After Wednesday night's impressive road win over the Hornets, the Knicks are now five games back of the final play-in spot with just nine games to go.
That is basically a death sentence, as it would take a miraculous run and plenty of help to get back to the postseason, but don't tell that to Obi Toppin.
"Our season isn't over," the Knicks sophomore said. "I feel like we still have a chance to get into the play-in. that's what we're riding with. We know we still have a chance, so we're gonna fight every single day like dogs and hopefully get a chance to play in a play-in game."
Toppin did his part to keep New York's playoff pulse beating faintly after Wednesday, thriving in a starting role that saw him score 18 points while grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds. He also shot an efficient 8-for-11 from the field and 2-for-4 from downtown, as he continues to fill in for Julius Randle, who is nursing a sore quad.
"It's basketball," Toppin said. "Whether I start or come off the bench, I know what I have to do, and that's use my energy…and just work hard. We've been playing basketball our whole life. All we can do is just go out there and play to our habits."
Head coach Tom Thibodeau has preferred to bring Toppin off the bench for nearly all of this season, citing his energy, but Toppin has shown that he can maintain that energy in longer spurts. He played 40 minutes on Wednesday and was a game-high +19, and in his only other game this season in which he played over 30 minutes, Toppin shot 7-for-12 from the field and scored 19 points, tying a season-high.
The Knicks want to see what they have with their former top-10 pick, and in larger sample sizes, he has shown that he can be more than just a sparkplug in transition off the bench, and his teammates want to see him continue to expand his game.
"Shoot the ball, man," RJ Barrett said. "First of all, he had a phenomenal game today, and huge plays down the stretch as well. Happy to see him have his opportunity and capitalize on it. he's a live wire, man…just happy to see him get more comfortable in his own skin recently."
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