The Knicks should rest their players extensively before the playoffs to be a fresher team come April. However, falling in the standings to number four would be an important side benefit.The only concern in Knicks-land currently is the health of their captain, Jalen Brunson. Their point guard landed on a defender’s foot in overtime against the Lakers last Thursday, suffering a pretty scary sprained ankle. Luckily, it appears that Brunson will be able to return before the playoffs after receiving positive news on the ankle. New York will now embark on a few-week stretch without their leader, which could result in a lot of losses. While no team ever wants to lose, it may not be the worst thing for the Knicks.
Why the Knicks Should Slip to the Fourth Seed
Let’s just get this out of the way: no, the Knicks would never purposely lose games to fall in the standings, and I don’t think they should actively try to lose. Building and maintaining a winning culture is important, and these guys are competitors. Their job is to win, and forming bad habits from trying to lose can be detrimental. This isn’t a 2023 Dallas Mavericks situation, where they intentionally tanked the last few games to avoid sending their top-ten protected pick to the Knicks. We even saw New York try their hardest to win their 82nd game last season, even though it gave them an arguably harder first-round matchup. So, the team would never actually do this.
NY Should Rest Players Without Worry of Losing
While the players and coaches won’t do anything to sabotage their chances on the floor, there are off-court measures to take that could cause slippage in the standings while also benefitting their long-term goals. The most obvious way to do this is by resting key players consistently over the next few weeks. NY has five back-to-backs left this year; they could rest multiple important guys in each of them.
Thibodeau can play his guys lower minutes so as not to wear them out before the important games start in April. OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, and Karl-Anthony Towns have all been banged up this season. They don’t need to sprint to the finish line, especially when there’s little incentive to win every game. When Brunson returns, he should play only as much as he needs to ramp up for the postseason. The Knicks should rest their players extensively before the playoffs to be a fresher team come April. However, falling in the standings to number four would be an important side benefit.
New York Would Rather Play Cleveland Than Boston
With Cleveland eight games ahead of Boston for the one seed with 18 games remaining, they’ve just about locked it up. As of now, the third-seeded Knicks would head to Boston for the second round, while the winner of the Pacers-Bucks series would play the Cavaliers. Plus Detroit is only a half-game back of Indiana for the fifth seed. The Knicks would be heavy favorites against all three of Indiana, Milwaukee, and Detroit, so their first-round matchup is less of a consideration.
Simply put, New York’s chances of a deep playoff run and reaching the finals are higher if they fall to the fourth seed. Although Cleveland has been historically great in the regular season, playing at a 69-win pace, Boston is still the best team until further notice. The Cavs haven’t won anything yet with this core, and the Knicks dominated them in a first-round series two years ago. Obviously, Cleveland is much better this year, but so is NYK. Furthermore, NY matches up much better with Cleveland than they do with Boston. New York’s biggest weakness is their two exploitable defenders in Brunson and Towns, and Boston has zero non-shooters to hide them on. Meanwhile, the Cavaliers have two bigs that Towns and Mitchell Robinson will guard.
Lastly, putting off Boston as long as possible is optimal. They could get banged up or lose before the Conference Finals. New York could find their postseason formula through two series victories if they’re able to beat Cleveland. If they do lose, at least they broke through to the Conference Finals for the first time since 2000.
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