Detroit Pistons playoff seed scenarios entering showdown with New York Knicks

[ASFN Admin]

The Detroit Pistons are heading to the NBA playoffs — the only question left is via which seed (and against which opponent).

Tonight's matchup against the New York Knicks could play a huge factor in determining the Pistons' playoff seeding, and might also be a preview of the team's first-round playoff series.

The most likely scenario sees the Pistons finishing the season as the No. 6 seed and the Knicks as the No. 3 seed, which would match those two teams in the first round of the playoffs beginning on Saturday, April 19. The Knicks are 99% to finish as the Eastern Conference's No. 3 seed, according to playoffstatus.com.

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A less likely scenario has the Pistons finishing the season as the fifth seed, which would almost certainly pair Detroit with the fourth-seed Indiana Pacers.

Here's a rundown of the Pistons' playoff scenarios based on the outcome of tonight's game and others around the NBA:

Pistons playoff seed odds​

Per playoffstatus.com:

• No. 6 seed: 84%.
• No. 5 seed: 16%.

If the Pistons win​

• The Knicks finish with the third seed with Pacers loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers in Indiana (7 p.m.).
• The Pacers finish with the fourth seed with a loss and a Milwaukee Bucks home loss to the New Orleans Pelicans (8 p.m.)
• The Pistons can finish in the fifth or sixth seed, but must beat the Bucks twice, at home Friday and in Milwaukee on Sunday to close the regular season.

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If the Knicks win​

• The Knicks finish as the third seed.
• The Pistons finish as the sixth seed with a Bucks win.

Pistons vs Pacers scenario​

• Still on the table — but very unlikely — is a scenario where the Pistons finish as the sixth seed but play the third-seed Pacers. In order for that to happen, the Pacers would have to win their final three games while the Knicks lose their final three, including tonight's game against the Pistons.

Get ready for the NBA playoffs with the best Pistons coverage at freep.com/sports/pistons.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Pistons playoff scenarios, seed entering Knicks game

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