Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks Still Have Something to Play For

They know they’ve clinched second place in the Eastern Conference. They know they’re facing the Boston Celtics in the first round. And they know they wouldn’t have to face LeBron James and the Miami Heat until the Conference Finals, should they make it that far.

Still, they have something to play for in their final regular-season game against the Atlanta Hawks.

At present, the Chicago Bulls and the Hawks are locked in a battle for the east’s fifth seed. For the Knicks, that’s important. Really important.

Which ever team finishes sixth has the potential to directly impact New York’s path to the Conference Finals. The winner of the Knicks-Celtics series will play the victor of the No.3-No.6 match-up. The Indiana Pacers have third place all sewn up, but the sixth seed has yet to be determined.

Now, should the Knicks get past the Celtics, there is a strong chance the Pacers would be the team left standing. That said, should the sixth seed pull off the upset, does New York really want that team in question to be the Bulls?

Absolutely not.

The Knicks are 0-4 against the Bulls this season, and that’s without Derrick Rose (and in some instances, Joakim Noah) in the lineup. Given how poorly they’ve fared against Chicago, and knowing that Rose could still return, believe me when I say they’d rather avoid that matchup. New York went 2-2 against Indiana during the regular season, and are thus far 2-0 against Atlanta. Both present a more favorable opponent than the Bulls would.

To ensure the Knicks face either the Pacers or Hawks in the second round, the Bulls need to finish fifth. After beating the Orlando Magic, they’re are just a half game behind the Hawks for that spot. Atlanta has two games remaining to Chicago’s one.

For the Bulls to lay claim to fifth place, they just need to tie the Hawks. They own the season series tiebreaker (2-1), so they have the edge there.

What does this mean?

That the Bulls can advance up on spot in a number of ways.

First, if they win their remaining game against the Washington Wizards, and the Hawks lose their final two against the Toronto Raptors and Knicks, Chicago has sole possession. The Bulls can also lose against the Wizards and move to fifth if the Hawks lose both their remaining games. They would be tied in the standings, but again, Chicago has the edge in the season series.

Should the Hawks beat the Raptors, the Bulls would be forced to beat the Wizards and left to hope that Atlanta loses its last game. Which is where the Knicks come in.

If the Knicks can beat the Hawks, that essentially means the Bulls can become the fifth seed by simply unseating the Wizards, no matter what. Even if Atlanta beat Toronto, fifth place would still go to the Bulls.

New York is battered and bruised beyond reason, but going all out (i.e. playing ‘Melo, J.R. Smith and whoever else is able) is something they must consider. Avoiding a potential second-round bout with the Bulls would be huge.

What does it also do?

Make the road to the Eastern Conference Finals more difficult on the Heat.

In the NBA, we can never say never, but it is severely unlikely that the Milwaukee Bucks upset Miami. Looking ahead to the second round, they will face the winner of the series between the Brooklyn Nets, and either the Hawks or Bulls.

South Beach’s finest are 3-0 against the Nets and 4-0 against the Hawks on the season, but just 2-2 against the Bulls.

See where I’m going with this?

There’s no guarantee the Bulls would make it past the Nets, and even if they do, it’s still unlikely they upset the Heat. It is more likely that it is Chicago that pulls off the upset than it is Atlanta or Brooklyn does the same, though.

Imagine a Conference Finals matchup that saw the Knicks playing anyone other than the Heat. That would be incredible. New York is 3-1 against Miami on the season, but would still rather face Chicago in the final round.

Avoiding the Bulls in the second round is just as important. The road to the NBA Finals inevitably seems to go through the Heat, so that matchup may be impossible to steer away from. And if that’s the case, the Knicks will want to take the easiest path possible to get there.

Going all out against the Hawks and doing their part to ensure they don’t have to face the Bulls in the second round can help make that potential path a reality.