Knicks have one more chance to pass existential Celtics test

The playoffs begin in less than two weeks. 

The Knicks are on track to face an opponent who will have the best player in the series (Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo) or a team (Pistons) that is 2-1 against them this season.

The Knicks will be favored in either matchup, but their advantages on paper are fragile, following back-to-back postseasons that ended against lower-seeded teams. 

It is premature to pencil them into Round 2 for the third straight season, but it is impossible to ignore who will likely be waiting, who could stand in the way of the Knicks’ first conference finals appearance in a quarter century. 

And it is nearly impossible to imagine how that drought could end this spring, based on their performances in three games against the Celtics this season. 

“It’s obviously an ongoing process [trying to close the gap on the Celtics],” coach Tom Thibodeau said after the Feb. 23 loss in Boston. “Their team is a well-oiled machine. They’ve been together for a while and so we have to keep learning and getting better.”