The 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend came to a close on Sunday night, with Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns representing the Knicks in front of the brightest lights in Los Angeles.
Now, they can prepare for the regular season’s final 27 games, leading into a pivotal postseason for the franchise.
Here are five bold predictions for how things will shake out for New York...
KAT breaks out of his shooting slump
This call shouldn’t be bold, but what began as a rough shooting start has become a season-long struggle. Towns is shooting an uncharacteristic 35.1 percent from three on the season, which is his worst mark since his rookie campaign.
During Towns' best weeks he hasn’t put up the volume or converted the attempts he usually does. Even as he’s stepped up his defense, rebounding, and inside scoring recently, his accuracy has dipped below 30 percent the last 10 games.
When he bounces back, the rest of the league will be on notice.
Mohamed Diawara stays in the rotation
The promising late-second round pick continues to earn minutes, and while his big bumps in playing time have come due to various injuries to others, he should maintain a foothold in a fully healthy rotation. Diawara's archetype and potential development are too valuable to leave on the bench, and the alternatives are few and unimpressive.
Diawara brings 3-and-D, and sometimes a little more, from a 6’9” frame that can man wings or bigs -- maybe not as consistently or poised as you’d like for a contender, but enough to warrant recurring reserve minutes.
Giving him burn allows the Knicks' core wings, a group that gets more run and tired legs than most of the team, some relief that Guerschon Yabusele couldn’t provide and Jeremy Sochan can’t provide.
Knicks finish comfortably as second seed
This seemed obvious a couple of months ago, but after a dramatic losing streak, the James Harden trade, and an impressive Celtics run, the East’s pecking order underneath Detroit is entirely up for grabs.
New York's 2-9 stretch may have shaken the faith of many onlookers, but the Knicks remain one of the best teams in the league, statistically and empirically, and will prove that with a big move in the standings to close the year.
New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) reacts after his three point basket with forward Mohamed Diawara (51) as they take on the Boston Celtics in the second half at TD Garden / David Butler II - Imagn Images
The Celtics and Cavaliers will be their biggest threats here. New York has the 11th-toughest schedule remaining, per Tankathon, with Boston’s the fifth-toughest and Cleveland getting to coast to the finish.
The starting lineup changes
Mike Brown has turned back to the same five that the Knicks started under Tom Thibodeau all of last season, before ditching it mid-playoffs. The stats long deemed it untenable, similarly starting well but tapering off this year, with other alternatives outperforming.
However far New York makes it in the playoffs, don’t expect them to stick to these five the whole way through.
A tough matchup, something they’re sure to encounter, will force them to adapt. Luckily, they’ve spent the regular season preparing for those moments, so a shift shouldn't catch the team off guard.
Knicks make the NBA Finals
Some observers may have wobbled on their East pick as this season has unfolded, with Detroit surprisingly rocketing up to the standings and New York’s weak January hurting confidence.
The 76ers look like they can be a real threat when fully healthy, Cleveland has bounced back and upgraded, and Boston might be getting Jayson Tatum back.
There’s plenty of reasons to go with another team, but the Knicks still look poised to be the one that makes it out of this pack. They were two games short last year, have bolstered their depth to new levels, and have beaten all of these teams before.
They should do it again.
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