The Knicks and the Nets both gave themselves a chance to remain alive in the NBA’s in-season tournament by securing their third wins in four games to complete the group stage.
Only the Knicks are moving on to the knockout round, however, due to winning the Eastern Conference wild-card berth on the points-differential tiebreaker by not messing around with the Hornets, who were without star guard LaMelo Ball.
The Nets, Magic and Cavaliers also finished with 3-1 records in their respective groups, but the Knicks posted a superior +42 differential in their four first-round games after trouncing the Hornets, 115-91.
They move on to face the Bucks next Tuesday in Milwaukee in the quarterfinals.
The winner of that matchup will get to Las Vegas for the semifinals and the championship game (Dec. 7-9) for a chance to win the trophy and a $500,000 prize for each player.
Thibodeau left his regulars in the game against the Hornets until the final two minutes to make sure the required point differential was achieved.
More importantly, they received encouraging performances across the roster, led by a 25-point, 20-rebound night from Julius Randle and four 3-pointers and 23 points off the bench from Immanuel Quickley.
Josh Hart also produced his finest throwback game of the season with 17 points and six rebounds, one day after the second-unit spark plug had admitted he didn’t “feel included” in the team’s offense.
It should be noted, however, the Knicks now will play the East powerhouse Bucks five times this season, which could play a factor in the standings at the end of the regular season.
If they had lost, they would have had a game added to their schedule against another team that didn’t qualify for the knockout stage, perhaps one of those with among the worst records in the league.
When asked about this on Monday, Thibodeau had replied, “You’re making a good point, and I think that’s all part of it, but you deal with it as it comes. Any time you do things like this, there’s probably some unintended things that do occur. But you deal with the best you can and you look at all of the possibilities and try to manage it as best as you can.”
Unlike the immediate free-for-alls in the other North American pro sports, free agency in baseball usually takes weeks, even months, to develop.
Teams often wait for the largest dominoes to fall before finally making moves to upgrade their rosters.
And there is no bigger domino in MLB free agency this year — or perhaps ever — than two-way Angels superstar Shohei Ohtani.
His looming decision could hold up other business for several interested suitors, who would have to pivot to other high-priced options elsewhere on the open market or via various trade possibilities.
The Dodgers consistently have been listed at the top of the odds leaderboards to land Ohtani, the two-time unanimous AL MVP who will not pitch in 2024 following September elbow surgery.
But several other big-market teams also remain linked to the Japanese superstar — most prominently the Red Sox, Cubs, Giants, the World Series champion Rangers, the Mariners and the incumbent Angels.
Due to their vast resources and needs coming off disappointing 2023 seasons, the Yankees and Mets can’t be ruled out of the sweepstakes until Ohtani signs elsewhere.
The Yankees also appear to be more interested in a trade for Padres outfielder Juan Soto than a projected $500 million-plus pursuit of Ohtani, though Post baseball columnist Jon Heyman advises the Bombers should steer clear of renting the 25-year-old Scott Boras client, who is headed for free agency next winter unless he can be convinced to sign a massive contract extension.
Yankees GM Brian Cashman also could opt to sign 28-year-old outfielder Cody Bellinger, the former NL MVP who had a resurgent season for the Cubs (97 RBIs, .881 OPS) after three consecutive poor years with the Dodgers.
The Mets and Yankees both are expected to be in the hunt for this winter’s other available star from Japan, right-hander Yashinobu Yamamoto, another offseason prize who could hold up the pitching market.
In addition to Soto, the Padres seem set to lose two-time Cy Young winner Blake Snell — the Cubs and Red Sox are among those reportedly expressing interest — and all-world closer Josh Hader in free agency.
Compared to the free-agency frenzy in the NFL, NBA and NHL, the Cardinals basically have been the only MLB team to take care of their offseason business already, overhauling their starting rotation with the signings of three former All-Star pitchers: Lance Lynn, Kyle Gibson and Sonny Gray.
Aaron Nola, who re-signed with the Phillies, Reynaldo Lopez (Braves) and Kenta Maeda (Tigers) also have come off the board.
Hopefully, the bigger-ticket action will begin to rev up next week at the Winter Meetings in Nashville (Dec. 4-7), perhaps even with movement toward an Ohtani resolution.
The Rangers’ fantastic 15-4-1 start under first-year coach Peter Laviolette has been all the more impressive due to several key players missing multiple games with injuries.
Kaapo Kakko landed on long-term injured reserve Tuesday with a significant lower-body injury that will force him to miss at least 10 games, though The Post’s Larry Brooks reported the fifth-year winger isn’t expected to be out for the rest of the season.
The Rangers also placed center Filip Chyil on LTIR, retroactive to Nov. 3, for cap reasons, though former Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Adam Fox is slated to return Wednesday night against the Red Wings (7:30 p.m. ET, TNT) for his first game since Nov. 2.
All-Star goalie Igor Shesterkin also was sidelined for more than two weeks earlier this month.
But veteran backup Jonathan Quick has been stellar in eight appearances (6-0-1 with a 1.99 goals-against average), and Artemi Panarin has played at an MVP level with 30 points over the first 20 games.
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