The Knicks look to keep on keeping on after winning six of seven games. After defeating the Bucks on Tuesday, they'll face the Cleveland Cavaliers, Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors between Wednesday and Sunday, making it interesting to see how long the momentum will last.

Let's look at some of the leading storylines.

1. Cavaliers need to assert themselves

Not in a 1990s NBA "assert themselves" kind of way. They don't need to start clotheslining people and brawling; it's as weird trying to imagine Jarrett Allen or Donovan Mitchell throwing down as it was Mark Price or Terrell Brandon.

But the Cavs have some things going for them that a lot of teams don't, starting with their big men. Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley are the literal and figurative biggest reasons why Cleveland is fourth in the Association in defensive rebounding. Most nights, against most teams, that's enough. Not against the Knicks.

New York is second in offensive rebounding. What happened when those two forces collided four days ago? The Knicks won the game and the rebounds went their way, upping their usual haul while holding the Cavs below theirs. Sometimes there isn't a lot of separation between high-ranking percentiles. Sometimes the difference is galactic in scale. The Knicks are in a different universe than the Cavaliers on the glass.

Karl-Anthony Towns is grabbing more offensive and defensive rebounds than Victor Wembanyama. That's not a total-numbers stat, either; Wembanyama's numbers would be terrifying if he played more minutes, yes, but KAT is besting him on the boards per 36 minutes. Behind him, Andre Drummond is out-rebounding the entire league.

The Cavaliers may need to slow Wednesday night's game down, hoping fewer possessions narrow New York's rebounding edge. Or they'll need all hands on deck. You'd probably figure their two leading defensive rebounders, like the Knicks', would be their bigs. But while Allen is first, Mobley is third. Mario Hezonja ranks second.

The Cavs don't even need to win to count the night as a success. A close loss would sting, but at least it'd end their streak of five straight double-digit-point losses to the Knicks.

2. Pacers will be praying for rain

The latest on Tyrese Haliburton is that there is no timetable for his return. The Pacers are also missing Ben Sheppard. Braden Smith starts at point guard, but sometimes sits for whole quarters or halves. The Pacers, a team that's undergone seismic shifts over the past couple of seasons, are not themselves again.

One thing they are is last in the league in offensive rebounds, something they'll want to shape up for their own health in general, but against the Knicks Friday, they have added incentive to crash their own glass.

Indiana is 24th in three-point accuracy. Offensive rebounds create better looks beyond the arc; defenses and defenders are scrambling. The Pacers need to do a better job with their misses so they can make more makes. The Knicks are not a good team to struggle with that against.

New York's dominance on the defensive glass is also why they're among the league leaders in allowing the fewest field goal, two-point and free-throw attempts; if the other team doesn't have the ball, they can't score. Couple that with an offense that doesn't turn the ball over, and you see why the Pacers better be splashing their threes. When the Knicks turn off the faucet, the sink doesn't drip.

3. Raptors better be ready for ragtime

Toronto was one of the chic picks for dark horse contention in the East after taking the Cavs to seven games last spring and acquiring Kawhi Leonard. Between Leonard, Scottie Barnes and Collin Murray-Boyles, the Raptors can throw out a defensive triple threat no other team can. Unfortunately, when the Knicks are in town Sunday for the first of two straight in Toronto, Leonard won't be available.

Scottie Barnes may or may not be, having missed three games already with a groin injury. If the Raptors are compromised at the point of attack defensively—Immanuel Quickley has missed the last couple of games dealing with a hamstring problem—the Knicks are uniquely equipped to take advantage. How many of his cards Mike Brown will want to show a possible playoff opponent this early in the season is anyone's guess.

Between Towns operating as a 7-foot hub 25 feet from the hoop and Brunson's syncopated stops-and-starts and hesitation and footwork and feints, the Knicks can go up and over any defense or jitterbug through the smallest holes in it. Their offense against the Raptors' defense is one of the juiciest storylines a basketball lover could hope to see spelled out over a seven-game series —but with the Raptors likely shorthanded and the Knicks not needing to show their hand anytime soon, we'll probably have to wait until later in the year for the real fireworks.