NBA Playoff Schedule 2012: Home Teams That Desperately Need to Win

The first round of the 2012 NBA playoffs are finally getting into some "do or die" scenarios for some teams, and several squads need to take care of business on their home court if they want to move on.

New York Knicks

Starting out with the obvious "need to win" team, the Knicks need to give their fans at Madison Square Garden some bleak amount of hope that they can right the ship and win this series. If they don't win their Sunday afternoon bout with the Miami Heat, they're out of the playoffs.

The Knicks don't have a great chance of prolonging this series today, but they have to give it the ol' college try so New York fans can tell the NBA world that they took a team seemingly destined for the finals to five or six games.

Utah Jazz

In another "win or go home" (or, in this case, stay home) situation, the Utah Jazz will hope to find a way to keep their dreams of beating the wily veteran San Antonio Spurs alive tomorrow. The team of Gordon Hayward, Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson are an underrate trio for the Jazz, but their lack of luck in the drawing will likely lead to a first-round exit for Utah.

That doesn't mean the Jazz won't come out swinging on Monday, but considering that the Spurs have won the previous three games by double digits each time, I don't see them pulling off the upset in Game 4.

Philadelphia 76ers

The Sixers are facing a Derrick Rose-less Chicago Bulls nowadays, in case you haven't heard. Chi-Town will also be without Joakim Noah for at least Game 4. Philly needs to get this series to 3-1 in their favor before going back to Chicago. 

Two of their biggest playmakers will be sitting on the bench, but the Bulls are one of the deepest teams in the NBA playoffs. They have also grown accustomed to playing shorthanded, with Rose out for much of the regular season.

Philadelphia does not want to get the city of Chicago believing they can win the series by losing Game 4 and then traveling to the Windy City two days later.

Indiana Pacers

The Pacers had seemingly the easiest route to the next round of the playoffs when the first round bracket was set: facing a Dwight Howard-less Orlando Magic. Before Game 3, the series was a bit of a yawn-fest. But with the help of Glen Davis in the third matchup, the Magic took Indiana to the limit.

Orlando forced the first overtime game of the 2012 playoffs, coming up just two points short at the end of extra time. The Pacers will have their home crowd to cheer them on, and they'll need to wrap this series up in Game 5, unless they want to see a revitalized and hopeful Magic team after a big win on the road to prolong this first-round bout.