Good day. The Knicks are No. 4 in the East … and they’re tied in the loss column with the Bulls, who are in 10th.
That one piece of data is illustrative of the larger trend going on in the conference. Beyond the three teams that have established themselves as the conference’s true contenders (Milwaukee, Philadelphia and Brooklyn), the rest of this conference is a muddled mess, a Gordian knot of averageness.
Nowhere is that more evident than in the truly amazing seven-car pileup between fourth and 10th. Somehow, all seven of those teams have exactly 17 losses as of Monday morning, and it’s a glorious blend of overachievers and underachievers. Do you realize we could have Knicks-Hornets as the 4-5 series in the East? Celtics-Raptors in the play-in tournament? The Bulls prominently involved in May basketball? Right now it feels like anything is possible.
