{"id":607179,"date":"2026-02-17T00:12:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T00:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/607179\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T00:12:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T00:12:15","slug":"knicks-face-grueling-schedule-out-of-all-star-break","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/607179\/","title":{"rendered":"Knicks face grueling schedule out of All-Star break"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Knicks<\/a> won\u2019t be able to ease back into action after the All-Star break<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A loaded schedule awaits the Knicks, beginning with Thursday night\u2019s marquee matchup with the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n

That kicks off an 11-game gauntlet in which the Knicks face eight teams currently in playoff position and three others within striking distance of a play-in spot.<\/p>\n

The opponents include each of the top five teams in the Western Conference standings, as well as three of the top five in the East.<\/p>\n

The grueling stretch includes seven road games and two back-to-backs.<\/p>\n

All of that offers another pre-playoff litmus test for the Knicks (35-20), who are currently third in the East and seek to build on last year\u2019s trip to the Eastern Conference Finals.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou never want to look ahead,\u201d Jalen Brunson said during his All-Star press conference in Los Angeles, reflecting on what he learned from last year\u2019s run.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to focus on the task in front of you. I think most importantly, after last year, you can\u2019t just jump right back into where we were. You\u2019ve got to [go through] the journey all over again, so taking it one day at a time.\u201d<\/p>\n

First up is Thursday\u2019s heavyweight bout with the Pistons (40-13), who defeated the Knicks in blowout fashion in the teams\u2019 first two meetings, both in Detroit.<\/p>\n

The Knicks were without Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby in this month\u2019s 118-80 loss in Motor City, though the Pistons were missing All-Star center Jalen Duren.<\/p>\n

Towns has since returned to the Knicks, but Duren \u2014 and backup center Isaiah Stewart \u2014 will miss Thursday\u2019s rematch as they serve suspensions for their roles in a fight in Charlotte last week.<\/p>\n

The Knicks have not said whether Anunoby will return Thursday from the toenail avulsion that\u2019s kept him out since Feb. 4.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, the Knicks are set to host the Houston Rockets (33-20) before beginning a three-game road trip against the Chicago Bulls (24-31), Cleveland Cavaliers (34-21) and Milwaukee Bucks (23-30).<\/p>\n

The Knicks return home to face Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs (38-16) on March 1 in a rematch of the NBA Cup final.<\/p>\n

From there, the Knicks visit the Toronto Raptors (32-23) on March 3 before hosting the NBA-best Oklahoma City Thunder (42-14) on March 4.<\/p>\n

The Knicks then head west to begin a five-game road trip, starting with trips to Denver (35-20) and then Los Angeles to face the Lakers (33-21) and Clippers (26-28).<\/p>\n

A March 11 visit to Utah is the Knicks\u2019 next game against an NBA cellar-dweller.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a process, and we\u2019re gonna [improve], we\u2019re gonna take a step back, [and] we\u2019ve got to figure it out,\u201d head coach Mike Brown said after the Knicks\u2019 138-89 win in Philadelphia before the All-Star break.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why there\u2019s coaching. That\u2019s why there\u2019s practice. That\u2019s why there\u2019s shootaround. That\u2019s why we have those guys in the locker room that we have.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thursday could mark the Knicks debut of forward Jeremy Sochan, who signed a minimum contract<\/a> after being waived by the Spurs last week.<\/p>\n

The Spurs selected Sochan, 22, with the No. 9 pick in the 2022 draft, but he fell out of their rotation before they parted ways.<\/p>\n

Known for his defense, Sochan is the latest newcomer on a Knicks team that also acquired scrappy point guard Jose Alvarado before this month\u2019s trade deadline.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think those two are gonna be real big game-changers for us,\u201d Towns said during his All-Star press conference. \u201cThey\u2019re gonna do what they do the best, and I think it\u2019s gonna help us get some wins when it feels like we\u2019re just not gonna get one those nights.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Brooklyn-born Alvarado, 27, has already made his presence felt, averaging 14.0 points, 3.7 assists and 2.3 steals off the bench through three games with the Knicks. That includes a 26-point eruption in which Alvarado made eight 3-pointers in Philadelphia<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Knicks hope for a similarly strong start from the 6-8 Sochan, who averages 10.4 points per game for his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cVery excited to see him,\u201d Brunson said. \u201cI think he brings a level of toughness. From what I\u2019ve seen, he\u2019s been a great teammate. Very excited. It\u2019s a great opportunity for us and for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

WARREN TO WESTCHESTER<\/p>\n

T.J. Warren<\/a> is back in the Knicks\u2019 organization.<\/p>\n

The veteran forward is rejoining the Knicks\u2019 G League affiliate via his returning rights, the team announced Monday.<\/p>\n

Warren appeared in 21 games with the Westchester Knicks last season, averaging 22.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game.<\/p>\n

The 32-year-old Warren has not appeared in an NBA game since the 2023-24 season, when he was a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves.<\/p>\n

Warren has averaged 14.3 points per game over nine NBA seasons with the Phoenix Suns, Indiana Pacers, Nets and T-Wolves.<\/p>\n

PAYNE TO PHILLY<\/p>\n

A familiar face is set to join a Knicks rival, as guard Cameron Payne is signing a rest-of-season contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, according to NBA insider Marc Stein<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Payne had spent this season with the Serbian team Partizan Belgrade, which confirmed<\/a> Monday that it reached a buyout with the veteran.<\/p>\n

The 31-year-old Payne spent last season with the Knicks, appearing in 72 regular season games and 14 more in the playoffs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Knicks won\u2019t be able to ease back into action after the All-Star break. A loaded schedule awaits…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":607180,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3773],"tags":[7,306,296,188,3860,288,2724,11053,563,304,6,297,211,1368,534,312],"class_list":{"0":"post-607179","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-detroit-pistons","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-cavaliers","10":"tag-detroit","11":"tag-detroit-pistons","12":"tag-detroitpistons","13":"tag-jalen-brunson","14":"tag-jeremy-sochan","15":"tag-jose-alvarado","16":"tag-karl-anthony-towns","17":"tag-knicks","18":"tag-nba","19":"tag-pistons","20":"tag-rockets","21":"tag-schedule","22":"tag-spurs","23":"tag-thunder"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116083080998654429","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607179","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=607179"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/607179\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/607180"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=607179"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=607179"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=607179"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}