Out of CHI, PHI, @ORL, @MIA, and @OKC, I say they win no more than 1. A loss to NY or any 2 wins by NY keeps NY ahead of MIL.
Now Charlotte: @BOS, NYK, MIL, CLE, @ORL, WAS, CLE, ORL, @MIA, DET, @NJN, ATL
Living in Charlotte as a Knicks fan, I can tell you more about the Bobcats than any of the other 28 non-Knick teams. Since the Wallace trade, they STINK!
@BOS - No Way! ORL - Forget It! @MIA - Uhm...Negative! That's 3 of the 5. Again, 2 wins by NY keeps NY ahead of Charlotte, not to mention, I don't see Charlotte beating NY, and a head-to-head win counts as 2 towards the magic number!
If NY continues to play the way they are playing, the following is what I see happening. Teams that are weak because they lack scoring ability are the ones NY can and will beat. Those that have any kind of average will beat NY if NY keeps this trash going. That said, here's what NY has left:
I think you can easily count on NY to win 2 out of @CHA, NJN, TOR, and @NJN. The Knicks will likely lose the other 7 games unless they change something. NY will finish with 38 or 39 wins if they continue to play like they have been. It will likely put us below Indiana, and NY will grab the 8-seed.
If NY can wake up, and play like they did Mid-November thru Early March (they did start 6-3 with Carmelo before the slide), the 8-seed may be a blessing in disguise. If Chicago can hold off Boston for the 1-seed (Boston will have the tiebreaks even if Chicago wins the last matchup because of better conference record), NY wouldn't face Boston until round 3. While Chicago may be a better team than NY, playing style between the two teams makes NY a very dangerous team for Chicago. Of all possible round 1 opponents, NY wants Chicago, Chicago wants anybody but NY! Of course, Atlanta is sliding like NY is, and I doubt they can beat Orlando, and Orlando is a problem for NY as they can't stop Howard.
To summerize, I predict NY is the 8 seed, will lose round 1 if they face Boston, and round 2 if they face Chicago, losing to Orlando in the 2nd round.
Will the Knicks make the playoffs? YES!
Will it be pretty? NO!
Our magic number is 6 vs Milwaukee, 5 vs Charlotte provided the tie is 2-way (we are 2 and 0 vs Charlotte with only 1 to go)
Look at Milwaukee's schedule: @NYK, CHI, @CHA, @TOR, @IND, PHI, @ORL, @MIA, @DET, CLE, TOR, @OKC
Out of CHI, PHI, @ORL, @MIA, and @OKC, I say they win no more than 1. A loss to NY or any 2 wins by NY keeps NY ahead of MIL.
Now Charlotte: @BOS, NYK, MIL, CLE, @ORL, WAS, CLE, ORL, @MIA, DET, @NJN, ATL
Living in Charlotte as a Knicks fan, I can tell you more about the Bobcats than any of the other 28 non-Knick teams. Since the Wallace trade, they STINK!
@BOS - No Way! ORL - Forget It! @MIA - Uhm...Negative! That's 3 of the 5. Again, 2 wins by NY keeps NY ahead of Charlotte, not to mention, I don't see Charlotte beating NY, and a head-to-head win counts as 2 towards the magic number!
If NY continues to play the way they are playing, the following is what I see happening. Teams that are weak because they lack scoring ability are the ones NY can and will beat. Those that have any kind of average will beat NY if NY keeps this trash going. That said, here's what NY has left:
MIL, @CHA, ORL, NJN, CLE, TOR, @PHI, @NJN, @IND, CHI, @BOS
I think you can easily count on NY to win 2 out of @CHA, NJN, TOR, and @NJN. The Knicks will likely lose the other 7 games unless they change something. NY will finish with 38 or 39 wins if they continue to play like they have been. It will likely put us below Indiana, and NY will grab the 8-seed.
If NY can wake up, and play like they did Mid-November thru Early March (they did start 6-3 with Carmelo before the slide), the 8-seed may be a blessing in disguise. If Chicago can hold off Boston for the 1-seed (Boston will have the tiebreaks even if Chicago wins the last matchup because of better conference record), NY wouldn't face Boston until round 3. While Chicago may be a better team than NY, playing style between the two teams makes NY a very dangerous team for Chicago. Of all possible round 1 opponents, NY wants Chicago, Chicago wants anybody but NY! Of course, Atlanta is sliding like NY is, and I doubt they can beat Orlando, and Orlando is a problem for NY as they can't stop Howard.
To summerize, I predict NY is the 8 seed, will lose round 1 if they face Boston, and round 2 if they face Chicago, losing to Orlando in the 2nd round.