Predicting the Knicks’ remaining games

The New York Knicks kick off the stretch run of their 2022-23 season Friday night. Let’s try to predict the results for the remainder of their regular-season slate.

2/24 @Washington- W

Coming out of the All-Star break, expect there to be some rust as there often is. And because of that, it can be quite difficult to predict the outcomes of games around this time of year. That being said, New York, with their inferior 33-27 record, should be favored in this one despite being on the road. Look for the Knicks to take a 2-1 season series lead in what will hopefully be a positive start to the final stretch of the season.

2/25 vs. New Orleans- L

Coming out of the break straight into a back-to-back is brutal but a Thibodeau-lead team that is already used to it’s starters playing heavy minutes may actually manage here. The Pelicans have been struggling for a few weeks now so they’ll be playing with some urgency in what should be a closely contested but very winnable game. New York will have to contain Brandon Ingram, who went into the All-Star break playing some great basketball. With a tough schedule the rest of the way, the Knicks will have to win games like this if they want to stay out of the play-in and potentially move up to the fifth seed. Unfortunately, I think the Pelicans come in to the Garden and steal a game from them late.

2/27 vs. Boston- W

New York has played Boston pretty well recently having gone 5-4 against them over the last two and a half seasons. Boston, which currently has the best record in the league, will come into New York looking to avenge it’s January loss to the Knicks, but I expect (half-heartedly) RJ to step up in this one like he has against Boston before. Three in a row. Mark it.

3/1 vs. Brooklyn- W

It seems like whoever is on either team, these matchups end up being pretty close. The Knicks should be able to get another win against the new look Nets but with the newer members of the Nets getting some more time to get acquainted with each other, they should be able to keep the game close and competitive.

3/3 @ Miami- L

This will be the first of three remaining matchups against the Heat, who the Knicks are in a very tight playoff race with. New York was able to withstand an huge game from Bam Adebayo in their first matchup to take a win but Miami may have the advantage here. They’ll be playing at home and chances are Jimmy Butler plays a lot better than he did in their previous matchup.

3/5 @ Boston- L

It’d be nice for the Knicks to win this one and take the season series 3-1 against Boston. But it’s pretty hard to see that happening considering Boston is one of, if not the, best team in the league. The Celtics should win this one at home and may even do so convincingly.

3/7 vs. Charlotte- L

The Knicks will be heavily favored in this game but knowing this team, they’ll inevitably fall to a team they should beat. Consider this a trap game.

3/9 @ Sacramento- W

This will be the beginning of an incredibly tough six-night, four-game road trip that includes games against the King, Clippers, Lakers, and Trail Blazers. New York cruised to a 112-99 win against the Kings earlier this season but they were without their all-star, De’Aaron Fox. Julius Randle often plays well against Domantas Sabonis so hopefully he can come through again and lead the Knicks to a win to start off the road trip on the right foot. With a back-to-back against the two Los Angeles teams coming after this, this will be a very crucial game for them. I see them coming out with some urgency and taking home a much needed victory.

3/11 @ LA Clippers- L

This one is somewhat difficult to predict since the Clippers’ stars tend to miss random games here and there. But seeing as the Clippers will be coming off two full days of rest, it’s likely that the duo of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard suit up for this one. And if they do, it will be a tall task for the Knicks to take this one on the road. New York has actually faired decently well against the Clippers as of late, going 3-2 in their last five meetings but the Clippers will have the advantage here.

3/12 @ Los Angeles Lakers- L

With how good the Knicks have been this season, it’s very possible that they win one of, of even both of, these games against the two Los Angeles teams. But the Lakers, who retooled in a major way during the trade deadline, should be more acclimated to each other at this point, making them a very strong opponent. The Lakers should be in a very tight playoff race that will see LeBron James doing everything in his power to not miss the post season for his second consecutive season. I think the Lakers, lead by LeBron and their recent acquisitions play with enough urgency to take advantage of a Knicks team playing for the second straight night.

3/14 @ Portland- W

New York, coming off of a pair of two losses, finds a way to somewhat salvage their west coast trip by pulling out a close win against Portland. The Trail Blazers, lead by Damian Lillard, often finish the year strong so expect them to put up quite the fight. That being said, I think the Knicks, along with former Trail Blazer Josh Hart, have what it takes to go up to Portland and steal one.

3/18 vs. Denver- L

The Knicks were lucky enough to face off against a Jokic-less Nuggets in their first meeting but still managed to only win by three. If Jokic is healthy this time around, I don’t see New York having the answers to a Jokic-lead offense that quite frankly, no team has been able to stop on a consistent basis. New York will keep it close for three quarters but Denver’s incredibly efficient offense will be the difference maker down the stretch.

