The notion that the NBA’s injury-altered Eastern Conference most likely will be a two-team race was flawed from the start.

Even before the Knicks took the first game of the Mike Brown era Wednesday night over the Cavaliers, the two teams have been pegged as the top contenders in the East due mostly to depleted rosters elsewhere across the conference.

But the Knicks also are already dealing with multiple absences from their rotation with training-camp injuries to Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson. And that was before All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns and two-way wiz OG Anunoby also landed on the official injury report, though both suited up and played well in the 119-111 win on Opening Night at MSG.

The Cavs, it should be noted, were without injured regulars Darius Garland, Max Strus

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