What does NBA In-Season Tournament mean for the Knicks?

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 09: Jrue Holiday #21 of the Milwaukee Bucks passes the ball as Miles McBride #2 and Mitchell Robinson #23 of the New York Knicks defend during the second half at Madison Square Garden on January 09, 2023 in New York City. The Bucks won 111-107. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JANUARY 09: Jrue Holiday #21 of the Milwaukee Bucks passes the ball as Miles McBride #2 and Mitchell Robinson #23 of the New York Knicks defend during the second half at Madison Square Garden on January 09, 2023 in New York City. The Bucks won 111-107. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

If you’re a big fan of the NBA, you likely look to the Summer League every July to hold you over during the offseason.

While the New York Knicks have played a pretty underwhelming first few games in Vegas, there was some added excitement with the details of the league’s first-ever ‘In Season Tournament’ being released.

The Knicks were placed in Eastern Conference Group B along with the Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat, Washington Wizards, and Charlotte Hornets. They’ll face the Bucks and Wizards on the road and then play host to the Heat and Hornets.

Knicks placed in Eastern Conference Group B for NBA In-Season Tournament

Following this announcement, there was a display of outrage from some Knicks fans on social media, claiming New York was placed in the toughest group out of all six.

I understand that the Bucks and Heat are two very tough teams to compete in a group with but it needs to be comprehended that these are essentially glorified regular season games that would occur anyway tournament or not. In addition, the Knicks beat the Heat three out of four times in the regular season last year so it’s pretty obvious that people are overreacting.

Regardless of your perspective on this though, this isn’t a tournament worth investing a lot of emotions in. The league made this event a reality to increase the competitiveness of the regular season and potentially even try their best to put an end to their load management problem.

The NBA In-Season Tournament should be a fun thing for fans of the league to enjoy, especially if they aren’t used to their favorite team competing in postseason basketball all that much. Sure, winning the soon-to-be esteemed NBA Cup would be nice, but Knicks fans need to prioritize making it to May and June rather than wasting their complaints on the upcoming clash in Vegas.

Also, if the Knicks were to even win this thing, you already know the championship banner memes would be unbearable!