Knicks' Playoff Seeding Scenarios Taking Shape as Paths Dwindle

A win by Mike Brown's squad would leave the door open on the 2-seed for a little longer. But with only a trio of games and sitting 3.0 games back of Boston on Thursday morning, they need to be bracing for the more likely outcomes regardless.

3-Seed Isn't Guaranteed with Cavaliers Staying Hot

The Knicks enter Thursday as the 3-seed in the East at 51-28. Given the gap between them and the 5-seed Atlanta Hawks (6.5 games), the lowest New York can finish in the standings is fourth. Unfortunately, that remains a huge possibility with the Cleveland Cavaliers ending the campaign strong.

Cleveland has won eight of its last 10, putting them only 0.5 games back of Jalen Brunson and company. But, the Cavs have just two contests remaining: one against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, and the finale versus the Washington Wizards. That lets the Knicks control their own destiny if they can take down Boston on Thursday and widen their gap over Cleveland.

The Cavaliers and Hawks have played three close games throughout the season, with each decided by eight points or fewer. Cleveland is currently 2-1 against Atlanta, having just won a six-point matchup on April 6 at home. Kenny Atkinson's club will be going on the road, though, for their final meeting, where they previously lost 130-123 on Nov. 28.

After the Celtics, New York closes the year with the Toronto Raptors (44-35) and Charlotte Hornets (43-37). That is a tougher combined schedule than Cleveland's, which would make a loss to the Celtics even more impactful.

Both teams are also fighting for their own playoff paths, with 6-seed Toronto and the 9-seed Hornets each having several places in the standings they could end up, giving them plenty motivation to win. On the plus side, the Knicks are 6-1 against both teams during the campaign, including a win against Toronto in the NBA Cup Quarterfinals.

Knicks vs. Cavaliers Tiebreaker and Seeding Scenarios

The Knicks hold the tiebreaker over the Cavaliers, thanks to a 2-1 series win in the regular season, meaning they would edge out the Cavs for the 3-seed if the two end up with identical records. Here's a quick cheat-sheet on how the remaining scenarios stack up based on the results of their final games:. Note that this is for the scenario in which the Celtics secure the 2-seed.

What Seed do the Knicks Want?

In terms of what's better for New York's postseason seeding, there's plenty to debate.

Ending up as the No. 3 would put off a potential meeting with the Pistons until the Conference Finals. However, that also likely means having to go through the 2-seed Celtics, who are an astounding 13-2 since Tatum has rejoined the lineup, with 10 of those wins being by double digits. But, it also guarantees getting a "worse" first-round matchup as NY would draw the 6-seed.

On the flip side, finishing as the 4-seed would give the Knicks a potentially more challenging 5th-seed opponent. They'd still have home-court advantage, but they'll face an opponent that will feel confident about pulling off an upset.

That's not even to mention 1-seed Detroit would probably be waiting for them in the semis. The Pistons' physical style of play has already given the Knicks fits during the year, and star guard Cade Cunningham is also back for JB Bickerstaff's team after missing 11 games, removing a possible reason for New York to welcome this matchup.

All of that being said, playoff basketball is an entirely different beast, and the Knicks have the talent to make a Finals run. They also eliminated both the Pistons and Celtics from the postseason last year, which is legitimate fuel for this returning cast of players to use even if they enter any possible matchup as the lower seed.