Knicks Limping to the Finish Line

With only 15 games left in the NBA season, I'm going to tell you why the Knicks are going to win the Atlantic Division.  Amare Stoudemire, Jarred Jeffries, Jeremy Lin, Bill Walker, and Carmelo Anthony are all dealing with some kind of injury, so why would I think this?

The current standings have the Philadelphia 76ers in first place.  The Boston Celtics tied with the same record of (28-22) in second. The Knicks find themselves third, two and a half games back, with a record of (26-25).

Let's start with Philadelphia.  This team started the season on fire with a record of (18-7).  The Sixers have lost their winning ways going (8-15) since February 15th.  A team once under the radar became a team with a bullseye on their chest.  Although the schedule is the most favorable out of the three teams battling for the division title, I don't see the Sixers being able to hang on to first place.

The Boston Celtics are tied with Philadelphia for first but they have issues that they have to think about that they can't even control.  That would be their brutal schedule.  Take a look at the teams the Celtics have to play to start the month of April. This is in order, (Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, Chicago Bulls, Indiana Pacers, Philadelphia 76ers, Miami Heat (again), Atlanta Hawks).  If you haven't already noticed, the Celtics will play seven straight games against teams above .500.  I can easily see the Celtics winning only one of those seven games to start the month.

Now to the Knicks.  Since the firing of Mike D'Antoni the Knicks are (8-1).  They also have not let up 90 points to their opponent 8 out of those 9 games.  Defense and accountability are two things that interim head coach Mike Woodson have been preaching.  Amare Stoudemire has a bulging disk in his back and will likely be out for four weeks.  This is not a big deal in my opinion.  Amare looks like he has lost the hop in his step all season long.  It could be his knees that everyone knows were an issue the day the Knicks signed Stoudemire.  His defense is below average to put it nicely and the Knicks are much better defensively without him.  Another interesting note is that the Knicks are (8-1) when Stoudemire doesn't play.  The Knicks might be finding their game at the right time of the year.  Coach Woodson has a huge task at hand with this team, but I do think they will finish first in the Atlantic.

Winning the Atlantic Division is a big deal for these three teams because it will give them the four seed in the playoffs.  That means avoiding the two power house teams Miami and Chicago.  It will certainly be an exciting race to the finish line.