Knicks Fall in Latest Power Rankings

The New York Knicks are trying to play their best basketball at the right time as the playoffs get closer, and unfortunately for them, that hasn't been the case.

Bleacher Report writer Andy Bailey has the Knicks dropping in his latest power rankings from No. 6 to 8, two spots lower than the previous edition.

"The New York Knicks were blown out by the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday. And much of the recent media coverage of the team has felt negative," Bailey writes.

"Tom Thibodeau's rotations (and the heavy minutes load he's put on players like Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart), an uninspiring defense and each individual loss has gotten plenty of attention.

"On balance, though, New York has actually been pretty solid without arguably its best player, Jalen Brunson.

"If any team went 8-6 without its primary creator, as the Knicks have, it'd likely be pretty satisfied. Add in Bridges, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns generally rising to the challenge of replacing Brunson's scoring, and it's not hard to sell the last few weeks as a success."

The teams that rank ahead of the Knicks are the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Knicks have not played their best because Brunson has been out with an ankle sprain, but he is expected to play in about four of the team's final six games in order to get to that 65-game minimum to qualify for the All-NBA teams and major awards.

Brunson's primary focus in these final handful of games is to get ready for the postseason, where the Knicks are slated to be the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference playoff picture.