Though the New York Knicks are not involved in Sunday's single-matchup NBA slate, the team and its fans have every reason to tune into Game 7 between the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder.
And when they do, they better be rooting their butts off for the Nuggets to win. Because if they do, New York will secure home-court advantage through the NBA Finals.
You read that correctly. A Knicks team that went a combined 0-10 against the three best teams in the league during the regular season may wind up having the right to host a Game 7 in both the Eastern Conference Finals and NBA Finals.
That would be a wild turn of events. And while neither the Knicks nor their fans should get ahead of themselves, this Nuggets-Thunder outcome could prove to be an invaluable steppingstone to the franchise's first title in more than 50 years.
Is home-court advantage in the Finals important to the Knicks?
This question would sound stupid just a couple of years ago. Of course you want the right to host a Game 7 in your own arena! Especially in the NBA freaking Finals!
That still rings true, even if just anecdotally, or simply for vibes.
But the numbers make it a somewhat interesting question. As Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic recently wrote about, teams aren’t taking care of business on their own floor the way they did in previous years.
Home teams have gone 35-30 through the postseason so far, which amounts to a winning percentage of 53.8. That is slightly lower than the winning percentage of 54.4 they posted during the regular season.
This difference is even more pronounced when looking specifically at Game 7s. As Vorkunov notes: “[Home teams] won 79.1 percent of Game 7s over the league’s first 73 seasons. Home teams are just 5-10 in a Game 7 since 2021.”
Without question, this is wild, if not slightly unnerving. And it speaks to the level of parity in the league. But should the Knicks and their fans care?
Go ahead and root for the Nuggets in Game 7 anyway, Knicks fans
To answer the previous question: No, the Knicks and their fans should absolutely not care about recent trends.
There isn't a player, coach, front office executive, or internet troll in their right mind who would root against having more home-court cooking on their schedule. Sure, the Knicks are playing just .500 basketball for these playoffs at Madison Square Garden entering the Eastern Conference Finals. Big whoop.
New York won almost 66 percent of its regular-season tilts at home, compared to 58.5 percent when away from the Big Apple. Its point differential per 100 possessions in the World's Most Famous Arena checked in at 6.7. That is worlds better than the 1.3 they posted on the road.
So, to all Knicks fans: Go ahead and put on your best Joker-theme face paint Sunday night, and root ever so hard for Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets to pick up the W. They will have their work cut out for them. The Thunder are terrifying, even when their offense bogs down. Denver must also battle through an ill-timed Aaron Gordon injury, so it could use the extra support.
Root for a Jamal Murray Flurry. Hope for a trademark "Jokic did what now?!" box score. Heck, cross your fingers that Julian Strawther channels his inner Prime Klay Thompson, like he did during the Nuggets' Game 6 victory.
Don't feel guilty about cheating on these Knicks, either. Becoming a Nuggets fan for one day is not basketball treason. It's peak fandom. It's necessary. You're doing it for the sake of this team. Your team.
Dan Favale is a Senior NBA Contributor for FanSided and National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.