Knicks' Playoff Seeding Scenarios Taking Shape as Paths Dwindle

With just three games left, the New York Knicks only have a few playoff seeding scenarios to be concerned about.

New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) dribbles against the Atlanta Hawks in the first quarter at State Farm Arena. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The New York Knicks are squarely in the middle of a heated race for playoff seeding over the final three games of the regular season. Where they finish in the standings will determine the difficulty of their postseason path, and that only heightens the meaning of this closing trio of matchups.

That is especially the case Thursday night, as the Knicks take on the Boston Celtics in a clash that could secure Boston the 2-seed. However, New York still has several outcomes in play entering this massive showdown.

2-Seed Dreams Would End with Loss to Celtics

The Knicks were once in the driver's seat for the No. 2 seed in the East, owning that coveted place in the standings for almost all of December and half of January. However, the funk that took over the team early on in the new year led to Boston leapfrogging New York on Jan. 15 and never budging.

Now, the Celtics' late-season surge, with Jayson Tatum picking up where he left off post-Achilles team, has them on the doorstep of clinching the 2-seed. A Boston win on Thursday night would eliminate the Knicks from contention for that spot.

That means New York would likely not have home-court advantage in the second round, assuming both the 1- and 2-seeds advance. It also introduces the possibility of the Knicks facing the No. 1 Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, which is a matchup NY wants to put off for as long as possible considering Detroit's dominance (3-0, all by double-digits) during their three regular-season meetings.

Mar 9, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) speaks with head coach Mike Brown during the first half at Intuit Dome. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

A win by Mike Brown's squad would leave the door open on the 2-seed for a little longer. But with only a trio of games and sitting 3.0 games back of Boston on Thursday morning, they need to be bracing for the more likely outcomes regardless.

3-Seed Isn't Guaranteed with Cavaliers Staying Hot

The Knicks enter Thursday as the 3-seed in the East at 51-28. Given the gap between them and the 5-seed Atlanta Hawks (6.5 games), the lowest New York can finish in the standings is fourth. Unfortunately, that remains a huge possibility with the Cleveland Cavaliers ending the campaign strong.

Cleveland has won eight of its last 10, putting them only 0.5 games back of Jalen Brunson and company. But, the Cavs have just two contests remaining: one against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday, and the finale versus the Washington Wizards. That lets the Knicks control their own destiny if they can take down Boston on Thursday and widen their gap over Cleveland.

The Cavaliers and Hawks have played three close games throughout the season, with each decided by eight points or fewer. Cleveland is currently 2-1 against Atlanta, having just won a six-point matchup on April 6 at home. Kenny Atkinson's club will be going on the road, though, for their final meeting, where they previously lost 130-123 on Nov. 28.

After the Celtics, New York closes the year with the Toronto Raptors (44-35) and Charlotte Hornets (43-37). That is a tougher combined schedule than Cleveland's, which would make a loss to the Celtics even more impactful.

Both teams are also fighting for their own playoff paths, with 6-seed Toronto and the 9-seed Hornets each having several places in the standings they could end up, giving them plenty motivation to win. On the plus side, the Knicks are 6-1 against both teams during the campaign, including a win against Toronto in the NBA Cup Quarterfinals.

Knicks vs. Cavaliers Tiebreaker and Seeding Scenarios

The Knicks hold the tiebreaker over the Cavaliers, thanks to a 2-1 series win in the regular season, meaning they would edge out the Cavs for the 3-seed if the two end up with identical records. Here's a quick cheat-sheet on how the remaining scenarios stack up based on the results of their final games (assuming the Celtics secure the 2-seed):

Knicks Record	Cavs Record	Knicks Seed
3-0	Any	3
2-1	Any	3
1-2	2-0	4
1-2	1-1 or 0-2	3
0-3	2-0 or 1-1	4
0-3	0-2	3

What Seed do the Knicks Want?

In terms of what's better for New York's postseason seeding, there's plenty to debate.

Ending up as the No. 3 would put off a potential meeting with the Pistons until the Conference Finals. However, that also likely means having to go through the 2-seed Celtics, who are an astounding 13-2 since Tatum has rejoined the lineup, with 10 of those wins being by double digits. But, it does guarantee getting a "better" first-round matchup as NY would draw the 6-seed.

On the flip side, finishing as the 4-seed would give the Knicks a potentially more challenging 5th-seed opponent. They'd still have home-court advantage, but they'll face an opponent that will feel confident about pulling off an upset.

That's not even to mention 1-seed Detroit would probably be waiting for them in the semis. The Pistons' physical style of play has already given the Knicks fits during the year, and star guard Cade Cunningham is also back for JB Bickerstaff's team after missing 11 games, removing a possible reason for New York to welcome this matchup.

All of that being said, playoff basketball is an entirely different beast, and the Knicks have the talent to make a Finals run. They also eliminated both the Pistons and Celtics from the postseason last year, which is legitimate fuel for this returning cast of players to use even if they enter any possible matchup as the lower seed.

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