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So it's very unlikely we get the 2 seed since the 2 teams we're battling with own the tie-breaker on us, they play each other twice, and we still have a game against Boston in hand...

Ideal, albeit not realistic scenario, is that Orlando/Milwaukee split the games against each other and then they both drop the other 2 games they have. That would allow us to go 3-1 and actually pass both of them and jump to 2.

Good news is both Milwaukee and Orlando have tough games coming up: Milwaukee has Boston tomorrow who has not started resting guys yet. Then they have the Thunder who are still battling for seeding in the West. Magic have the Rockets who just got eliminated but, they have the Sixers who have Embiid back and have won 5 straight and are obviously still in the mix to get out of the play in. That's probably going to be the biggest non-Knick game for us of the season.


Seems like our most realistic/ideal path to the ECF is to have one of the Magic/Bucks falter so we jump to 3. Which allows one of the Bucks/Magic fall to 4 (hopefully Bucks). Cavs go 2-1 the rest of the way and lose to the Pacers so the Pacers keep the 6 or even Cleveland drops to 6. This would keep Embiid out of our side of the bracket until the 2nd round and also avoid Boston until conference finals and possibly the Bucks as well if they falter down the stretch.

Basically the East is a mess but, we're actually in a good spot to control our destiny if we don't screw up the Nets and Bulls games. Easier said than done however.

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Fat Kat wrote:

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do we want the #2 seed? That seems likely to be the team that matches up vs Miami or Philly at this point in the 2/7 matchup.

In an ideal world we go 3-1 to finish the year...Bucks go 2-2. Bucks get the #2 (record tied with us) based on W/L record vs us.

Then we face the #6 seed in round one which is likely Indy or CLE.

At what point does Brunson over Tatum for that last All-NBA 1st team spot become a real discussion?

Brunson is averaging almost 2 points a game more, at this point on similar efficiency numbers, a couple more assists a night and keeping the Knicks in the hunt for homecourt in the 1st round with an injury riddled team.

Tatum will probably still take the spot because Boston has overwhelmingly been the best team in the league and he's their number 1. The difference on defense between the 2 is admittedly large. Most of the NBA media tends to lean pro-Boston as well.

But, I think, at large you can argue Brunson has, individually, had at least as good of a season as Tatum has had.

Mitch is going to take a while to get up to speed, but he was impacting the Bucks defensively last night.

What we haven't seen yet is his usual impact on the offensive boards. That may take another week or two to become a factor.

But when it does, Mitch's offensive boards do tend to keep us in games during funky shooting stretches, so he could be a difference maker.

TKKnicks1 wrote:Props to Brunson but more importantly clear frustration with Doc's defensive game plan. Bucks imploding since the Rivers signing.

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Doc pulled his starters at a reasonable time in the game we should definitely hire him

mpharris36 wrote:

Fat Kat wrote:

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do we want the #2 seed? That seems likely to be the team that matches up vs Miami or Philly at this point in the 2/7 matchup.

In an ideal world we go 3-1 to finish the year...Bucks go 2-2. Bucks get the #2 (record tied with us) based on W/L record vs us.

Then we face the #6 seed in round one which is likely Indy or CLE.

I know Miami is who they are but, I really think with at least an 80% healthy OG and a more in-shape Mitch for 15-20 minutes we are the better team and a much better matchup against them then we were last year.

Point being I don't think we should really be "afraid" of anyone besides maybe Embiid in that play-in race to be honest. Maybe that's cock-eyed optimism but, I think on balance we're still better than most of the teams below us in the standings IMO.

Knicksfan1992 wrote:

mpharris36 wrote:

Fat Kat wrote:

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do we want the #2 seed? That seems likely to be the team that matches up vs Miami or Philly at this point in the 2/7 matchup.

In an ideal world we go 3-1 to finish the year...Bucks go 2-2. Bucks get the #2 (record tied with us) based on W/L record vs us.

