Health and availability are important attributes of success in the NBA. The New York Knicks and their fans are becoming increasingly familiar with this fact, especially after Monday’s loss to the Orlando Magic.

Still, the schedule plays a role, too. Granted, teams receive an even split of home and road games. But how those games are disbursed varies — and New York has had its share of scheduling challenges through the first half of the season.

Knicks’ Coach Tom Thibodeau alluded to those challenges in his pre-game remarks to the press on Monday.

“When you factor in the back-to-backs, it’s been very unusual,” Thibodeau said. “I think the team has responded very well to that.”

Despite a loss at home in Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee against the Magic, the Knicks’ schedule just became a whole lot easier. Including Monday, they play four consecutive games at home. Then they travel across the East River to play the Brooklyn Nets — which barely qualifies as a road game — before returning to Madison Square Garden, where they’ll play eight of their next nine games.

Considering that the Knicks will be able to approach the Brooklyn game as a home game given the proximity to their home arena and how many Knicks fans are likely to be in attendance at Barclay’s Center, they have only one true road game in their next 13 contests (at the Charlotte Hornets).

What’s significant about such a long stretch at home? Playing 12 out of 13 games in the same city means better rest, a more established routine, and more consistent and predictable eating and workout schedules. That’s all incredibly important for professional athletes. But they can’t let their guard down.

“Just because you’re home doesn’t mean you can let up,” Thibodeau said before Monday’s game. “You have to take the challenge of being ready at home now. It’s good obviously to play in front of your home fans. And sleep in your own bed and that sort of thing. But don’t change your routine or the way you prepare for each game.”

Still, the upcoming stretch is unprecedented, at least for this Knicks team. New York has played 22 of its 38 games on the road. Generally speaking, the Knicks are a better team at home — big surprise, right? So far in 2023-24, New York is 11-5 at home and only 12-12 on the road.

But the fans, familiarity with the court, and everything else that goes into playing at home clearly has a major impact on how players perform. The Knicks shoot better from deep at home than they do on the road (38.6% vs. 36.9%), average fewer turnovers per game (12.2 vs. 13.3), and surrender fewer points (106.7 vs. 114.7).

But games aren’t played in a vacuum. The quality of your opponent plays a role, too. And the Knicks have a generous upcoming schedule in this regard.

Beginning Wednesday, only five of the Knicks' next 13 games are against teams that are  .500 or better (as of Monday) — and they have no match-ups against any of the top-four teams in the league. By comparison, 14 of their last 22 games were against teams that are currently .500 or better — and six of those games came against those top-four teams. The Knicks won only two of those six games.

But as mentioned above, health is important, too. Hopefully for the Knicks, Jalen Brunson returns soon. He looked good in pre-game warm-ups but missed his second-straight game with a calf contusion. So, there’s reason for optimism around a Brunson return in the near future, or so it seems. 

If Brunson gets back, the Knicks are even more likely to capitalize on their upcoming stretch of home games. And this home stretch can make or break New York’s season, helping them secure a playoff spot as high as the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. And with the fourth seed comes home-court advantage — something that would clearly benefit the Knicks.