Knicks Slide Raises Question: Is Dropping to the Fourth Seed Actually Better?

The Knicks' hold on the Eastern Conference's No. 3 seed is weakening, but falling a spot might not be the disaster it appears. Their 120-105 loss in Charlotte on Thursday was their second straight and their sixth defeat in nine games, a slump that has coincided with the absence of All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson, who is recovering from a sprained right ankle.

Brunson is reportedly out of his walking boot and back to shooting drills, though his return could still be at least two weeks away. New York lost its first two games of a stretch that had been expected to be easy, against struggling opponents, leaving little margin for error.

The argument for slipping to fourth rests on the bracket. If the playoffs began now, the Knicks would meet the sixth-seeded Detroit Pistons in the first round, a tough but winnable series, and then face the defending champion Boston Celtics in Round 2. New York is 0-3 against Boston this season, losing by an average of 21 points.

A drop to fourth changes that. If the Knicks fall to fourth and the Pacers move to third, New York would have home court against Milwaukee in Round 1 and would likely meet Cleveland rather than Boston in the second round. If the Bucks climb to third and Indiana falls to fifth, the Knicks would host Indiana in the first round and avoid Boston until the conference finals. A slide to fifth would mean opening on the road against Milwaukee, with the same second-round path. Falling to sixth would be the worst case: no home court and Boston waiting in Round 2.

Coach Tom Thibodeau is inclined to win every game, but with Brunson sidelined, the losses may keep coming either way. The Knicks trail Boston by 7.5 games and Cleveland by 12.5, but the nearer threat comes from the teams behind them.

New York is 43-26 with a 4-6 record over its last 10 and 13 games left. Tankathon ranks its remaining schedule as the 12th-hardest in the NBA and the toughest among East playoff teams other than Detroit. It includes four back-to-backs, three stretches of three games in four nights and a five-games-in-seven-nights finish, ending with a four-night run against Boston, Detroit and Cleveland. The Knicks are 0-3 against Boston, 0-2 against Cleveland and 1-2 against Detroit this season.

Indiana is fourth at 40-29, three games back, with the 18th-toughest remaining schedule and only two back-to-backs left. The Pacers split their season series with New York 2-2. Milwaukee is fifth at 39-30 and has a bottom-10 schedule by difficulty. The Bucks are 10-6 since the All-Star break and close with two games against Detroit. Kyle Kuzma's play after the Khris Middleton trade is a swing factor: he is shooting 29% from three but has scored 20-plus in back-to-back games.

Detroit is sixth at 39-32 with 11 games left and a five-game cushion over seventh-place Atlanta. The Pistons beat the Knicks twice this season, relying on frontcourt physicality, size and a defensive identity. Cade Cunningham had a 15-assist triple-double and a 36-point game in separate wins over New York at Madison Square Garden. Mitchell Robinson's return could shift the matchup, but the Knicks are not eager to see Detroit in Round 1, and the current standings point to that No. 3 versus No. 6 series.