Think bigger. That was Arron Afflalo’s playoff message after the Knicks returned to the .500 mark Saturday night with their fourth straight victory, over the Bulls on Saturday.
Once upon a time, a .500 record meant a playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. Not this season. The Knicks, with a 14-14 record, sit in 11th place in the East, due to the surprising turnabouts of clubs such as the Magic, who visit the Garden on Monday. One of the dregs of the past few seasons, Orlando is sitting tied for sixth at 15-11 with new coach Scott Skiles.
“Regardless what happens on the outside, we intend to be a playoff team, wherever that falls,’’ Afflalo said. “It’s a long season. We need to continue to grow. We’ve been .500 here and there. We feel like now it’s a good time to push forward and improve as a group.’’
In the last three seasons following the lockout-shortened campaign, the East’s eighth seeds each finished with 38-44 records to get to the dance. Thirty-eight wins this season will get you a place on the lottery dais. In the Knicks’ case, with their first-round pick owned by Toronto, 38 victories likely gets Raptors GM Masai Ujiri a seat in Midtown in mid-May.
The eighth-place team, Detroit, stands at 16-12, as the East’s top 11 teams have winning records.
“It’s been a quick turnaround,’’ Afflalo said of the conference. “A lot of teams improved, whether internally or free agency. Some teams are doing better than expected. It’s still a long season. We’ll see how it continues over the next month or two.’’
Taken on its own merit, the Knicks’ improvement over last season’s 17-65 wreckage appears enormous, whether it means a playoff berth or not. They are just three wins away from matching last season’s total. However, 11 of their 14 victories have come against teams with losing records, and their next 10 games are against squads above .500.
“It’s definitely not a goal,’’ Carmelo Anthony said of a .500 record. “I’m not really satisfied with that, but at this point of the season, the way we’re trying to jell and what we’re trying to accomplish especially in the East, I’ll take 14-14.”
Many of Phil Jackson’s offseason maneuverings are paying off. A camaraderie has formed despite the nine new faces. Rookie Kristaps Porzingis’ immediate impact has been delightful, even if during this latest streak he has morphed into more of a shotblocking role player. Amid an offensive funk, he is shooting 17-for-57, averaging 7.6 points in the last six games, but not forcing shots.
Meanwhile, the Batman-Robin connection of Anthony and Afflalo has been seamless. The bench — led by last season’s gritty, high-character holdovers Lance Thomas and Langston Galloway — has been a boost. Despite his off-court woes, newcomer Derrick Williams also creates a splash off the pine.
That Afflalo-Anthony have formed a chemistry so quickly shouldn’t be a surprise. Their familiarity from their Denver days can’t be overstated, as can Afflalo’s ego-less personality. Afflalo adds production (14.2 ppg, 49.6 FG percentage) as Anthony’s scoring wingman without any fuss or baggage. He’s the anti-J.R. Smith.
“I’ve known him for a while,’’ Afflalo said on why he fits well. “He’s very talented in so many ways. He makes players around him better, just by the attention he draws. For us to find a comfort zone, and making sure to stay out of his way so he can stay comfortable with his game, will only allow us to benefit playing with a player like him.’’
“You just get him the ball. I enjoy playing with him. He’s not selfish, but aggressive in so many ways. You get him the ball, get out of the way and let him do what he does.’’
This is still Anthony’s team, as certain as Latvia is no longer part of the USSR. He is in a happy place, saying he’s all but over the knee surgery aftereffects. After the Bulls win, he said: “I’m at peace with myself now. My surgery and what I went through last season put a lot of things in perspective for me on the basketball court and off.’’
Anthony is starting to fall in love with this group. Inviting his new teammates in August to join him in Puerto Rico for his annual charity events kick-started all of it.
“I decided to go full throttle with that,’’ Anthony said of trusting his mates. “It’s a good group of guys, personality-wise and from a basketball standpoint.’’
He admitted to not knowing what effect the retreat would have, but now he’s glad he made the bold move.
“That seemed to work for the group of guys especially [because] everyone was new,’’ Anthony said. “I didn’t know what to expect. For me, to offer that and open it up to them, it was great out there.’’