The Knicks started hot after acquiring Josh Hart in a trade with a 9 game winning streak. The Knicks had this streak going where Randle won Eastern player of the week, but since then he and the rest of the team have cooled down a little. 

JJ Redick, former Nba player is now playing various roles in the Nba as an announcer, on talk shows like First Take and he has his own podcast where he talks about the NBA. JJ has had lots of interest in the Knicks recent success and has commented a ton on them. He said this on his podcast following the game he covered in Boston, “I think the Knicks are legit…. Knick fans should be excited… Best team they’ve had in a long long time.” JJ had lots of great things to say about Josh Hart, he talked about the impact he’s made with his shooting and ability to make plays such as offensive rebounding, loose balls, drawing fouls. He called Hart a great “asset” to have on the team. https://www.nba.com/knicks/photos/knicks-on-the-court-march-18-vs-nuggets

Last year the Knicks finished as an 11 seed a record of 8 games below .500. With the offseason addition of Jalen Brusnon he has arguably been the Knicks most important player. Although Julius Randle was an all-star and Brunson was not, many people have said he should have been an all-star. Brunson has averaged just under 24 points a game this season with 6 assists. The Knicks finally have a point guard to run the offense and handle the ball which was definitely something they were missing last year.

We have seen the Knicks success during this regular season but now the question is can they go anywhere in this playoffs or even win one series. With the regular season over, the Knicks will play the Cavaliers in the first round with the Cavs having home court advantage. The Cavs have been having a great season especially with the addition of all-star Donavon Mitchell. There are many key matchups in this game, both teams have star playmaking point guards that are also threats to score in Darius Garland and Jalen Brunson. The Cavs have an all-defense caliber player in Evan Mobley to guard Julius, the Knicks will most likely try and get mismatches by getting Mobley on Brunson and a guard on Randle. Both teams have solid rim protectors at center with Jarrett Allen and Mitchell Robinson. Josh Hart could be the difference maker coming off the bench to guard Donovan Mitchell, the Cavs leading scorer. The Knicks will need Six man of the year candidate Immanuel Quickley to really step up off the bench to win this series. This series is very evenly matched and it will be very interesting to see this series happen. 

With the jump the Knicks have taken this season going from an 11 seed to 5 seed currently, it seems they are just one star away from being a serious contender. Former 3rd overall pick R.J Barrett has not developed into the star the Knicks thought he would. He is still only 22 and has been a good player but hasn’t turned into the all-star he was expected to yet. Due to this, it looks like the chance of the Knicks getting another star is increasing and a lot of it depends on how well they do this postseason. Whether they try to acquire this star in free agency or possibly trading a player like Barrett for a proven all-star is unknown. This past trade deadline there were lots of rumors they would land Zach Lavine but it never happened. Now with 2 stars on the team and expectations growing, there is a great chance that the Knicks go after a 3rd star this offseason.

Photo from: https://www.nba.com/knicks/photos/knicks-on-the-court-march-18-vs-nuggets