New York Knicks: Ranking Most Favorable 1st-Round Playoff Matchups

Carmelo Anthony and company currently have their work cut out them, but an even bigger task awaits them in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

Mathematically, the only team in the playoff picture the New York Knicks are guaranteed not to face to start the postseason is the Bucks. As for the other seven, they're fair game.

If the playoffs began to today, New York is slated to face Chicago in the first round. That said, there is still time for that to change.   

While many of the other scenarios are unlikely this late in the season, they cannot be ruled out.

The NBA is the place where amazing happens, but it's also the place where everything in between happens as well.

7. Miami Heat

The Heat are reeling, but that's just bound to make them angry, and the last team the Knicks want to see to kick off the postseason is an angry Miami club.

LeBron James and company currently have a hold of the Eastern Conference's second seed, but are within reach of Chicago and the highly coveted one-seed.

More likely, though—out of respect for the Bulls' depth—is the Knicks moving past the Sixers and into the seventh place and being pitted against a second-seeded Heat team.

New York is 0-2 against Miami this season, both losses coming by 10 or more points, and the two are set to meet again Sunday.

On paper, the Knicks matchup well against the Heat, especially with New York's much-improved perimeter defense. However, let's face it, despite James' struggles down the stretch, despite Miami's lack of a center and despite what we see on paper, the Heat have the edge.

Miami is eighth in the NBA in points allowed per game at just under 94, and hasn't allowed the Knicks to score 90 on them this season.

Madison Square Garden is James' home away from home, and Dwyane Wade's extensive postseason experience renders him more deadly than usual.

In the Heat, the Knicks get the fifth-best three-point shooting team in the league with a knack for defense and a chip on their shoulder that is growing in size by the game. That's far from ideal.

James and Chris Bosh have yet to win a title, and Wade is as injury prone as Amar'e Stoudemire, yet there's no such thing as a favorable matchup when being pitted against the Heat.

6. Boston Celtics

The Celtics are old, tired, fragile and then old again, but they're still the Celtics.

For the Knicks to face Boston, a flurry of other happenings would have to fall into place. Unlikely? Yes. Impossible? No. Ideal? Far from it.

New York is 1-2 versus Boston this season, three contests in which the Knicks were facing a battered and nearly broken team, not the powerhouse that has won eight of the last 10.

Rajon Rondo has run circles around the Knicks backcourt this season, regardless of who was playing in it. He's waltzed through the paint toward the basket and had his way in transition. And that triple-double of his still hasn't been forgotten.

After Rondo, the Knicks don't receive any breaks. Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett are two aging veterans with plenty of swagger left in their step, Avery Bradley has looked like Landry Fields and Iman Shumpert rolled into one and of course, there's always Pierce.

Yes, Pierce. The closest thing to a bona fide Knicks killer we have seen since Reggie Miller. He's efficient, he's seasoned, he's clutch and most of all, he's got a perpetual smile that rivals Carmelo Anthony's.

That smile haunts New York fans almost as much as Miller's choke symbol. It's a smile that usually signals the end, and it's one the Knicks have been unable to wipe off Pierce's face.

So, while the Knicks are younger, more athletic and aching to erase last season's first-round beatdown, the Celtics are surging.

Unless Boston has a San Antonio-caliber collapse, this is not a team New York wants to see in the first round, if at all.

5. Chicago Bulls

Should the Eastern Conference playoff picture remain the way it is, the Knicks avoid their worst-case scenario. Given the roller-coaster ride of a season they've had, that's a victory in itself.

New York is just 1-2 against Chicago but with Amar'e Stoudemire available to frustrate Carlos Boozer in addition to Tyson Chandler's coverage of Joakim Noah, the Knicks solidify a low-post advantage while giving themselves a fighting chance on the perimeter.

Derrick Rose is too explosive to contain on a consistent basis, but Iman Shumpert covered him well during the closing seconds of the fourth quarter Easter Sunday.

Despite boasting the NBA's best record, the Bulls, more so than the Heat—and the Celtics over the past two weeks—appear, well,  human. They've got obvious weaknesses down the stretch and are an entity that can be unpacked and exploited.

The Bulls are far from the most favorable matchup, though. Their depth and dominance amid adversity are not to be discounted, yet they're a team the Knicks know they can beat, a team they have beat. 

In all three matchups, the Knicks have opened up sizable leads on the Bulls, only to see them come crashing down by the final buzzer.

Is this encouraging? To an extent, but "almosts" mean nothing in the NBA.

However, what it does mean is that the Knicks have been their own worst enemy against the Bulls. That's a passable obstacle, and thus, Chicago is a beatable team. 

4. Philadelphia 76ers

New York is more than unlikely to see the 76ers in the playoffs and at the end of the day, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

In addition to Philadelphia getting its act together, a plethora of meltdowns must ensue before the Knicks and Sixers square off in the first round, but again, it's still possible.

The danger in this matchup is it has "trap series" written all over it. The Knicks own the season series against the Sixers, a notion that should instill confidence. And along with confidence comes the potential for complacency.

The Sixers are a deep team. They've lost six of their last 10, but that stretch has hardly been indicative of the team they truly are.

The Sixers are scrappy, and force teams to play all 48 minutes, which is a rare accomplishment on the part of New York.

Given a choice between the Heat, Bulls or Sixers, the answer is clear. Throw other teams into the fold, though, and you're bound to find more favorable matchups. 

3. Indiana Pacers

Even after blowing a 17-point lead late in the third quarter, it has become abundantly clear that the Knicks match up extremely well against the Pacers.

New York's two victories over Indiana came by at least 14 points, and it appeared on its way toward another blowout victory before losing all composure and then abandoning all hope.

That said, the Pacers are far from a pushover. As they showed in the teams' last meeting, they will overcome a large deficit late in the game to steal a victory.

Once again, a wealth of potential outcomes would have to go the Knicks' way for this playoff rivalry to be rekindled in the first round. 

However, if by some long shot this matchup becomes a reality, New York has a legitimate shot to come out on top.

2. Atlanta Hawks

Unfortunately for the Knicks, a first-round playoff matchup against the Hawks is more than unlikely.

New York and Atlanta have won one game apiece heading into the third and final game of the season series, with each team emerging victorious on its home floor.

Out of all the other playoff-bound teams in the Eastern Conference, the Hawks are arguably the most similar to the Knicks. They've followed a similar hot and cold script all season, but have found a way to win more games.

And while Joe Johnson and Josh Smith have been phenomenal this season, New York boasts a much deeper rotation, which would ultimately prove to be the difference in a series like this. 

1. Orlando Magic

Should the Knicks be able to win the Atlantic Division (unlikely), a first-round matchup with the Magic becomes feasible, provided Orlando outlasts Atlanta for that fifth seed.

As unlikely as that is to happen, it's a miraculous turn of events the Knicks would welcome. 

New York has already defeated Orlando twice this season, both victories coming by at least 16 points. More importantly, though, the Knicks defense has wreaked havoc for Dwight Howard in every outing.

Howard is averaging just 7.7 points and 9.3 rebounds against the Knicks this season, largely due to the efforts of Tyson Chandler.

Factor in the numerous injuries Orlando has recently incurred, including that to Howard's back, and New York, at full strength or not, has the edge.

The Magic are the most broken playoff-bound team in the East right now, even more so than the struggling Heat, and the Knicks could not find themselves in a better situation than if an improbable first-round series against Orlando becomes a reality.

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