Knicks Look-Ahead: Urgency Needed As Celtics Surge Ahead In Standings

The New York Knicks came out of last week having lost ground on the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference playoff race. If they want to get the No. 2 seed, a sense of urgency will be needed.

Entering Monday, the Knicks sit 2.5 games behind the Celtics for the 2-seed, and three behind in the loss column, and that's with Boston having a game in hand on them. New York finished out last week with consecutive losses to the Hornets and Thunder. No shame there. But unfortunately, the C's beat the Hornets and have won three in a row to extend their lead for the second spot in the conference.

It's a relatively easy slate of games for the Knicks this week, so they'll want to take care of business and go 2-1 in the three contests, at a minimum. First up is the Houston Rockets, the 6-seed in the Western Conference, on Tuesday night. Karl-Anthony Towns will be critical in this game as he faces a tough frontcourt matchup against versatile Houston big Alperen Sengun, who is averaging 20.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game.

After the Rockets, the Knicks will get the Memphis Grizzlies and Chicago Bulls in two very winnable games. The Grizz have long fallen out of the playoff race at 25-49, and have lost five of six as of Monday. Chicago, meanwhile, sold off pieces at the trade deadline and have lost three in a row.

Houston is a tough road matchup, but the Knicks have little excuse to lose to Memphis or Chicago. That's especially true now that they're teetering as far as the 2-seed is concerned. On top of that, the third-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers sit only 1.5 games behind them. But the Knicks are especially in danger of their April 9 showdown with the Celtics becoming a meaningless game in terms of playoff positioning.

Jalen Brunson caught fire last week, despite the Knicks stumbling in the standings. The reality is setting in that they're going to need their star point guard to take his offensive game to another level, and he started to do that, averaging 30 points over his last three. More of that, please.