Then we face the #6 seed in round one which is likely Indy or CLE.

I know Miami is who they are but, I really think with at least an 80% healthy OG and a more in-shape Mitch for 15-20 minutes we are the better team and a much better matchup against them then we were last year.

Point being I don't think we should really be "afraid" of anyone besides maybe Embiid in that play-in race to be honest. Maybe that's cock-eyed optimism but, I think on balance we're still better than most of the teams below us in the standings IMO.

I'm certainly not "afraid" of anyone. However...we know how well Miami is coached...we know they are battled tested...we know how Bam plays. That series why we may very well come out on top will be a battle and we could lose players to injury.

Embiid and philly are certainly more of a top 4 seed if they are healthy.

So while I still have confidence in playing everyone. I still think its ideal if we want to make it to the ECF to get a Round 1 matchup vs an inexperienced team I think we can out physical and dominate. That would be ORL, CLE, or Indy.

Clyde_Style wrote:

Next time he shouldnt be so eager to rush back from "Injury" to play us.

Knicksfan1992 wrote:At what point does Brunson over Tatum for that last All-NBA 1st team spot become a real discussion?

Brunson is averaging almost 2 points a game more, at this point on similar efficiency numbers, a couple more assists a night and keeping the Knicks in the hunt for homecourt in the 1st round with an injury riddled team.

Tatum will probably still take the spot because Boston has overwhelmingly been the best team in the league and he's their number 1. The difference on defense between the 2 is admittedly large. Most of the NBA media tends to lean pro-Boston as well.

But, I think, at large you can argue Brunson has, individually, had at least as good of a season as Tatum has had.

Brunson is already better than Tatum in my opinion.

mpharris36 wrote:

Knicksfan1992 wrote:

mpharris36 wrote:
do we want the #2 seed? That seems likely to be the team that matches up vs Miami or Philly at this point in the 2/7 matchup.

In an ideal world we go 3-1 to finish the year...Bucks go 2-2. Bucks get the #2 (record tied with us) based on W/L record vs us.

Then we face the #6 seed in round one which is likely Indy or CLE.

I know Miami is who they are but, I really think with at least an 80% healthy OG and a more in-shape Mitch for 15-20 minutes we are the better team and a much better matchup against them then we were last year.

Point being I don't think we should really be "afraid" of anyone besides maybe Embiid in that play-in race to be honest. Maybe that's cock-eyed optimism but, I think on balance we're still better than most of the teams below us in the standings IMO.

I'm certainly not "afraid" of anyone. However...we know how well Miami is coached...we know they are battled tested...we know how Bam plays. That series why we may very well come out on top will be a battle and we could lose players to injury.

Embiid and philly are certainly more of a top 4 seed if they are healthy.

So while I still have confidence in playing everyone. I still think its ideal if we want to make it to the ECF to get a Round 1 matchup vs an inexperienced team I think we can out physical and dominate. That would be ORL, CLE, or Indy.

That's fair and there's definitely merit to that. I think I value having home court in that 2nd round more than I do avoiding certain teams in the 1st round.

If the difference between having a game 7 against Milwaukee, for example, at home vs. away is having to deal with the Heat in the 1st round, then so be it in my eyes. I think we're better than them anyway with full health.

Probably, all moot anyway, because like I outlined in a previous post it's unlikely we can jump to 2 with Milwaukee and Orlando playing each other twice. Somebody has to win those games and either team winning at this point does us no favors in pursuit of a 2 seed.

I think now the hope is that we can lock down 3rd and not get Philly in the 1st round.

Knicksfan1992 wrote:

mpharris36 wrote:

Knicksfan1992 wrote:
I know Miami is who they are but, I really think with at least an 80% healthy OG and a more in-shape Mitch for 15-20 minutes we are the better team and a much better matchup against them then we were last year.

Point being I don't think we should really be "afraid" of anyone besides maybe Embiid in that play-in race to be honest. Maybe that's cock-eyed optimism but, I think on balance we're still better than most of the teams below us in the standings IMO.

