Since starting the season a franchise-worst 1-9, the Knicks have gone 13-11 to claw their way back to 10th place in the Eastern Conference, within one game of a playoff spot. If the Knicks hope to stay there, or move up, they have to beat the teams around them in the standings. Beginning with tonight's game against the Bobcats at the Garden, they play nine of their next 15 games against teams currently between sixth and 12th place in the East standings. "Well, these should be treated kind of like playoff games in the sense that it's a loss for them," Coach Mike D'Antoni said yesterday. "It's a two-game swing. And there's a lot of games like that this month. We've got Charlotte, we've got Detroit a couple times . . . they're not crucial, but they're very important games."