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The wisdom entering the season was the Knicks had upgraded their roster slightly — but so had a host of other teams in the Eastern Conference. The stronger conference, several NBA experts predicted, might prompt the Knicks to fall in the standings from last season’s fourth-place finish.

But few predicted the Knicks to plunge all the way to 11th place — out of the 7-to-10 play-in tournament.

The East lived up to the hype. If the Knicks were in the West, their 34-43 record would qualify them for the play-in as the ninth seed.