There’s almost always extra juice when rivals clash in the NBA. Thursday’s Boston Celtics vs. the New York Knicks matchup threatens to be one of the rare juiceless meetings between two of the Eastern Conference’s best teams.
Jaylen Brown, Sam Hauser, Neemias Queta, and Derrick White were all listed as questionable for the final regular-season meeting at Madison Square Garden when Boston released their injury report Wednesday.
The thing is, this shouldn’t be a juiceless meeting. Aside from the injury report, there are actual stakes for both sides in this early-April meeting, unlike last season’s. The Celtics would secure the second seed in the East with a win, while New York would keep their hopes of home court in Round 2 alive.
That’s not all, though. Somehow, the Cleveland Cavaliers are still very much alive in the race for third place. After Cleveland’s win over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday, they sit just a half-game back of New York, meaning a win by the Cs would bring the Knicks and Cavs level.
The tie wouldn’t put Cleveland past New York, though, as the Knicks won their season series with the Cavs 2-1 and hold the tiebreaker.
The Celtics have the power to seriously influence their playoff path
Of course, it’s always nice to knock a rival down in the standings at any opportunity. Especially when New York entered the season as the favorite to come out of the Eastern Conference. Now, with just three games left, they could be in serious jeopardy of finishing fourth.
A fourth-place finish for the Knicks would also be beneficial for Boston because it would create a more favorable path to the NBA Finals.
The Celtics would only have to play one of New York or Detroit, the two teams that have given them the most trouble thus far (although Jayson Tatum will have only played in one matchup against either). As it stands now, they’d see the Knicks in the second round, and then the Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals -- assuming the higher seeds emerge each round.
Meanwhile, Cleveland hasn’t beaten Boston this season (not that that always matters, see last season). They would be a far more favorable second-round matchup than either of the other two.
How likely is that to happen, though?
Well, if the Celtics beat the Knicks, then Cleveland and New York will be tied with two games remaining.
New York is set to face Toronto and Charlotte, two teams that will undoubtedly have motivation to win as they jockey to avoid the Play-In Tournament.
The Cavs will play Atlanta, who is still trying to lock down the fifth seed, and then the tanking Wizards.
It certainly wouldn’t be impossible for Cleveland to sweep their final pair of games while New York loses one.