3/20 vs. Minnesota- W

Anthony Edwards has been on an incredible tear this season so we can all expect the young star to have a big performance in New York. And there are a few guys on the Timberwolves roster that are candidates to be one of the many random players to go off against the Knicks. But New York, especially if RJ Barrett can get it going in the second half of the season, has a more balanced offense than Minnesota. So even if Anthony and the Wolves starting lineup can match up with New York, the bench should be able to outscore and outplay Minnesota’s. Like a lot of these games, it can go either way, but New York, playing at home, should have the advantage here.

3/22 @ Miami- L

Really a toss up. Both Miami and New York have been consistently inconsistent, beating some of the better teams in the league but also losing to teams they should beat. They’ve both looked really good at times and have looked incredibly undisciplined, uncreative, and dreadful at times well. I want to speak a win into existence here, but the cynical, pessimistic, faithless Knicks fan in me is telling me to hope for the best but expect the worst. We’ll mark this as a loss for now with the hopes that they prove me wrong.

3/23 @ Orlando- L

It seems like every year, the Knicks fall to the Magic in a tragic fashion. While being the better team and favored in every matchup recently, the Knicks are just 7-4 against the Magic since the 19-20 campaign. And New York hasn’t swept a season series against Orlando since the 12-13 season. As much as I hate to say it, this could be another trap game where the Knicks underestimate their opponent and just come out completely flat. I hope I’m wrong, but history says their bound to lose to Orlando in this one.

3/27 vs. Houston- W

Houston has been disappointing this season, even for a rebuilding team. Their young players haven’t all taken as big of a step as many expected and they seem rather direction-less. With the season nearing it’s end, they’ll continue to trout out as many of their young players as possible and the Knicks, who may be coming off of a rough stretch, will do it’s best to stop the losing streak. I expect the Knicks to come out firing on all cylinders and take care of this one early in what could and should be an easy and feel-good win.

3/29 vs. Miami- W

New York could be pretty rested for this one. Coming off of what could be a blow out win and an off day, I believe the Knicks will get their revenge and win the season series against the Heat in what should be a very important game with obvious seeding implications.

3/31 @ Cleveland- L

The Knicks will travel to Cleveland in what could potentially be a playoff preview. The Knicks are currently 2-1 against them this season and a win here against one of the top teams in the east, could be a huge momentum and confidence boost heading into the final weeks of the regular season. I think Donovan Mitchell has another big game and leads Cleveland to a season-series-tying win.

4/2 vs. Washington- W

Washington embarrassed New York in a mid-January contest so the Knicks will have plenty to prove here. But so will the Wizards. They are currently the ninth seed in the east and thus could potentially be in the thick of the playoff race when this game takes place. The Knicks will be looking to solidify a top five or top six finish while the Wizards will be looking to secure a place in one of the play-in games. I don’t see them winning both the Wizards and Cavaliers games but I also can’t see them losing both. Washington happens to be the weaker of the two teams but take your pick...

4/5 @ Indiana- W

Indiana started off the season much like the Knicks. A young, up and coming team, playing with house money and overachieving. But unlike New York, they have spiraled into the depth of the eastern conference after their hot start and now find themselves as the 12th seed in the eastern conference. With just a few games to go, Indiana may sit some of their players in an attempt to keep them healthy while potentially giving some of their younger and G-League players a better look. The Knicks, who will most likely still be in the midst of a tight playoff push where every game matters, should take advantage of that and secure the victory.

4/7 @ New Orleans- L

The Pelicans, kind of like the Clippers, are hard to predict because their stars are so often hurt. It seems like one of Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram is perpetually hurt. That being said, when they are healthy, the Pelicans are a deadly team. With Zion likely being back by then, they could be in the running for one of the last playoff seeds in the west. With some desperation and urgency, they may take the victory against a New York team that may get caught prematurely thinking about the playoffs.

4/9 vs. Indiana- W

The last game of the season is often a toss-up because so many teams already know their seeding and are sitting their stars. Regardless of if the Knicks are fighting for seeing or not, I think a Knicks team with both Brunson and Randle sitting could beat a Pacers team that may be sitting guys out as well. Again, it’s difficult to predict, but I’m trying to speak a feel-good, momentum-building win to cap off the regular season into existence.

Final Record 44-38

Check back in periodically and at the end of the season to see how I did and let us know what you think the record may look like by the end of the season.