Following a statement win on the road over the East-leading Boston Celtics on Thursday, the New York Knicks have a top-10 net rating and are within striking distance of home-court advantage for the first round of the playoffs.

A few months ago, forecasting this would've seemed foolhardy.

There was a lot of second-guessing of the Knicks this summer.

For most of the offseason, they seemed like the front-runners to land Donovan Mitchell. At times, it felt like the former Utah Jazz superstar being in New York was a foregone conclusion.

Then, the Cleveland Cavaliers swooped in at the eleventh hour, acquired Mitchell and put him in the position that helped him secure his first All-Star start this season.

The Knicks, meanwhile, began the season with Evan Fournier as their starting 2, stumbled out of the gates (they were 10-13 in early December) and stumbled into more questioning on the Mitchell front.

Why didn't they just pull the trigger on the deal? Why did they put so much value on RJ Barrett? Was Danny Ainge just trying to stick it to New York?

And the hypothetical that perhaps stung the most:

Just imagine if Donovan Mitchell was playing like this for the Knicks and in Madison Square Garden.

Yeah, that one hurts. Because of course this version of Mitchell—the one who's putting up 28.3 points, 4.8 assists and 3.8 threes while shooting 39.6 percent from three—would be electrifying in MSG. And if he was the leader of a trio that included Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson, New York might be in the hunt for more than extra home games in the first round.

But "what ifs" are just that. There's no way to know if Mitchell would've reached quite the same level with Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau. There's no way to know how he might've jelled (or not jelled) with Randle and Brunson.

And while Mitchell's red-hot start and New York's lukewarm one threw everyone off the Knicks scent, they've quietly been good since Quentin Grimes took Fournier's spot in the starting five.

When the "does all the little things" shooter is on the floor with the other four starters—Brunson, RJ Barrett, Randle and Mitchell Robinson (who'll be out for at least four weeks with a broken thumb)—the Knicks are plus-8.1 points per 100 possessions.

Even without Mitchell, New York has established itself as a strong bet to make the playoffs. And not making any of the potential deals that were floating around the internet this summer means all those assets are still in the Knicks' control.

Between now and the trade deadline, they can package some of them for a floor-raiser who'll still allow Randle and Brunson to thrive as the primary options.

(Both are All-Star candidates, with Randle averaging 24.8 points, 10.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists and Brunson putting up 22.4 points, 6.3 assists and 1.8 threes while shooting 40.2 percent from deep.)

Few teams are better positioned than the Knicks to be buyers. Fournier has about four times as many DNPs as appearances since mid-November, so his $18 million salary is just begging to be used as salary filler in a deal. Thirty-four-year-old Derrick Rose has basically been mothballed this season, so his $14.5 million can help on that front too.

Any of Obi Toppin, Cam Reddish and/or (depending on how wild New York wants to get) Barrett could be the intriguing young talent some team is after.

And of course, a solid stash of future first-round picks could come into play too.

The Knicks front office can approach the deadline like the 10-year-old version of yourself when your mom or dad sent you into the gas station with $10 to spend.

Ooh, a Bojan Bogdanović. How about an O.G. Anunoby? Can I afford a Bradley Beal?

Of course, the prices on any of the above (or other targets) will vary, but if New York is interested in a specific player, it'll probably be able to outbid just about any other potential buyer.

And the current iteration of the team has proved itself worthy of those conversations and a potential win-now trade.

Imagine the lineup above with Bogdanović and his 41.7 three-point percentage in Barrett's or Grimes' spot.

Or what if teams like the Chicago Bulls (who have Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan), Toronto Raptors (Anunoby), Washington Wizards (Beal and Kyle Kuzma), Indiana Pacers (Buddy Hield) or Utah Jazz (insert veteran here) blow it up?

There are potential upgrades all over the league.

New York could probably justify waiting for the next big star to become available in the offseason, but that approach hasn't proved terribly effective in the past.

The foundation that's there and winning now deserves to be built upon.