The final day of the regular season has arrived, and there is little certainty about the Knicks’ opening game opponent.
It could be Jimmy Butler and the Heat, Joel Embiid and the 76ers, and many others.
They could advance to the No. 2 seed or fall to the No. 4 seed.
The only guarantee is that coach Tom Thibodeau’s team will begin the postseason at the Garden.
“That’s amazing,” Josh Hart said. “I heard that the lights at MSG were very bright during that time. That’s a big thing for us.”
This feels like a reference to comments made by Jarrett Allen after the Knicks defeated the Cavaliers in five games last year, in which former Nets center Jarrett Allen said, “Even for me, the light was brighter than I expected.” “It was,” he said.
When asked if Hart was referring to a specific player’s quote from last year’s postseason, he replied: That’s what we really need. A bright light shines on the playoffs. ”
Trolling or not, the Knicks went 4-1 against MSG in the playoffs last year.
They host the Bulls on Sunday, beat Chicago, and would finish second if the Giannis Antetokounmpo-less Bucks lose to the Magic in Orlando.
Antetokounmpo is suffering from a strained muscle in his left calf.
This would be their highest playoff seed since 2012.
“I want to go all the way,” Thibodeau said. “That’s our mindset, we want to improve and do our best.”
If the Cavaliers beat the dreaded Hornets on Sunday and the Bucks lose, the Knicks will be in fourth place.
Cleveland wins the three-way tiebreaker thanks to the Central champs, and the Bucks earn a direct tiebreaker with the Knicks, which would put an end to them.
In that case, the Knicks may have to go through the powerhouse Celtics in the second round. If the Knicks win, they could end up in third place in the worst case scenario.
Predicting the Knicks’ opponents is even harder.
The difference between the 5th place Magic and 8th place Heat is one game.
The Magic, Pacers, and 76ers are all tied at 46-35.
If things stay this way, the Magic will be the No. 5 seed, the Pacers will be the No. 6 seed, and the 76ers will be the No. 7 seed and will face the Heat in the opening round of the play-in tournament.
In theory, the 76ers and Heat would be the Knicks’ biggest challenges now that Embiid is back after missing more than two months with a knee injury.
The Heat showed last year that seeding doesn’t matter. They upset the No. 1 Bucks in the Eastern Conference semifinals, then defeated the Knicks in six games to advance to the finals as the No. 8 seed.
All games that affect the Knicks (including the Knicks game) start at 1 p.m., so we won’t know how everything will go until the game is over.
Their focus is on defeating the Bulls and achieving their first 50-win season since 2012-13.
“At the end of the day, we’re going to be in the playoffs anyway and have to do our job. So it doesn’t really matter to us,” Hart said. “I think we’ve lost to Orlando three times this year. You can’t think about it too much. We just have to make sure we go about our business and whatever happens, happens.”
