The New York Knicks clinched a spot out of the Eastern Conference NBA Play-In Tournament with their win over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night. No one knows what seed they will have in the postseason, as everything is still up for grabs besides the Boston Celtics holding the No. 1 seed.
The Knicks could move up to the No. 2 seed depending on how the Milwaukee Bucks and Orlando Magic finish the season. Milwaukee and Orlando will face each other twice to finish the regular season, meaning the Knicks can gain ground on someone virtually every night.
That is, as long as New York continues to run its own business. With games against the Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, and Bulls wrapping up the regular season, we’ll start to see what the Knicks’ rotation might look like come playoff time.
Coach Tom Thibodeau will almost certainly trim his rotation to eight players in the NBA playoffs with spot minutes for other guys if needed. This means that changes will be made, as someone will not hear his name called.
According to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post, the excluded will probably be Alec Burks and Bojan Bogdanovic. The Knicks’ big acquisition before the NBA trade deadline didn’t pan out, and Bondy believes their spots in the rotation are in jeopardy.
“Coming up on the two-month anniversary of the Knicks-Pistons trade expiring, Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks continue to ride the fight bus,” Bondy wrote . “And it leaves questions about their future in the potential playoff rotation.”