With playoff seeds and the Play-In Tournament still up for grabs for numerous teams in the NBA, one thing is for certain for the Knicks: Game 1 of their first-round playoff series will be at Madison Square Garden.
Friday night’s comeback win against the Nets guaranteed the Knicks a seed no lower than fourth, which secures Tom Thibodeau’s squad with home-court advantage for the first round.
The advantage is a huge benefit and definitely didn’t go unnoticed by one of the team’s key contributors.
“Yeah, that’s huge,” Josh Hart said after Friday’s 111-107 victory at The Garden. “You know, I heard the lights are really bright in MSG during that time. So that’s really big for us.”
Hart’s comments sounded awfully similar to Jarrett Allen’s sentiments after the Cavaliers were handed an early ticket home courtesy of the Knicks in the postseason a year ago.
“Even for me, the lights were brighter than expected,” Allen acknowledged a year ago after he and Evan Mobley were outmatched by Mitchell Robinson in the 4-1 series loss.
When asked if the comments were about any particular player, Hart — straight-faced and unfazed — denied it and added: “I just heard the lights are bright.”
“That’s something that we really need. The bright lights in the playoffs.”
Whether Hart was trolling or not, home-court advantage indeed is a benefit for the Knicks. With one home game remaining in the season, Thibodeau’s team is currently 26-14 playing at The World’s Most Famous Arena. On the road, the Knicks have a 23-18 record.
N0. 2 SEED STILL IN REACH
The No. 2 seed is still in reach for the Knicks after the Milwaukee Bucks lost Friday’s matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Knicks and Bucks entered Saturday with identical records (49-32) but the Bucks own the tiebreaker.
The Knicks could secure the No. 2 seed with a win against the Chicago Bulls and if the Bucks lose to the Orlando Magic on Sunday. The Bucks, who are without Giannis Antetokounmpo (strained left calf), are 2-1 against the Magic this season.
When asked if the possibility of grabbing the second seed will factor into who he does or doesn’t play Sunday, Thibodeau said “We want to go through the finish. That’s the way we’re looking at it and we want to improve, play our best.”
WHAT ELSE IS POSSIBLE?
The Knicks could finish third in the East if they beat the Bulls on Sunday and the Bucks win their matchup against the Magic. The Buck would hold the No. 2 seed since they own the tiebreaker over the Knicks after winning the season series, 3-2.
The Knicks would still finish third with a loss on Sunday and a Cavaliers win against the Hornets. The Knicks own the head-to-head tiebreaker after winning the season series, 2-1.
The Knicks would fall to fourth if they lose to the Bulls Sunday, the Cavs win and the Bucks lose. These results would put the teams in a three-way tie. In this case, the Cavs win the tiebreaker since it would finish the season as the Central Division champion, according to SNY’s Ian Begley. The Bucks would finish ahead of the Knicks since they won the season series against New York.
The Knicks’ head-to-head tiebreaker over the Cavs wouldn’t apply in this three-way scenario because the first tiebreaker is the division winner. The Cavs would win the Central Division over the Bucks because of a better record over division opponents.
“We want to be the best team we can be at the end of the year,” Jalen Brunson said when asked about the opportunity of possibly securing the second seed.
