NBA Playoffs Bracket 2012: Why the Bulls Are the Best Option for Surging Knicks

With two games left on the schedule, the Knicks are the No. 7 seed heading into the playoffs, and at 34-30, they are deadlocked with Philadelphia.

At this point, New York will face Miami in the first round of the playoffs—and accordingly, the Knicks should hope that their matchups against the Clippers and Bobcats this week are battles and that the Sixers, alternately, have walks in the park against the Bucks and the Pistons.

With a few days remaining in the regular season, things could change, but for now, you can take a look at the postseason bracket here. As it stands right now, the Knicks need to face the Bulls in the first round rather than the Heat, and to do so, they need to lose to finish out the season and they need Philadelphia to win.

It's going to be hard for New York to tank. Seldom is it seen as an inconvenience to have Charlotte on your schedule, but in this case, it is. It will be almost impossible for the Bobcats to win in the regular-season finale simply because they're the Bobcats, but somehow, it needs to happen in order for the Knicks to get the postseason matchup they need.

The Bulls are the top seed for a reason. That is a given. But they are currently a much more vulnerable team than the Heat, last year's runner-ups. Derrick Rose has been playing off and on for the last couple of weeks while he attempts to recover fully from a groin injury, and though the Bulls fared decently without him for chunks of the second half of the season, they are a very different team without their best player and the reigning league MVP.

In the month of April, the Bulls have gone 6-5. The Heat, alternately, have gone 9-5, and they rode a nice little five-game winning streak from April 13-19 that featured victories over the Knicks and the Bulls. They are a healthier team that is gearing up to compensate for last year's Finals loss to the Mavericks, and the odds of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh bowing out in the first round of the playoffs are virtually nonexistent.

In three games against the Heat in 2011-12—all played in different months and very different stages of the season—the Knicks have gone winless. They haven't been stellar against the Bulls either, but at least they managed to snag one win from them in the four-game season series, and it was a recent 100-99 overtime thriller on April 8.

In what Carmelo Anthony called a "statement game," according to ESPN.com, the forward put up 43 points, seven rebounds, a steal and a block, and in an encouraging sign for the Knicks, they got the win in a game where Rose played 39 minutes. They are capable of beating the full-throttle Bulls, and the same can't be said for their track record against the Heat.

The Knicks' playoff run is going to be tough either way. Whether they are the seventh or eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, they will have to face one of the two top teams. But that road will get a whole lot easier if it doesn't go through South Beach.