Marcus Morris
David Zalubowski/AP Photo

Marcus Morris Sr. and the New York Knicks are fighting an uphill battle, but they’re still working towards one major goal.

Danny Small

There it is—talk of the “p” word is back. The New York Knicks are winners of three of their last four and Marcus Morris Sr. doesn’t want to make any guarantees, but he acknowledges that the team is still fighting for a playoff spot.

“We’re trending in the right direction,” Morris said after the blowout victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday. “I’m not gonna go out and say we’re going to make the playoffs, but s—, that’s what we’re fighting towards.

“That’s the goal and we’re definitely trying hard and hopefully, we do make it. If we continue to play like this and we keep pulling together we have a great shot to do it.”

Given how the first 22 games of the season transpired, it’s pretty remarkable that the Knicks can even talk about the playoffs. But in the top-heavy Eastern Conference, New York is only 6.5 games back of the eighth-place Orlando Magic. Crazier things have happened.

A playoff berth is still highly unlikely for the 7-21 squad, but this confidence from Morris is further evidence of the team’s recent turnaround. Winning games in the NBA is no easy feat and even wins against the lowly Atlanta Hawks feel good.

With all this said, the Knicks are staring down an unforgiving back-to-back this weekend with both games will feature Eastern Conference contenders. New York will face the Miami Heat and Milwaukee Bucks who are currently first and fourth in the conference, respectively.

Figuring out a way to claw out a win in one of those games would give immediate credibility to Morris’ playoff comments.

NY/NJ hoops reporter (NBA/NCAA) & sports betting writer for XL Media. Never had the makings of a varsity athlete.