Here’s the thing about the Eastern Conference.
The Pacers are not good. They are just flat out not a good team. They absolutely should tear their team down, trade Paul George and rebuild around Myles Turner. They are not a good team and their future does not look particularly bright. Also? They’re the #7 seed in the East! They’re just one game behind being the #5 seed in the Eastern Conference!
But get this – they’re also only four games ahead of the Knicks! The biggest trap for the Knicks on their way to getting a top 10 pick in the NBA Draft is that the Eastern Conference is just filled with shitty teams like the Indiana Pacers who really aren’t really that different than the Knicks.
The Knicks’ current SRS is a woeful -2.96. The Pacers? Who are currently in the playoff picture at a game over .500? They’re at -2.43!! That’s insane! The Pacers have also had by far the easiest schedule in the NBA (the Knicks have had the 11th easiest schedule, so we can’t even blame their shittiness on a tough schedulue). Only four teams in the Eastern Conference even have a positive SRS! This Conference is so bad that it will be very difficult for the Knicks to lose enough games to get a top 10 draft pick unless the Knicks make some moves for the future (like starting dealing Melo’s teammates until Melo agrees to leave, too) or they improbably just lose every close game from here on out (which just doesn’t work, statistically).
They’re in a stretch of winnable games here. Let’s hope that they don’t win them.
Let’s go, Knicks?