I'm certainly not "afraid" of anyone. However...we know how well Miami is coached...we know they are battled tested...we know how Bam plays. That series why we may very well come out on top will be a battle and we could lose players to injury.

Embiid and philly are certainly more of a top 4 seed if they are healthy.

So while I still have confidence in playing everyone. I still think its ideal if we want to make it to the ECF to get a Round 1 matchup vs an inexperienced team I think we can out physical and dominate. That would be ORL, CLE, or Indy.

That's fair and there's definitely merit to that. I think I value having home court in that 2nd round more than I do avoiding certain teams in the 1st round.

If the difference between having a game 7 against Milwaukee, for example, at home vs. away is having to deal with the Heat in the 1st round, then so be it in my eyes. I think we're better than them anyway with full health.

Probably, all moot anyway, because like I outlined in a previous post it's unlikely we can jump to 2 with Milwaukee and Orlando playing each other twice. Somebody has to win those games and either team winning at this point does us no favors in pursuit of a 2 seed.

I think now the hope is that we can lock down 3rd and not get Philly in the 1st round.

I'm not wrapped up too much in HCA. As you see last night we can win nearly anywhere. We have guys like Brunson/DD, Hart, OG, type vets that really aren't impacted home or away splits.

Not having to see Bam injure half our team in round 1 or Embiid flop his way to 30 FT's in round 1 would be ideal IMO.

Also Miami is a good matchup for Milwakuee since Bam plays Giannis so well..so there is a good chance MIL gets knocked out in Round 1 anyway with Spo outcoaching Doc.

HUGE WIN! I don't ever wanna see anyone say Dame is better than Brunson right now. Brunson should be top 3 in MVP idgaf what anyone says!

OG is a game changer defensively. And his steals and stops are so timely too. Hope that elbow holds up cause he elevates this team even without Randle to another tier imo. Breen kept saying the non Brunson minutes were key and he is right and kudos to Bogs for making some shots. That's all we need from him. Mitch looked better but I don't like him diving on the floor. Know your limits big man.

I still don't care much about where we end up. We're still going to have to play out of our minds to get out of the first round again. And if we are as good as we think we are, we will need to play Boston eventually. I would just prefer not to play Philly w/ Embiid and the cHeat. Everyone else can bring it on. Home court or not.

A lot of teams are close in the standings and there are so many variables that it’s tough to say. Knicks just have to take care of business and let the chips fall where they may. Randle aside, we are in decent shape and everyone else appears to be getting healthy and rounding back into form. Of course I don’t expect us to win it all but would be nice to win a series or 2 and get some more playoff experience….def can’t take these moments for granted

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Deeeez Knicks wrote:

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He did actually have a made 3 after the half. Its a miracle!

Gravy wrote:

TKKnicks1 wrote:Props to Brunson but more importantly clear frustration with Doc's defensive game plan. Bucks imploding since the Rivers signing.

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Doc pulled his starters at a reasonable time in the game we should definitely hire him

Kidding aside I thought he pulled the staters too early. I think it was a 10 pt game with 1:30ish left. The mavericks were down 9 against us last year with 27 seconds left and came back and won in OT. They had just made a couple 3s in a row. Sure their odds of winning were unlikely but not impossible. Really felt like a team that has given up in many ways

Deeeez Knicks wrote:A lot of teams are close in the standings and there are so many variables that it’s tough to say. Knicks just have to take care of business and let the chips fall where they may. Randle aside, we are in decent shape and everyone else appears to be getting healthy and rounding back into form. Of course I don’t expect us to win it all but would be nice to win a series or 2 and get some more playoff experience….def can’t take these moments for granted

certainly the team can't play for seeding right now...just personal preference at the moment.

Obviously you want to lock in the non-play in seed tomorrow. Then if it comes down to the last game as we are locked into at least 3 we can talk about the pro and cons about potentially just resting brunson and other key rotational players.