Breaking down possible Knicks first-round playoff opponents

The season finale at MSG means nothing for the Knicks, who are locked into the third seed with no wiggle room.

Not surprisingly, they’re sitting four of their five starters Sunday — minus consecutive-games king Mikal Bridges — against the Hornets, who remain motivated to secure the ninth seed.

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But the out-of-town scoreboard warrants close monitoring for the Knicks. Their first-round opponent will probably be the Raptors, but it’s not set in stone and ultimately hinges on up to four results — all sharing the Knicks’ 6 p.m. tipoff.

Here’s a breakdown of scenarios:

Most likely

The Knicks draw the Raptors in the first round.

This happens if on Sunday:

• Toronto beats Brooklyn; Atlanta beats Miami

Or

• Toronto beats Brooklyn; Miami beats Atlanta; Orlando beats Boston

Or

• Brooklyn beats Toronto; Miami beats Atlanta; Orlando beats Boston

The tanking Nets are almost certain to lose to the Raptors even though it probably won’t help their lottery odds (Brooklyn can only catch the Pacers at the bottom of the standings, and Indiana would also have to lose to the Pistons). So assuming that result, the Raptors will clinch the fifth seed if Atlanta beats Miami (not likely since the Hawks are resting players) OR the Magic beat the Celtics (which is a likely outcome since Boston is resting players).

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The Knicks can feel fairly safe scouting the Raptors.

Possible but don’t count on it

The Knicks draw the Hawks in the first round.

This happens if on Sunday:

• Toronto beats Brooklyn; Miami beats Atlanta; Boston beats Orlando

Tough to see this happening because it requires a result — Boston beating Orlando — that goes against the odds. The Magic are highly motivated to win Sunday since there’s a chance they can move out of a play-in spot (while the Celtics, who are locked into the No. 2 seed, are resting several players).

Why would this happen if three teams could tie for sixth in the East? If the Raptors and Magic win — and Hawks lose — they’d all have 46 wins, and the three-way tiebreaker means Atlanta stays at No. 5, Toronto stays at No. 6 and Orlando goes to No. 7.

Unlikely

The Knicks draw the Magic in the first round

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This happens if on Sunday:

• Brooklyn beats Toronto; Atlanta beats Miami; Orlando beats Boston

Anything involving the Nets winning Sunday is highly unlikely.

The unlikeliest

The Knicks draw the Sixers in the first round

This happens if on Sunday:

• Brooklyn beats Toronto; Boston beats Orlando; Philadelphia beats Milwaukee

Again, the Nets would have to win against a motivated opponent — the Raptors want to avoid the play-in — which is hard to envision. Plus, the Celtics are resting their players.