The NBA play-in tournament is less than a month away, making every game count. With that, we’ve decided to give you, the fans, a watching guide.
We’ll post weekly updates so you know exactly which non-Knicks team you should be rooting for and against during the home stretch of the season, with a deep postseason run—and why not a Finals triumph!—in our Knickerbocker mind.
March 15th
To kick off week two of our end-of-season standings watch and rooting guide, we have the reeling Raptors hosting the top-of-the-east
Pistons. Toronto has struggled mightily against the best teams in both conferences, so it will be a difficult task, but just like every other game the Pistons will play from hereon out, root against them.
The other game, besides the Knicks’ very own one, that really matters today will be the Cavaliers’ one. They’ll be hosting one of the worst teams in the league in the Mavericks, so it should be an easy win for Cleveland, but we did just see Brooklyn defeat Detroit not too long ago, so take your shot and hope the Mavericks can pull off this upset.
March 16th
In the two games that really matter on Monday, the Hawks take on the Magic, while the Celtics host the Suns. In the former game, it doesn’t matter too much as the Knicks have distanced themselves enough from both teams. Barring a historical collapse, the Knicks should be safe as the fourth seed at the very worst. That being said, you can never be too sure. While the stakes are lower, if you need someone to root for in this one, go with the Hawks as it not only pushes the Magic down a bit, but also keeps the Hawks’ distance from the hot Hornets.
In the second game, the Celtics enter Sunday with a one and a half game lead over the Knicks. That could be down to a one-game lead if New York takes care of business tonight against the Warriors. And a Suns road victory on Monday could shrink that lead to half a game. Go Suns.
March 17th
The Heat, who are the seventh seed as of now, and the Hornets, who are currently in the 10th seed, play to kick off the evening. Who you root for in this one is completely dependent on what seed you think the Knicks will end up with, and how good you think these two teams are. So let me break it down.
If you believe in the Hornets and think that they could be a scary playoff opponent, then keeping them as the ninth or 10th seed, where they’ll need two wins to make it through the play-ins, may be the best route. If you are a Hornets believer, root for the Heat.
A Hornets win could help keep the Heat in the play-ins, which, if they advance, would match them up with the second seed. If you think the Knicks can surpass the Celtics for sole possession of the second seed, but don’t want them to play the Heat in the first round, root for the Heat. But if you think the Celtics will finish the season as the second seed, and think the Heat, given their experience, scrappiness, make for a tougher matchup for the Celtics, then, root for the Hornets, as New York would then get to avoid playing the Heat in the first round.
After that, we have the Pistons hosting the Wizards. Detroit should be heavily favored in this one, but it could unironically be a chance for an upset if the Pistons decide to rest some of their main guys. Cheer for the Wizards at your own risk.
Then there’s the Thunder visiting the Magic, and the Cavaliers visiting the Bucks. Much like the Pistons and Celtics have been for much of the season, the Cavaliers are now in the “root against them every single time” category, so hope for a Bucks win there, as well as a Magic loss against the defending champion Thunder.
March 18th
With most of the games on Wednesday being between teams that are irrelevant to the Knicks’ race for the second seed, there’s really only one game here that deserves any attention, and it’s the Warriors at Celtics game. Golden State will be underdogs in this one, as they may be, like they are tonight, without many of their key players. But Knicks fans should hope for an unexpected upset against the Celtics here. The only other one that has even the slightest significance to the Knicks is the Hawks at Mavericks game. As mentioned above, if you think the Hornets could make any noise in the playoffs, rooting for the Hawks to win and maintain their spot in the top eight becomes somewhat crucial. If you, on the other hand, think Atlanta poses a bit more of a threat, then root for Dallas.
March 19th
Just 48 hours after Knicks fans have the unenviable task of rooting for the Wizards against the Pistons, they’ll get to do it all over again as the two teams face off again. Root for Washington here. As for the Magic at Hornets game that’ll be taking place concurrently, root for the Magic if you are worried about the Hornets jumping the 76ers, and Hawks to become the eight seed, or think that they could pose a tough challenge for the Cavaliers in the first round. And root for the Hornets, if you think the Magic could catch up to the Knicks. And lastly, in yet another game between a top Eastern Conference team and a bottom-feeder, root for the Bulls to somehow pull off the improbable with a win against the Cavaliers.
March 20th
Friday has two games involving the teams ahead of the Knicks, but they are both ones in which an upset seems unlikely. The Pistons host the struggling, and bandaged up Warriors, while the Celtics visit the struggling Grizzlies, who enter Sunday as losers of seven straight. It won’t be fun, but if you are committed, root for the Warriors and the Grizzlies.
March 21st
While the Knicks’ schedule to end the season looks relatively easy, so do a lot of the other top Eastern Conference teams’. The Cavaliers visit the Pelicans, who are 22-46 at the time of writing this piece. You know the drill by now: root against the Cavaliers, and in this case, the Pelicans. As for the Heat at Rockets game, it kind of depends on where the standings stand at this point, but to clarify what was said earlier, if you want the Heat to end up playing the Celtics in the first round, you just want to root for whatever outcomes end up with them doing that. It’s hard to predict six days out what that’ll be because some of that is predicated on whether the Celtics or the Knicks are the second seed.
Eastern Conference Standings Through March 14th
