Forget the Pistons. That train left the station for good.
The Knicks have 24 games left in the regular season. They are 6 ½ games behind Detroit and need to make up nine games in the loss column since the Pistons own the tiebreaker. If the Knicks went 20-4 the rest of the way — and I doubt even Ben Stiller, Timothée Chalamet and Steve Schirripa on truth serum believe they will go 20-4 the rest of the way — the Pistons would need to go just 14-13 to win the East.
So for the 55th time in the 56 seasons since 1969-70, the Knicks will not be the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. Not unless Cade Cunningham decides to request a sabbatical the next six weeks to join Aaron Rodgers in a Sky Cave Retreat in Ashland, Ore.
The Celtics are still catchable, even if Jaylen Brown plays like an MVP every night, even if there is a good chance he’ll be joined by his old wingman, Jayson Tatum, in the weeks ahead. But when you get right down to it, the difference between the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in the East is only one thing: the extra home game. The Knicks beat the Celtics twice in Boston last season, and the Celtics beat the Knicks once in the Garden. That one’ll be a toss-up no matter who has home court.
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