Rose wants to avoid a play-in, but it will be tough
NEWYORK— Derrick Rose admitted his ignorance to the specifics of the NBA’s play-in tournament, which is understandable considering 1) it’s new, and 2) it’s complicated.
The Knicks should get acclimated quickly because that’s probably where they’re headed as one of the 7-to-10 seeds in the Eastern Conference.
“I heard about [the play-in tournament] last year but didn’t pay too much attention to it,” said Rose, who was out of the Orlando bubble last season because his Pistons didn’t make the cut.
“We weren’t in the playoffs, and I don’t watch basketball like that in the summer. If we’re there, we have to play those games. But we want to avoid that and just try to win as many games as possible.”
This is all relevant to the Knicks because, as of Wednesday afternoon, they were tied with the Boston Celtics for seventh in the Eastern Conference with the season about 70% complete. They also faced the Celtics on Wednesday night, with both teams bringing a 25-26 record.
“We’re comfortable with where we are in the standings, but not that comfortable,” Rose said. “A two- or three-game slip could end up getting [us] out of the playoffs.
“We’re cautious about that, what we have to do, the urgency that we have to play with every night and just try to play our game. [If we] play with a faster pace and just play together, we’ll find ourselves there. But we’re watching the standings.”
As Rose indicated, the Knicks are in a delicate position. Before Wednesday’s results, they were two games from fourth but also just three games from 10th. The Knicks were also navigating a stretch of four losses in five
games, with the sixth-toughest schedule remaining in the NBA based on opponents’ records.
In their 15 total matchups against the league’s worst teams — the Timberwolves, Pistons, Rockets, Thunder, Magic and Wizards — they Knicks have just one left (at Houston on May 2).
It’s new territory for most of the Knicks, who only have two players on the roster with more than 17 playoff games in their careers. Rose is one of them. He actually won a play-in game to get the eighth seed with the Timberwolves three years ago, and way back in 2010 his Bulls needed a Raptors defeat on the last day to get into the postseason.
He wants to avoid the drama.
“You just don’t want to be in that situation,” Rose said. “So we’ve got to go out here and make sure we take care of business, play as hard as we can and see if we can get as many wins as possible.”
Durant back, but Hard en out: James
Harden is headed to the sideline just as the Brooklyn Nets prepare to welcome back Kevin Durant.
The Nets announced Tuesday that Harden would miss at least the next 10 days with a hamstring injury, a day before Durant is expected to rejoin the lineup.
Harden had an MRI exam that revealed a right hamstring strain. The Nets said he will continue to rehab the injury before being reevaluated.
Hewas originally hurt last Wednesday, missing the fourth quarter of a victory over Houston with right hamstring tightness. Harden sat out two games before returning Monday, only to leave after just four minutes of a victory over New York.
The Nets have had their Big Three of Durant, Harden and Kyrie Irving together for only seven games, with Durant sitting out for nearly two months with a strained left hamstring.