Three ways the Knicks can get January back on track

Yesterday at 01:21 PM

The new year has been unkind to New York.

On January 1st, just two weeks ago (if you can believe it), the Knicks picked apart the Utah Jazz in front of a home crowd. The Knickerbockers won their ninth straight game, and national headlines were buzzing about New York.

Thibodeau had figured it out, they claimed. Brunson and KAT were clicking on both sides of the floor, Anunoby and Bridges were playing like the best 3-and-D wings in the league, and Josh Hart was doing typical Josh Hart things.

The league was officially on watch.

Needless to say, since then, the tide has turned just a bit.

Since then, the Knicks have lost five of seven, including three losses at home. The minutes police have been on watch. Defensive rotations have been a step slow. And bench production has remained at a minimum.

But not all hope is lost. It's still January 14th, not even halfway through the month. If the Knicks want to get this month back on track, here's what they need to do.

Protect home court

The Knicks play tomorrow night at Philadelphia (MSG South). They've been struggling without Joel Embiid, and Paul George has been falling short of expectations.

After New York arrives back home for a Friday night tussle with the Timberwolves, they don't leave the Big Apple until February 4th.

Their next seven of eight are at home, and their only road game is across the bridge at Barclays on January 21st. Otherwise, it's all Mecca. The Knicks are 13-7 at home this year, and if they can continue to build on that record, they should be able to solidify their spot in the Eastern Conference standings.

Some tough teams are coming to town, including the Grizzlies, Nuggets, Lakers, and Rockets, but if New York can find a way to win five out of their seven home games, the ship will feel back on course. There's no cure like winning.

Get a healthy Mitchell Robinson back

Remember this?

So does the Knicks front office.

Despite swirling trade rumors (now a yearly tradition), it seems (for now) as if the Knicks will be holding on to Mitchell Robinson before the deadline.

Of course, after sonning Embiid in round one, Robinson suffered a stress fracture in ankle against the Pacers in the following series, and has remained out since.

Robinson, the longest tenured current Knick, has been dealing with injury struggles for what feels like all of his Knicks career. But when he's able to stay healthy, he dominates the offensive glass and clogs up the defensive end of the floor like very few centers in today's NBA do.

After an original timeline of a December-January return, things seem to be a bit behind schedule. Robinson has still not been cleared for practice. Ian Begley reported yesterday that people within the organization are optimistic about an early to mid February return.

Even if Robinson doesn't return before the end of January, even a return to practice will signal an imminent return to NBA action.

The Knicks could use an extra paint presence right now. If the timeline remains optimistic, Robinson's return (at least to practice) could be the good news the Knicks are looking for.

Keep the rest of the East at arm's length

For all of the drama going on right now, the Knicks are still the three seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Cavs are 33-5. We're not catching them. The Celtics are only three games ahead of us in the standings, somehow, sitting at 28-11. And the Knicks are slotted into the three spot, at 26-15.

Right below us, however, is a plethora of teams hanging around .500, ready to pounce.

The Magic, Pacers, Bucks, Heat and Pistons are stuck in a logjam between the four and eight spots in the standings. They all range from 3.0 to 4.5 games behind New York in the standings.

If the Knicks' slide continues, and one of these teams gets hot, it's conceivable that the Knicks could drop in the standings. The top four seeds get home-court in the first round - the Knicks are comfortably there right now. Let's keep it that way.

As bad as January's been so far, it's not too late to turn it around. We'll see what the squad has in store for us these next few weeks.