Within the East, it’s the Celtics and everybody else.
And for the primary time in greater than two months, the Knicks look higher positioned than anyone else within the conference to battle Boston for a berth within the NBA Finals.
That became apparent Tuesday night as OG Anunoby scored 24 points and played all-world defense in a victory in Chicago — moving the Knicks to 17-3 with him within the lineup — and Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered a calf injury throughout the Bucks’ win over the Celtics.
The Bucks were in trouble long before losing the two-time MVP — he’ll miss the remaining of the regular season at minimum, and his return date is uncertain — with what’s now a 17-17 record under Doc Rivers while receiving diminished play from Damian Lillard and no substitute for Jrue Holiday’s defense. If Antetokounmpo can’t return for the primary round, Milwaukee may not escape, like last 12 months, when a far more-cohesive Bucks team was upset by 8-seed Miami after he injured his back and missed half the series.