Knicks Clinching Scenarios: Which Playoff Seeds Are Up For Grabs?

The New York Knicks have wrapped up a spot in the NBA playoffs, but there's an outside shot for homecourt advantage.

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The New York Knicks clinched a spot in the 2023 NBA Playoff on Sunday night, topping the Washington Wizards to secure their second appearance in three years.

Clinching at Madison Square Garden afforded the Knicks (46-33) a bit of a celebration, but now the question of what lies ahead will inevitably be asked. Before the postseason party begins, three more regular season games remain on the docket ...

• Wednesday: @ Indiana
• Friday: @ New Orleans 
• Sunday: Indiana

In that curious slate, the Knicks' final stretch is bookended by matchups against the eliminated Pacers, who would perhaps welcome further defeats: as it stands, they own the sixth-best odds to land the top pick at the upcoming NBA Draft Lottery and are only one game ahead of fifth-place Portland. 

New Orleans, on the other hand, has a little more to play for, even with a Western Conference Play-In Tournament spot mostly secure (3.5 games ahead of the cut-off with four to play. The Pelicans can finish as high as fifth in the West, as they're a half-game behind the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors for the final automatic spots. It thus stands to reason they'll give the Knicks all they've got come Friday's get-together.

While New York is well-removed from the Eastern Conference penthouse, there are three spots available to them on the bracket. How do they land in each one? 

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How to Clinch The No. 4 Seed

The Knicks still have an outside shot at homecourt advantage in the fourth seed, which would match the spot they held in their prior playoff trip in 2021. As it stands, the Cleveland Cavaliers (49-33) are the most likely opponent in the spot for the Knicks, as they're in a similar situation: Cleveland is in a relatively secure spot amongst the top four (three games ahead with three to play) but too far away from the penthouse to do anything better (2.5 games behind third-place Philadelphia).

Getting the fourth seed is a long shot for the Knicks, but it's still possible thanks to a 130-116 win over the Cavs at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Friday night: with that win, the Knicks secured a 3-1 season series victory over Cleveland, which would give them the automatic tiebreaker. Thus, with respective perfect and imperfect trios between New York and Cleveland, Game 1 of a playoff meeting would be held at an undoubtedly raucous Madison Square Garden.

Alas, the Cavs' remaining opponents have little, if any, reason to put up much of a fight. Like the Knicks, Cleveland has a home-and-home with a team who's on the outside looking in (Orlando, who is barely mathematically alive for a Play-In bid) before facing a Charlotte locked into the fourth-best lottery odds in their finale. Crazier things have happened at the outskirts of the NBA regular season, but it's best not to get one's hopes up. 

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How to Clinch The No. 5 Seed

By far their most likely postseason fate, the Knicks will hardly have to plead (for) the fifth. Though their pursuers have a game in hand, New York is 2.5 games ahead of the sixth-place Brooklyn Nets, who still have to stave off the seventh-place Miami Heat for the final automatic playoff entry.

While having the crucial games at MSG would be infinitely sweet (even if such benefits failed to manifest during the 2021 playoffs against Atlanta), there's hardly any shame in the Knicks getting the fifth seed, especially with many seeing the Play-In as a best-case scenario. They will finish no worse than fifth with one more victory.

Breaking a potential tie between the Knicks and Nets requires the third tiebreaking formula. The New Yorkers split their season series and Brooklyn can only equal the Knicks' 8-8 divisional record (facing Philadelphia on Sunday). Conference record would be the next step, and the Knicks secured that mark with their clinching victory over the Wizards on Sunday.

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How to Clinch The No. 6 Seed

If anyone could realistically the doubt/lack of certainty of entering the playoffs hot, it's the Knicks: not only did homecourt advantage do nothing for them comes the spring two postseasons ago but they also failed to reap the benefits of a 16-4 run to close out the regular season.

Having said that, the Knicks would avoid plenty of trouble and storylines if they avoid falling to sixth ... and all that requires is a single victory over the next week. The Knicks have held their own against the likely-third-ranked Philadelphia 76ers, splitting that four-part saga, but they'd certainly feel better about themselves sitting in fifth. Philadelphia is three games behind Boston for second and will need a similar miracle to move any further, even with a date scheduled for Tuesday, where the Celtics will look for a season sweep.

Brooklyn faces a relatively easy schedule to catch the Knicks: they have to deal with a desperate Minnesota team on Tuesday before they work with Detroit and Orlando, while the 76ers will probably have little to play for come Sunday's closer. The only the Knicks fall this far is through another case of countering perfection with imperfection, with New York losing out and Brooklyn sweeping creating this relatively scary situation.

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Geoff Magliocchetti is on Twitter @GeoffJMags

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