Post#236 » by stuporman » Mon Apr 8, 2024 5:56 pm
[quote="robillionaire"][quote="stuporman"]If the Knicks go 4-0 in the final games they can be the 2nd seed, if they go 3-1 the likely spot is the 3rd seed, if they go 2-2 it's probably the 4th seed, if 1-3 makes 5th seed likely and 0-4 they could get knocked all the way down to 6th. The more games they lose, the messier the scenarios get.
The way they don't get 3rd seed with a 3-1 record is if the Bucks-Magic split their two games and win all their other games. If there's a Magic sweep they won't get the 3rd seed with 3-1 if the Bucks win their other two games, the Knicks would need 4-0 to get ahead of the Bucks in that scenario.
If the Bucks sweep the Magic the Knicks get the 3rd seed with 3-1 and drop to 4th if they go 2-2 and the Magic win their other two games. A 2-2 record opens up the possibility of being passed by the Cavs for 4th, but it's slim because they would have to win out to pass.
Going 1-3 or 0-4 really does make securing HCA at risk because of the Cavs soft remaining 3 games, with that if they go 2-1 they pass the Knicks. The Knicks final schedule has set them up to get HCA, it's in their own control and the other team's schedules are tricky.
The one thing I'm watching closely for the playoff path is if the Knicks to get to 2nd and have to face either the Heat/Sixers in the first round or drop to 4th and face the Celtics in the second round. It seems like threading the needle for the 3rd seed would be their best path.
That's just my take on it, looking at the team's schedules they are competing with for those seeds. That the Bucks and Magic play each other twice in their final games actually opens up the possibility of the Knicks leapfrogging those two, coupled with the difficulty of their other games, too.[/quote]
I’d be fine landing 3rd 4th or even 5th. I’d prefer to play the Magic Pacers or even the floundering Bucks over Miami or Philly. And sure, we could lose to any of those teams.
I’m not really looking ahead to the 2nd round. Don’t care if it’s Boston. Winning a first round series will be a major struggle and I don’t think this is a championship team as constructed yet anyway. We had lost 4 of the last 5 games before last night and we are slumping a bit. So if we win a 1st round series that’s a major success and let’s see what we are made of and get it over with and face Boston or whoever. Any second round matchup would be a battle and we can’t duck the best teams forever. But how sweet would it be to even win a playoff series two seasons in a row?[/quote]
Were the Knicks really slumping? If you look at losing 4 of 5 without the context of what actually happened in those games then you would get fooled. They were two shots from being 3-2 over that same 5 games after coming off a 3 game win streak and then beating the Bucks.
They were two shots from being 7-2 over the last 9 games instead of being 5-4, this is slumping? Not even close. Now, I'll agree they have had periodic stretches of games they struggle for various reasons, mostly injuries, but also schedule and an ejection but it's difficult to suggest it's a slump.
I agree the 7/8 seeds this year will be a trap if it's Heat/Sixers and I wouldn't want the Knicks to have to face that trap. Although, I think the Knicks still can take a step forward to the ECF if they don't face the Celtics early, even if their ceiling seems capped this season because of injuries.
This is why my preferred seed is 3rd, I don't know the odds or probabilities but it appears as if that is their most likely landing spot which would also be a step forward in regular season seeding success from last year and opens the path to playoff advancement progress over last year.
If you'd rather see your team fail so you can be right
...you are a fan of your opinion not the team.
?Knowledge is just information stuffed into a mental bag
Wisdom is knowing what to pull out of the bag to do the job
