With the regular season winding down and fewer than 10 games in most teams’ schedules, here’s the latest and second-to-last entry of the Standing Watch series.
All playoff teams are already locked in, mind you, but there’s still some seed-shuffling left to play out during the final games of play, starting with Sunday’s matchup between the Knicks and the Thunder, with both teams—one more realistically than the other, is fair to say—still having a shot at locking home-court advantage on their side of the bracket.
March 29th
To kick things off today, root for the Heat to beat the Pacers. Miami is currently the ninth seed, and finding a way to kick Philadelphia down to the No. 9 or No. 10 seed so the Knicks can avoid playing them in the first round would likely be ideal.
An hour after that game tips off, the Raptors host the Magic. And as I stated last week, regardless of where the Knicks end up placing, their best matchup is against the Raptors. Going forward, until further notice, fans should root for whatever outcome most likely results in that. For today’s matchup, go with the Magic.
The third game, outside of the Knicks’ own game, that has standings implications in the Eastern Conference today is the one between the Hornets and Celtics. This could end up being a potential first-round matchup. If you want the Knicks to come away with the second seed, root for the Hornets. If you want the Knicks to remain the third seed, which is starting to look more and more like the smarter decision, root for the Celtics.
March 30th
The Heat and 76ers matchup in a big game to start off the night. Pull for the Heat for the reason mentioned above. The Celtics vs. Hawks game is a bit complicated, as a Celtics win makes it less likely for the Raptors to fall to the sixth seed, but a Hawks win would also put the Knicks one game closer to moving up to the second seed. Decide at your own risk, but truthfully, there is no clear option here.
A bit later on, the Cavaliers take on the Jazz. Hope that the Jazz can somehow come away with a win to keep the Cavaliers at bay. And finish off the night by cheering against the Pistons, although the ship of the Knicks ever getting to the first-seed looks like it’s already starting to sail away.
March 31st
The Suns vs. Magic game is the first one of the night. Like some other games this week, I don’t think there’s a clear way to go on who to go with in this one. Orlando is likely one of the few teams I don’t really feel strongly about either way. If you think their experience and physicality match up better against the Knicks than the Raptors, Hawks, 76ers, Heat, or Hornets, root for the Suns. If you think their lack of shooting would make them an easier playoff opponent, root for them.
In the Hornets vs. Nets game, root for, and I know this sounds crazy, the Nets. Not only could it impact their lottery odds, keeping the very hot Hornets in the 9th vs. 10th matchup likely behooves the Knicks. And in the Raptors vs. Pistons game, I hope for the Pistons to win to improve the odds of a Knicks vs. Raptors first-round matchup.
The night begins with what should be a close, fun Hawks vs. Magic game. Root for whoever you think would be an easier matchup for the Knicks, and root against whoever you think is a tougher matchup for the Pistons and Celtics.
In the 76ers vs. Wizards game, take on the tough task of rooting for the Wizards to pull off the upset, as that would help in the “push the 76ers to lower play-in bracket” movement. Then, while you’re doing that, root for the Heat against the Celtics. Again, I don’t think the Knicks moving up to the third seed actually does them much good, and a Heat win would also help them push the 76ers down. And cap off the night with another unenjoyable task of rooting for the Kings against the Raptors.
With Detroit and the first-seed realistically out of reach, short and simple night here. Phoenix continues its East Coast road trip with a game against Charlotte. Hope for a Suns victory to help prevent the Hornets from catching up to the seventh or eighth seed.
Begin the night by cheering for a Timberwolves win over the 76ers in what should be a good game. While that’s taking place, the Pacers will take on the Hornets, so root for the Pacers to pull off the upset in that one. And while the Knicks are hosting the Bulls, there are a few more games of interest.
When the Bucks take on the Celtics, root for Boston so they keep the second seed. In the Raptors vs. Grizzlies game, I hope for a surprise Grizzlies win, and finish off the week by going with a Magic win over the Mavericks.