After fans struggled through over a month of tanking, injuries, and a lot of meaningless basketball, the NBA season has finally reached its final week. Over the last stretch of the regular season, many teams have different priorities. Some are trying their hardest to lose, some are resting players with seeding locked up, and six Western Conference squads battle to the death for positioning in a jumbled playoff bracket. The New York Knicks are one of the few teams with their postseason spot completely locked, as they are on the precipice of securing the third seed in the East. With that said, there are still some interesting storylines for their final four games.
Knicks See All 3 Potential Playoff Opponents This Week
As New York winds down the year, there are several things to watch for. Most importantly, they must stay healthy and rested as they play out the string to be ready for the playoffs. Tom Thibodeau’s group is finally fully available, and he should do his best to keep it that way by lowering minutes and sitting players down. Unfortunately, we know that isn’t his strong suit. It will also be telling to see how Thibs uses the back end of his rotation over the final week as we try to predict who will receive minutes beyond the top seven.
Vs. Celtics Tuesday, @ Pistons Thursday, Vs. Cleveland Friday
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the last four games, however, is how the Knicks fare against the Pistons, Celtics, and Cavaliers. These three teams, starting with the Pistons, are likely to be NY’s path to the NBA Finals if they get that far. Detroit is 1.5 games back of Milwaukee for the fifth seed with just three games to play, making it unlikely they jump the Bucks. They do play Milwaukee twice over the weekend, so there’s still a small chance. Nonetheless, it looks overwhelmingly likely that NY’s first-round opponent is Detroit, followed by Boston in a second-round matchup, then Cleveland in the Conference Finals. Of course, both Boston and Cleveland could lose before reaching the Knicks, but it is fairly unlikely. The Knicks would also have to upset the Celtics to face off against Cleveland in the Conference Finals.
Pistons: Knicks 1-2 vs. Detroit
While the Knicks have struggled with the Pistons this season, losing both times at MSG, they should be fine with the matchup. While Cade Cunningham is scary and NY doesn’t have a solution to forced switches against Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, Detroit is an extremely inexperienced playoff team. Five of their ten rotation players have never played in a postseason game, and none of their veteran guys scare a roster as talented as New York’s. The Knicks are the better team, have a home-court advantage, and have much more experience on the big stage. Detroit will go as Cunningham goes, and it’ll be his first time playing in meaningful games.
Celtics: Knicks 0-3 vs. Boston
The Knicks get an opportunity tonight to lessen some of the burden of their utter domination at the hands of the Celtics this year. Boston has beaten NY by 23, 27, and 13 in their three matchups and has looked to be on a completely different level than New York. The Celtics’ five-out shooting lineup with no weaknesses is a terrible matchup for every team but especially the Knicks because of Brunson’s and Towns’ defensive issues. They’re far too easy to target as entry points to break down the defense, which Boston thrives on to create open threes for elite shooters. NY’s outlook is bleak against the championship-proven Celtics, but tonight is a good chance to create some confidence.
Cavaliers: Knicks 0-3 vs. Cleveland
Unfortunately, for as bad as NY has looked against the Celtics this year, it’s been just as poor vs. the Cavaliers. In the opening week, New York blew a double-digit second-half lead to the Cavs to lose by six but were blown out by 37 and 19 in their latest meetings. However, the last two were on road back-to-backs with a banged-up squad. The Knicks should feel much more confident against this team because of past playoff success, better matchup dynamics, and Cleveland’s lack of a deep postseason run. Despite their gaudy record, NY shouldn’t be intimidated by the Cavaliers. They’ll get one last chance to beat them on Friday, which will also be on a back-to-back.
Photo credit: © Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images
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