Unlike some teams in the NBA, the New York Knicks fought right to the final whistle of the regular season. As a result, they were rewarded as they earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, leapfrogging the Milwaukee Bucks on the final day.
New York will face off against the winner of the first NBA Play-In Tournament game between the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers. While some people would have preferred to see the Knicks lay down and get the No. 3 seed and a matchup with the Indiana Pacers, that isn’t how they are wired.
Under head coach Tom Thibodeau, they are going to give 100 percent whenever they step on the court. Their goal is to get as high of a seed as possible; they aren’t worried about who their opponent will be as they are confident that they can beat anyone they are matched up against.
Earning the No. 2 seed also means the Knicks will avoid their toughest opponent in the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics, until the Eastern Conference Finals, should both teams make it that far. Nothing is guaranteed in the NBA Playoffs, as New York will have to earn their way there.
There is a lot of buzz and excitement in the city, as the Knicks look like they can make some noise in the NBA Playoffs. However, one former player has thrown some cold water on the team, as he doesn’t see them going all the way.
Former NBA point guard Eddie House recently made an appearance on The Carton Show on FS1. House isn’t giving the Knicks much of a chance to get to the NBA Finals, as he doesn’t see New York getting past Boston.
While House has a point that the Celtics will be tough for anyone to get through, we witnessed in the final week of the regular season that they aren’t unbeatable. Boston had their entire roster available when New York came to town last week and they were destroyed by a motivated Knicks team.
The Celtics didn’t have anything to play for in the game, as they already locked up the No. 1 overall seed for the NBA Playoffs. But to say they didn’t try is a fallacy as head coach Joe Mazzulla had his team pressing Jalen Brunson at points as they had no answers for him.
Should the Knicks and Celtics both advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics will be favorites, and rightfully so. But New York is going to give them everything they can handle in a seven-game series.
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