The Knicks had positioned themselves to challenge for the No. 2 playoff position in the Eastern Conference with a steamrolling 14-2 record in January before an injury-riddled February suddenly left them fighting to avoid the dicey play-in scenarios.
Tom Thibodeau’s depleted team dropped eight of 12 games over the past month — with their starting frontcourt of Julius Randle, OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson missing all of them, and other key players intermittently sitting out with various ailments.
Thursday’s loss to the Warriors pushed the fourth-place Knicks four games behind the Cavaliers and the Bucks in the East — with both of those teams in action Friday night — ahead of Sunday’s visit to Cleveland.
Much more pressing, however, is that teams four through eight (idle Miami) in the East were separated by 1 ¹/₂ games entering March.
Here is a breakdown of where those five teams stand, with roughly six weeks remaining in the regular season:
Schedule
Knicks: With 12 road games among their final 22, the Knicks have the second-hardest remaining schedule among the five(.502 opponents’ winning percentage), according to Tankathon, including a key three-game stretch beginning next weekend vs. Orlando and Philadelphia (twice).
76ers: The skidding Sixers will play 14 of their last 23 games outside of Philly, most notably consecutive games against the Knicks at the Garden beginning next Sunday.
Pacers: Indiana entered Friday’s visit to New Orleans with the highest opponents’ winning percentage (.511) in this cluster, but the Pacers will play only nine of their final 21 games at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Magic: With the easiest remaining slate in the NBA (.439), the Magic will play 13 of their final 22 at home — a good thing for a team with a 14-18 road record this season.
Heat: The Knicks’ visit to Miami on April 2 is one of the 13 of 23 remaining games the Heat will play at home. Only the Magic have an easier remaining schedule in the league than the Heat (.450).
Health
Knicks: Randle and Anunoby are back on the court but still waiting to be cleared for contact for potential March returns, while Robinson also is pushing to be back before the end of the regular season. Isaiah Hartenstein’s recurring Achilles issue also continues to bear watching.
76ers: The fading Sixers were 4-11 without Joel Embiid (knee) entering Friday’s game against Charlotte. The reigning MVP also reasserted this week that “the plan” is to be back before the playoffs begin.
Pacers: Indiana has been relatively healthy since All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton missed several games in January with a hamstring injury.
Magic: The same is true for the Magic, who largely have been at full strength since Franz Wagner, Wendell Carter Jr. and Markelle Fultz returned from multiweek absences earlier in the season
Heat: The 2023 NBA finalists have remained afloat despite Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo all missing at least 10 games apiece. Herro sat out his third straight game Thursday in Denver with a knee injury.
Recent play
Knicks: As Josh Hart put it, “I’m not sure what you all expect” from the Knicks amid this rash of injuries, but they are 3-8 in their last 11, with a net rating of -7.4 (24th in the league) over that stretch.
76ers: Without Embiid, the Sixers were even worse in that point-differential metric — at -8.8 (27th) — in dropping eight of 12 in February.
Pacers: Recently acquired former All-Star Pascal Siakam averaged 21.3 points during the Pacers’ 7-3 stretch through Thursday.
Magic: A 6-12 skid through late January mostly has been offset by a 10-3 run to make first-time All-Star Paolo Banchero and the youthful Magic a threat in this five-team mix.
Heat: Thursday’s loss in Denver halted a five-game win streak, but the Heat have gained 4.5 games on the Knicks since Jan. 31 with a 9-3 surge.
Key player
Knicks: Jalen Brunson has performed at a borderline MVP level, but he can’t be expected to carry the Knicks without reinforcements that a fellow All-Star (Randle) and a two-way stalwart (Anunoby) would provide.
76ers: Same for first-time All-Star Tyrese Maxey in the absence of Embiid, whose quest to reach the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time might be pushed back one more year.
Pacers: Haliburton is poised to lead the league in assists (11.6 per game) for the first time, and the addition of Siakam provides a second 20-point scorer.
Magic: Banchero is living up to the hype of being the No.1 overall pick in 2022 at 22.8 points per game.
Heat: Few players represent the identity of their teams more than Butler, a six-time All-Star who is shooting a career-best 44.0 percent from 3-point range in his 13th NBA season.
Bottom line
The Heat showed last year that the play-in scenario isn’t necessarily a death sentence, rolling all the way to the NBA Finals after ending the regular season as the No. 7 team in the East and then starting the playoffs as the No. 8 seed.
Still, the opportunity to earn home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs as the fourth seed will make the next month-and-change fascinating theater among these five teams, with the Knicks hoping to get fully healthy in time to secure that position and avoid the very possible alternative.
