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Not only are the New York Knicks back in the postseason for the first time since 2013, but they’ll be back with the potential for more games as Madison Square Garden. The Knicks defeated the Boston Celtics on Sunday in the regular-season finale 96-92 to clinch the 4th overall seed in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks will await their first-round opponent — the Atlanta Hawks or Miami Heat — which will be decided later in the day.
The Hawks face the Houston Rockets and the Heat face the Detroit Pistons. After the Knicks victory, their games later on don’t really matter much. If the Hawks and Heat both tie, Atlanta has the tiebreaker and would face the Knicks in the first round. Miami would then be forced to take on the Milwaukee Bucks in the 3-6 matchup in the East. We’ll see what happens, but it appears the most likely finish is Knicks-Hawks-Heat at 4-5-6.
New York will enter the postseason at 100/1 to win it all on DraftKings Sportsbook. New York was 35/1 to come out of the East entering Sunday and we’ll see if those odds shift a bit after the team has closed up the 4th seed. The Knicks would have an easier path to the Eastern Conference Finals having to face the Hawks/Heat and potentially the Sixers in the second round, rather than having to deal with the Bucks or overall favorite Nets.