Entering Friday’s matchup against No. 1 seed Cleveland Cavaliers, the Knicks owned the Eastern Conference’s No. 3 seed with their regular-season schedule set to end on Sunday.
Like many teams in the NBA, the Knicks had players on the injury list as Tom Thibodeau prepares his squad for a deep playoff push. Karl-Anthony Towns was ruled out pregame, while Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby entered Friday as questionable.
Whether Thibodeau will continue resting his players into Sunday’s matchup against the Brooklyn Nets is to be determined.
“That’s a medical question. It’s all day-to-day. Game to game,” the Knicks head coach said if those players on the injury report would miss Sunday’s regular-season finale.
With the Knicks locked into a playoff spot, the earliest they’ll play will be on April 19. The extra days of rest, of course, brings up the age-old topic of rest vs. rhythm.
“That’s always the question that everyone has. It’s rest vs. rhythm,” Thibodeau said. “I think each team has to make the decision for what’s best for their team. And in our case, we’re relying on the medical — if a guy needs time right now, he gets it. But until you lock up your seed, you have to keep going. And I think it’s important to understand that. But keep fighting to run through the finish line.”
The possible DNPs could see the Knicks fall into the No. 4 seed, which the Indiana Pacers held entering Friday. The Pacers, who entered Friday a game back of the Knicks, rested their key players for a matchup against the Orlando Magic: Tyrese Haliburton, Myles Turner, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith and Ben Sheppard.
The move likely keeps the Pacers in a more favorable postseason picture: a first-round matchup against a Milwaukee Bucks team missing Damian Lillard and a possible second-round matchup against the Cavaliers — and not the defending champion Boston Celtics.
The Knicks would have to deal with Cade Cunningham and the Detroit Pistons, a team loaded with confidence after defeating the Knicks Thursday and winning the season series, 3-1.
And the reward for defeating the Pistons in a physical best-of-seven series: a No. 2 seed Celtics team that the Knicks failed to figure out for the entirety of the 2024-25 season.
For a Cavaliers team that locked up the No. 1 seed days ago, all the noise beneath them doesn’t even matter.
“Just glad we’re not involved,” Atkinson said before taking on the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.
The ex-Nets head coach admitted pregame that star guard Donovan Mitchell would’ve been in the lineup if his team was fighting for playoff positioning. Mitchell sat alongside Ty Jerome, Sam Merrill and De’Andre Hunter.
“I look at the West, I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ … But that’s what makes pro sports great, like every game counts down to the wire,” Atkinson said. “Then you got the play-in so you got those teams. So it’s pretty cool.”
In the Western Conference, the No. 3 seed Los Angeles Lakers entered Friday a game ahead of the Denver Nuggets and Los Angles Clippers, who are both tied for fourth and fifth, respectively, in standings. Sixth-seeded Golden State Warriors, seventh-seeded Memphis Grizzlies and eighth-seeded Minnesota Timberwolves all entered Friday tied and just a game behind the fourth and fifth seeds.
The jockeying as the season winds down is an added excitement for fans and gives teams an incentive to avoid dreaded play-in tournament spots.
The Knicks head coach approves.
“I think when [the NBA] went to the play-in, it added interest for all the spots,” Thibodeau said. “Everyone’s fighting for something right now. Whether it’s the play-in, the playoffs, home-court [advantage], which I think is good for the league. I do like that.”
