetokounmpo is in the MVP conversation already. The Knicks might not be able to, but they should aim to grab one of two.
March Record: 7-8
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March could help the Knicks recover from a long, bitter winter.
Although the MSG court has been more hostile to the home team than the visitors in recent years, the five-game homestand in March might be a happy one for the Knicks. The Toronto Raptors, Mavericks, 76ers, Charlotte Hornets and Bulls will likely all be within reach (especially if the Raptors have already begun to slide into their typically sluggish postseason form).
The Hornets, whom the Knicks meet twice in March, were forgiving with teams that don't protect the ball well in the preseason—a trait that could easily translate to the 82-game campaign. This is good news for the Knicks, who can be a little turnover-prone, but only when they dribble, pass, or interact with the ball in any way.
Nevertheless, Kemba Walker and the Hornets have a knack for dropping Knicks fans' hearts from great heights. Recent memories include a Kristaps Porzingis buzzer-beater-that-did-not-beat-the-buzzer and a last-second game-winning layup by Walker.
April Record: 4-1
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What do the Knicks do better than ruin people's good times?
They end the season strong, play spoilers on someone else's team and outrage a certain segment of the Knicks fanbase for ruining "The Tank."
The Knicks take on the Magic, who might be fighting for an eighth seed but are likelier headed for the pingpong-ball race. The Heat, Bucks and Cavs will have their spots in the top half of the Eastern Conference well-secured and may be resting starters in preparation for the playoffs (although the Cavaliers might pull out all the stops on their regular-season finale in Cleveland).
That would result in a final record of 32-50: terrible enough to miss the playoffs, but still one game better than last season. I leave it to you to decide whether or not that is progress.
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