This is the easy part.
The Knicks, who went 3-1 on road trips against the Western Conference, returned home on Friday and played four straight games against all teams eligible for the lottery.
Two of those games will be at MSG, against the Nets on Saturday, against the Pistons on Monday, and then against Toronto and San Antonio.
Based on records, this might be the easiest four-game stretch on the Knicks’ schedule.
But there were also injuries to consider, with OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson and Julius Randle sidelined once again.
What’s more, they respond quickly.
They fly to New York on Friday after a 10-day road trip, with Saturday’s interdistrict game tip-off at 1 p.m.
The Knicks (41 wins, 28 losses), fifth in the East, will enter the matchup with a half-game difference from fourth place Orlando (42 wins, 28 losses) and two games from third place Cleveland (43 wins, 26 losses). .
The Nets (26 wins, 44 losses), who have been a huge failure this season, have lost five straight.
On the road trip, New York defeated Portland, Sacramento, and Golden State before losing to the Nuggets.
“It’s definitely a foundational piece,” Jalen Brunson said. “But you’re only as good as your last game, so we have to go back and regroup and get ready for Brooklyn. The road trip was definitely a success, but we still have to You can learn.”
With just over three weeks and 13 games remaining in the regular season, Randle is still waiting to hear back and is “trying to strengthen his shoulder,” Tom Thibodeau said.
“Some days were better than others,” the coach added. “But if you just keep trying, you never know when things will change. So that’s how we have to approach it.”
Randle accompanied the Knicks on their four-game road trip, but Thibodeau’s regular update said the power forward has been suffering from “minor pad contact” for about three weeks.
Randall dislocated his shoulder in late January, but there is a high chance he will re-injure it and end up needing surgery.
Randle chose not to have surgery, or at least postpone it, because he wanted to return this season.
He will be sidelined from Saturday’s game against the Nets, marking his 24th straight year as a DNP, according to the injury report.
“[He’s] I’m just working out,” Thibodeau said. “That’s all.”
Anunoby, who Thibodeau called “day-to-day,” will miss his third consecutive game after leaving the team on the road to undergo an MRI on his surgically repaired elbow.
Anunoby’s elbow “flares up,” but an MRI scan showed no abnormalities, Thibodeau said.
Isaiah Hartenstein’s game has progressed in two areas recently.
One was his health, which was a concern due to pain in his Achilles tendon.
Although he is still on a time limit, the center’s explosive power and physicality seem to have returned to pre-injury levels.
Hartenstein’s dunk on Michael Porter Jr. on Thursday was the most recent memory.
Another area is playmaking, which has seen an uptick in scoring over the past two games as Thibodeau grows accustomed to expanding his offensive role and using Hartenstein.
In particular, Hartenstein utilizes floaters.
“It’s just getting more attention,” said Hartenstein, who dropped 20 points in the loss to the Nuggets. “Sometimes, especially last year, maybe five or 10 games, we just didn’t have a consistent look. So now we’ve just gotten a consistent look and Thisbus is wondering how that works. So we started playing off the elbow and playing in the pocket. So it’s like I’m playing myself, which I’ve always done, but now It’s just getting more attention.”
