Tom Thibodeau, the New York Knicks’ head coach, may be willing to give a few players a rare night off in order to secure a playoff berth.
Known for his all-gas, no-brake disposition, Thibodeau precluded various central participants for Wednesday night’s visit to the Indiana Pacers, the first of two matchups between the long-term rivals in the last five days of the standard season.
Additionally, Indiana has sat a number of top performers.
On Sunday, the Knicks defeated the visiting Washington Wizards 118-109 to secure a playoff spot, while the Pacers lost 115-105 to the host Cleveland Cavaliers to be eliminated from playoff contention.
The Cavaliers are the following rival that is important for the Knicks, who are gotten into that season finisher matchup. The Knicks (46-33) are guaranteed fifth spot in the Eastern Gathering after the 6th spot Brooklyn Nets tumbled to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night.
Although the Nets (43-36) still have a chance to tie the Knicks, New York holds the tiebreaker due to its superior conference record.
On Tuesday night, the Cavaliers (50-30) defeated the Orlando Magic 117-113 to secure the fourth seed, while the Philadelphia 76ers, who were seeded third, defeated the Boston Celtics 103-101.
Thibodeau stated that it was “hypothetical” to begin considering how he might handle the final three games for his nicked-up team earlier Tuesday afternoon, hours before the Cavaliers officially became the Knicks’ first-round opponent.
Due to a sprained left ankle, power forward Julius Randle will miss the rest of the regular season, and star point guard Jalen Brunson has missed seven of the last 15 games with hand and foot injuries. RJ Barrett, the guard, is expected to return on Wednesday after missing Sunday’s game with a non-COVID illness.
On game day, however, the Knicks did shift gears. The team described Brunson’s absence from Wednesday’s game as “right hand maintenance.” Following the shootaround on Wednesday, Barrett remained in doubt for the game, and Randle’s absence was confirmed.
Even though the Pacers (34-45) have improved since their worst season in nearly four decades, they still won’t make the Eastern Conference play-in tournament because of an untimely loss. Three years in a row have passed without Indiana making the playoffs.
The Pacers, whose 57 losses in 2013-14 were their most since the team that finished 22-60 in 1984-85, started the season with a 23-18 record but have since gone 11-27, including 2-7 since March 18. In the final stretch, only one defeat has been by less than 10 points.
However, head coach Rick Carlisle is optimistic that Indiana is on the verge of making a turnaround given that there are only two rotation members who are over the age of 27. The Pacers have five picks in the forthcoming draft and cleared more than $10 million in cap space with a progression of minor arrangements at February’s exchange cutoff time.
The first round will feature three of these picks.
Leading scorers Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner, two of the Pacers’ foundational players, were ruled out on Wednesday and may miss the remainder of the season due to injuries. Turner has been out of the last five games with a sore back and a problem with his left ankle, while Haliburton has been out of the last four games because of a sprained right ankle.
Indiana likewise precluded Chris Duarte with a lower leg injury.
