NBA 2019-20: 3 reasons why New York Knicks can make the playoffs next season

After the NBA draft left the city of New York in deep despair due to missing out on Zion, they had to find solace in a prospect that was not too far behind in terms of talent and athleticism. With a roster led by Duke enigma RJ Barrett, quality basketball at the Madison Square Garden just might be around the corner.

This past season, David Fizdale and Co. could only afford 17 wins in 82 games, ending up with the worst record in the Eastern Conference. Nevertheless, despite missing out on Irving and Durant -- who flocked to Brooklyn -- many have projected respectable competition from this team in the upcoming 2019-20 campaign.

Let's make sense as to why the new-look Knicks squad could be playing more than 82 games next year.

#3 New York have some much-needed depth on their roster after a long time

The Knicks are still devoid of one legit superstar.

The front office had one major goal to accomplish during the off-season and that was to bolster the team's three-point shooting. By signing Ellington, career 38 percent 3-point shooter, and Bullock, a good defender who has shot 39.2 percent in his career from 3, they made sure that Fizdale's club will surely improve from a miserable 33.9 percent show from deep (third-worst in the league) during the 2018-19 campaign.

“The Knicks did an excellent job of becoming a little better than mediocre,’’ one NBA scout told The Post. “They’ll be more competitive. They added some nice players, but of course you need stars.”

Coming into free agency, NY did not house a single power forward under contract nor a backup center. They ticked that box by shaking hands with Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson, and more importantly, Julius Randle. The latter's progressively increasing numbers culminated in averages of 21.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game this past season with the Pelicans.

#2 Kevin Knox and Robinson are steadily coming into their own

Robinson shot almost 70% from the field during his rookie year.

While Knox averaged 12.8 points playing over 28 minutes per game, it’s fair to say that his first year left a lot to be desired. He showed incredible promise but was fairly inconsistent throughout the season, shooting over 38% at one point and then dropping all the way below 30% as well.

However, he averaged 16.8 points on 40% shooting from the field and 38% from three during the summer league and is still one of the pivotal elements of the Knicks' offense. Only if he could continue to move on an upward curve in terms of his production, his team might benefit in a huge way in the future.

Robinson played in 66 games (19 of which he started in) this past season and managed to contribute around 7.3 ppg in just over 20 minutes of playtime per contest. Now that the Knicks have help, he needs to step up on his role coming off the bench and capitalize on the opportunity.

#1 RJ Barrett holds the key to a franchise-changing year

RJ Barrett might secure the Knicks their first playoff berth in 5 seasons

Starting off slow, RJ picked up pace to end a strong summer league campaign, averaging 15.4 points, 8.2 boards and 4.6 assists per game. Falling in line with elite rookies like Ben Simmons, Donovan Mitchell, and Jayson Tatum, Barrett holds the potential to taste postseason action right away in his very first year.

“For me, if I could give [Barrett] any advice, it’s just to remain who he is and focus on the important things: that’s playing basketball, that’s getting better every day,” ROY finalist Trae Young said. “And enjoy everything else as far as letting everything else fall behind what you’re here for, which is playing basketball.”

Only if he could resist the temptation of playing hero-ball and find a rhythm within the flow of the offense under Fizdale, the 19-year-old can continue his upward trend of play. With the roster deep, especially at the guard positions, RJ has the stage set like never before to take over amidst the brightest lights at the Madison Square Garden.