| It has been a few days since Josh Hart finally admitted that some or all of the cavalry the undermanned Knicks have been waiting on for weeks might not be coming back to provide front-line reinforcements before the end of the regular season.
Hart had said Sunday night the existing roster no longer can operate under the assumption that key forwards Julius Randle and OG Anunoby will be back in time, adding that the Knicks should be "pleasantly surprised" if they become available before the playoffs begin in barely two weeks.
The Knicks just last week were aiming to move up to the No. 3 or even No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, but they suddenly have to be looking over their shoulder in the standings after suffering their third straight loss Tuesday night in Miami.
Tom Thibodeau's undermanned squad now sits in fifth, with the same record as the Magic, who control the season-series tiebreaker. With seven games to play, the Knicks (44-31) also are just 1.5 games ahead of the No. 6 Pacers (43-33) and, perhaps more significantly, two games ahead of the No. 7 Heat (42-33) while also owning the tiebreaker to avoid the play-in.
Randle still hasn't been cleared for contact on the right shoulder he dislocated on Jan. 27, and Anunoby has played just three games in that span after undergoing right elbow surgery, including missing his eighth straight in Miami.
 After OG Anunoby's brief return to the lineup, the Knicks are trying to get him back on a full-time basis with the playoffs approaching.
Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
Post beat writer Stefan Bondy spoke with two doctors who explained Anunoby's updated diagnosis of elbow tendinopathy.
Earlier this week, ESPN insider Adrian Wojnarowski also laid out the Knicks' thinking in not rushing Anunoby back, saying they don't want him "in and out of the lineup" and their plan is to let the inflammation subside as much as possible so "when he comes back, he can stay back."
The Knicks are 15-2 with the two-way forward in the lineup this season following his late-December arrival in a trade with the Raptors.
With all of that in mind, there is no way Thibodeau can even consider shifting away from playing the current rotation the same heavy minutes over the final stretch until the April 14 regular-season finale.
First and foremost, Thibodeau simply isn't wired that way, and neither are Jalen Brunson and the rest of these players.
Especially at a time the Knicks are looking to maximize their playoff positioning to earn at least a top-four seed, even though there hasn't been a drastic disparity in their records on the road (now 20-17) and at the Garden (24-14) this season.
 Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau isn't wired to back off his available players in the final weeks of the regular season.
USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
"The thing is, some teams have the luxury that they've built up a cushion." Thibodeau said after Tuesday's game. "Some teams don't have that luxury, especially teams that have been shorthanded for much of the season."
Still, supporting players such as Hart, Donte DiVincenzo and Deuce McBride have been logging around 40 minutes per night — and at times much more — for weeks.
Mitchell Robinson at least was back in the rotation Tuesday after sitting out the loss to the Thunder with an injury to the same ankle that had sidelined him for more than three months.
Preserving Brunson to some extent ahead of the playoffs also would be ideal, but it is simply not possible right now.
 Miles McBride puts in another lengthy shift during the Knicks' road loss to the Heat on Tuesday night.
USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra glowingly talked about the Eastern Conference player of the month for March in "MVP-level" terms before Tuesday's game, the Knicks' first visit to Kaseya Center since last year's second-round elimination.
But the Heat held Brunson to 20 points on 5-for-18 shooting and 9-for-10 from the free-throw line, even though Thibodeau complained yet again that his star point guard isn't getting enough calls.
There are seven games in 11 days beginning Thursday against the Kings at MSG.
Buckle up.
Today's back page  New York Post
The scoreboard Diamondbacks 7, Yankees 0: The Yankees' new-tack offense was nowhere in sight as they were held to just three hits by Zac Gallen and a trio of Arizona relievers for their first loss of the season. Nestor Cortes took the L.
Islanders 2, Blackhawks 1: On the second night of a gotta-have-it back-to-back, the Islanders rallied on third-period goals from Bo Horvat and Simon Holmstrom. They're now just one point back of the second wild-card spot.
Mets-Tigers (ppd.): Can't lose if you don't play. The 0-4 Mets were rained out, and they'll make it up on Thursday afternoon.
Goodbye, Larry A couple of years before the Red Sox started winning World Series titles again, then-president Larry Lucchino injected himself directly into the next-level ratcheting of the longtime rivalry with the Yankees.
And due to Lucchino, a fitting new nickname for the behemoth baseball team in The Bronx was born.
"The Evil Empire extends its tentacles even into Latin America," Lucchino was quoted as saying in the New York Times on Christmas Day in 2002, after the Yankees had outbid the Red Sox to sign Cuban free-agent pitcher Jose Contreras.
Lucchino, who died Tuesday at 78, was atop the Red Sox front-office hierarchy when they finally exorcized the Curse of the Bambino by overcoming an 3-0 deficit in the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees and then swept the Cardinals for the franchise's first World Series title since 1918.
 Red Sox president Larry Lucchino shakes hands with Yankees GM Brian Cashman before a game at Fenway Park in 2007.
Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
Previously a successful front-office exec with the Orioles and the Padres, Lucchino was with the Sox for three of their four titles over a 15-season span.
The Yankees fully embraced Lucchino's "Star Wars" moniker — GM Brian Cashman even referred to the Bombers at one point as "a fully operational Death Star."
Still, the Evil Empire only struck back once after their failed Contreras signing, with only one World Series title (2009) since.
It truly feels like a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
Ready for takeoff? It's hard not to like the flurry of short-term moves GM Joe Douglas and the Jets have made this offseason as they load up for the potential run centered around Aaron Rodgers they were unable to make last year following the four-time MVP quarterback's Week 1 Achilles injury.
Obtaining proven edge rusher Haason Reddick from the Eagles last week represents a strong move to offset the loss of breakout defensive end Bryce Huff (to Philly) earlier in free agency.
 Haason Reddick joins the Jets from the Eagles to reinforce the team's pass rush.
AP
Reddick, who has only one year remaining on his contract, as well as left tackle Tyron Smith and receiver Mike Williams — signed to one-year deals as free agents — present Rodgers and head coach Robert Saleh with several win-now fixes with potential upside entering the NFL Draft later this month.
Expected starting right tackle Morgan Moses, who was acquired in a trade with the Ravens, also has one year remaining, though Post beat writer Brian Costello predicted in his seven-round Jets mock draft that the Jets will land former Oregon State offensive tackle Taliese Fuaga with the No.10 overall selection.
Assuming Rodgers is healthy, consider this the Jets' do-over for last year's 7-10 disappointment, with both the chance to challenge in the AFC East and the flexibility to reshape much of the roster next offseason if things go awry yet again.
See also: The first Giants seven-round mock draft
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