Knicks have real shot at landing No. 5 spot in East WIZARDRY
A glance at the Eastern Conference standings picture, just as the final quarter of the season gets underway, reveals realistic, albeit difficult, goals for the plucky Knicks:
Stay above the Heat, and climb ahead of the now starless Nets.
Such a move would place the Knicks in the fifth seed and almost assuredly avoids the Eastern Conference power duo of the Celtics and Bucks in the opening round.
A matchup against the Cavaliers, who entered Friday firmly in the fourth spot, is the best-case scenario given their inexperience. The third-seeded Sixers are combustible and injury-prone, but Joel Embiid, as he’s demonstrated in the regular season, is too much for the Knicks to handle when healthy.
“Everybody’s expectations, I mean, who really cares? We know who we are,” RJ Barrett said. “We’re going to try to be that every night.”
Either way, Tom Thibodeau’s squad wants to remain in the top-6 to not only avoid the Bucks and Celtics, but also the play-in tournament. The postseason is the stated expectation of owner James Dolan, who informed season ticket holders that he’s raising ticket prices next season unless the Knicks miss the postseason.
It’s an annual policy that Dolan has only been able to enact once in the last nine years.
“You will notice a price increase on your invoice for the 2023-24 season,” the renewal notice this month from Madison Square Garden read. “Should the Knicks not qualify for the first round of the 2023 playoffs, your membership rate will remain unchanged from your 2022-23 rate.”
The play-in tournament is not considered a playoff appearance, and therefore ticket prices wouldn’t elevate if the Knicks were eliminated. According to a survey published in November from California Casinos, MSG is already the costliest gameday experience at $261.03 per person for one ticket, two beers, a hot dog and parking (although most people take public transportation to the Garden).
Already the Knicks exceeded expectations with a 3327 record heading into Friday night’s road game against the Wizards, a team teetering on the bottom edge of the play-in tournament. After Saturday’s game at MSG against the Pelicans, they have four straight against Eastern Conference playoff-bounds — the Celtics (twice), the Nets and Heat. It’s an important stretch to tackle right after the AllStar break, and Jalen Brunson can only hope his superstar form continues after the layoff.
Is he worried about losing momentum after averaging 31.8 points in the 10 games prior to the break?
“I don’t know. That’s a good question,” he said. “For me, I just focus on what I can control. I rested, worked out for two days and came back here ready to go.”
Before Friday, the Knicks were two games below the Nets and just a ½ game above the Heat. With Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving bolting to the West, the Nets will have problems holding on to the fifth spot.
The Knicks should have more concerns about staving off the Heat, the Eastern Conference champs from three years ago with two stars (Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo). The Knicks face the Heat three more times this season, the most of any opponent in their remaining games.
So much that is under their control.
“It’s cool what we’ve done up to this point,” Barrett said. “But it don’t mean nothing if we completely fall apart.”