When this current NBA season began nearly four months ago, the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers were joint favorites to win the Eastern Conference by the predictions of most sports gaming companies.
Overall, they were behind only the defending league champion Oklahoma City Thunder and 2023 titlist, the Denver Nuggets, as the most likely to hold the Larry O’Brien Trophy in June, awarded to the last team standing.
Heading into the annual NBA All-Star break, a seven-day hiatus which started for the Knicks after last night’s game versus the Philadelphia 76ers on the road, head coach Mike Brown’s crew was still near the top of the list of favorites to reach the Finals and earn the crown. Before playing the 76ers, they were 34-20, third in the East and one game behind the unexpected No. 2 seed Boston Celtics. The Detroit Pistons are the No. 1 seed and were 39-13 when the league’s schedule tipped-off Wednesday night.
The odds to win the title as of today haven’t shifted much. The cumulative sports books have OKC and the Nuggets still one and two, with Fanduel placing the Pistons, Knicks, Cavs, San Antonio Spurs, Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets after in succeeding order. But be mindful that these are just projections. However, there are a range of other variables and unknowns, injuries most prevalent among them, that could ultimately determine who becomes champion in June. The games aren’t played inside computers, but are contested on the court.
Case in point: The Knicks went into Tuesday’s game at Madison Square Garden against the Indiana Pacers — who at 14-40 were tied for the second-worst record in the NBA prior to meeting the Nets in Brooklyn last night — having won nine of their previous 10 games and ended the evening with a 137-134 overtime loss.
“Yeah, regardless of what their record is … they play until the last second,” said Knicks guard Jalen Brunson.
The Knicks played without starting forward OG Anunoby for the third straight game due to toe soreness in his right foot, center Mitchell Robinson (left ankle management) and guard Miles “Deuce” McBride, who has been out since late last month and is scheduled to undergo surgery for a sports hernia tomorrow (Friday) with no set timeline for his return.
Nothing is guaranteed when chasing a title.
The Knicks return from the break next Thursday to host the Pistons at MSG followed by the Rockets at home on Feb. 21.