Knicks Get a Very Sneaky Benefit Out of Cavs' Game 6 Loss

The Knicks benefit from Cleveland dropping the ball in Game 6. | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Knicks' playoff watching will continue for a few more days after the Pistons fought off elimination on Friday. New York had reason to hope the Cavaliers ended this series in six games, as it'd lock in a perceived lesser threat as its opponent, along with home-court advantage for the ECF.

Now, both those aspects are blurry. But, this result also removes a weird schedule quirk for the conference finals that would've been put in place if the Cavs won Game 6 and advanced.

Knicks get their preferred conference finals schedule now as Cavs-Pistons goes to Game 7

A few days ago, the NBA had released the two schedule formats for the Knicks in the ECF. One was based on if the Cavaliers claimed victory on Friday, while the other was the setup in case DET-CLE went seven.

• May 17, 19, 23, 25, 27*, 29*, 31* if DET-CLE ends in 6 games
• May 19, 21, 23, 25, 27*, 29*, 31* if DET-CLE ends in 7 games

The latter was the standard playoff format with an every-other-day cadence. But the former featured an unexpected break between Games 2 and 3 if the Cavs had closed things out early, with Game being played on May 19, and Game 3 not happening until May 23.

This was especially notable for the Knicks, who are already facing the challenge of trying to pick up things where they left off with a week of downtime. New York quickly getting back into its rhythm is pivotal with both the Pistons and Cavaliers being dangerous. Yet going from a long pause after the second round, then resuming for a few days to start the ECF before another lengthy pause, did not help that mission.

Meanwhile, it would've been a huge advantage for Cleveland, which was in line to get a chunk of time to reset following two games at the Garden. The Cavs also have more playoff miles racked up even if they ended things in six, so extra rest could do their tired legs some good if they were taking on a fresher New York in conference finals.

But now, any potential concerns for the Knicks in this regard are extinguished by Cleveland getting run off its own home court on Friday. That removes a possible con of the Cavaliers matchup that was incredibly real just a few days ago.

New York has to prefer the every-other-day setup for the ECF, even if it invites the possibility of drawing Detroit instead now that the Pistons are still alive. Cade Cunningham and co. being pushed to the brink in both of their first two series provides some solace, especially with zero padded rest coming in the conference finals.