The NBA announced the initial 2012 NBA Playoffs schedule on Thursday. The New York Knicks still do not yet know their first round playoff opponent, but they now have a date for when they'll begin the season's next chapter.
Whether New York meets the Chicago Bulls or Miami Heat in the first round, the Knicks' first playoff series will begin on Saturday, April 28. New York had been hoping to climb to the Eastern Conference's sixth seed and avoid Miami or Chicago in round one, but the Orlando Magic recently clinched the sixth seed even without Dwight Howard.
Entering its final regular season contest -- a game against the Charlotte Bobcats that for some reason will be nationally televised on TNT -- the Knicks are locked with the Philadelphia 76ers at 35-30. If the two teams remain tied, New York will draw the seventh seed and meet Miami in the first round. If New York loses and Philadelphia wins, the Knicks will fall to the eighth seed and play Chicago in the playoff opener.