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Trending team: New York Knicks getting hot at right time

Not long after they were left for dead in the wake of a stretch of nine losses in 10 games, the Knicks have turned things around heading into the postseason. Sunday's hard-fought 110-109 win over the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse was New York's seventh consecutive win. While four of those victories have come against teams playing out the string, the Knicks have shown their potential with a pair of road wins over playoff-bound teams (Indiana and the Philadelphia 76ers), as well as the home triumph over the Orlando Magic that kicked off the streak.

One big turnaround New York has made lately has been at the free throw line. During the 10-game down stretch, the Knicks gave up an average of 0.8 more free throws per game than they attempted. In the winning streak, New York has been spending more time at the line, averaging 3.3 more attempts per game than its opponents. Since adding Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks have excelled at drawing fouls, posting the league's fourth-best ratio of made free throws per field goal attempts.

The other major factor that was New York's undoing during the losing stretch was terrible shooting inside the arc. The Knicks made just 44.4 percent of their 2-point attempts. Even the league's most inaccurate team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, makes 46.0 percent of its 2-point tries, so New York was bound to bounce back. Feasting on poor defenses, the Knicks have made a sizzling 51.9 percent of 2s during the winning streak.

Regardless of whether New York ends up facing the Boston Celtics or the Miami Heat in the opening round of the playoffs, the hot shooting will be tested. The Celtics and Heat rank second and third, respectively, in the 2-point percentage they allow opponents. In terms of the free throw line, however, there is a clear difference. Miami takes 4.0 more free throws per game than opponents, while the Celtics tend to be more prone to fouling and have a deficit of 0.8 free throw attempts per game this season. Despite Boston's edge in experience, the Celtics look like the more favorable opponent for the Knicks.

Source: ESPN