HG08 Jaylen Brunson and the Knicks, which relies on starters, have enough strength to fight the strong Pacers?

This week, the smoke of the NBA playoffs Eastern Conference dissipated, but the two unstoppable teams in the league have disappeared. The Cleveland Cavaliers (64) and the Boston Celtics (61) each won more than 60 games this year, but lost four games in a row in 10 days, which was enough to make the two teams bid farewell to the field at the beginning of the summer.

The teams that remained strong: the New York Knicks and the Indiana Pacers. The former beat the Celtics in Game 6 at Madison Square Garden on Friday night, while the latter beat the Cavaliers and their fans on a five-to-five record at the Rockets Arena on Tuesday. The

3 seed against the 4th seed is completely different from what I saw at the Las Vegas Eastern Conference Championship last October. But audiences who come to watch or watch the game will see the two hardest teams in the league. Both teams are defensive-oriented and have completely different scoring methods.

This will be the fourth time that New York and Indiana have met in such a late game, with only four wins from the NBA Finals. But it was the first time since 2000, when the Pacers won and advanced. In 1994 and 1999, the Knicks eliminated their arch-rivals Reggie Miller and his team.

Modern history is difficult to solve. The New York Knicks won the season series 2-1, but Indiana won the showdown 4-3 in the Eastern Conference semifinals last spring. In the past seven encounters, the score difference between the two sides has exceeded 10 points - in fact, the average score difference is as high as 20.7 points.

There are expected to be closer in the next few days.

Schedule

The following is how to watch the Knicks vs Pacers series:

All times are ETST

Game 1: Pacers vs. Knicks; Wednesday, May 21 (8 pm, TNT)

Game 2: Pacers vs. Knicks; Friday, May 23 (8 pm, TNT)

Game 3: Knicks vs. Pacers; Sunday, May 25 (8 pm, TNT)

Game 4: Knicks vs. Pacers; Tuesday, May 27 (8 pm, TNT)

Game 5: Pacers vs. Knicks; May 29 Thursday (8 pm, TNT)*

Game 6: Knicks vs Pacers; Saturday, May 31 (8 pm, TNT)*

Game 7: Pacers vs. Knicks; Monday, June 2 (8 pm, TNT)*

* =

Hot Storyline

Rhythm if needed. The Knicks and Pacers are almost at the same level in terms of statistics and efficiency in the 2024-25 season. They limit their opponents' scores per 100 rounds to 113.3 points, and the offensive score difference is only 1.9 points per 100 rounds.

But the visual results provide the background required here. New York tends to attack halftime, allowing main defender Jaylen Brunson to find gaps for himself or his teammates. He and big man Carl Anthony Towns combined for more than 50 points per night in the regular season, while the other three starters - Josh Hart, OG Anunobi and Mikal Bridges - would be better off reaching double-digit averages, as the Knicks had the least playing time on the bench, with only the league's lowest 21.7 points.

Knicks beat the Celtics in six games and will now face off against the powerful Pacers, ready to fight at any time.

The Indiana Pacers are a rare team that can both put pressure on opponents from 94 feet away and quickly switch to a conversion offense. They will even go after other players’ scores. The Pacers have seven players averaging at least 10 points; forward Pascal Siakam (20.2 points) is their only player to enter the top 50 of the NBA scoring list, and Tyres Halliburton — though he is known for his key pitcher — is still more inclined to use passes to find teammates.

The Pacers ranked seventh in the actual rhythm defined by the NBA. The Knicks are only ranked 26th.

Keep following

Downs is from downtown. KAT proved with action and words that he might be the most accurate 7-foot player in NBA history. A few years ago, he won the All-Star Weekend 3-point contest and shot up to 40% of his career three-point shooting percentage. His ability to open space for Brunson and New York’s wingers is priceless, and his morale is just as important for those who can’t pull enough space to interfere with his opponent’s big guys.

But Towns just finished the series with the Boston Celtics, making 3 of 19 three-pointers (15.8% from the field). Don't worry about the sequelae of his super three-point shooting ability; the Knicks rely on the big man's three-point shooting. Pacers center Miles Turner (who can also shoot threes) isn't the most flexible defensive player, but other Pacers big men, like Siakam and Obi Topin, can compete with Towns on the outside.

One thing to note for each team is that the Pacers can send 11 people to the court when needed. With 10 players on the Pacers averaging at least 19 minutes per game, the diversity of the lineup allows coach Rick Carlisle to flexibly adjust the lineup according to the situation. Tom Thibodeau of New York is notorious for having too high demands on starters, leaving only seven in most games, and sometimes eight in the starting players, even to the point of being stupid. To its credit, the Knicks and their trainers, these time-consuming players did not collapse because of this. In addition, the playoffs are paused longer and there is no need to play back-to-back.

But Indiana's toolbox still has more tools, more appearance and stronger adaptability.

Knicks: Anunobi is the kind of "barometer" type of player, and the ups and downs of the Knicks depend largely on his personal performance. And his advantage is that he can play a key role in both offense and defense. The 6-foot-7-inch (about 1.9 meters) player, born in London (formerly at the University of Missouri and Indiana University), is a strong player and has played a more important role in the offensive end since joining the Knicks two years ago. He helped the Knicks achieve an 80-42 record (regular season and playoffs). This year, when he scored or exceeded 20 points, the Knicks had a record of 28-10. Anunobi is also expected to attract the attention of former Raptors teammates Siakam and others on the defensive end.

1 key number to know

58.3% - In the first two rounds, the Pacers' effective shooting percentage reached 58.3%, which would be the highest playoff shooting percentage in NBA history. The Pacers' regular season offense (115.4 points per 100 offense) is far less than last season, but they scored 117.4 points per 100 offense in the playoffs, easily becoming the best of the remaining teams.

Among Friday, Aaron Nesmith (65.2%), Andrew Nemhard (60.6%) and Pascal Siakam (60.1%) ranked in the top three in effective shooting percentages in the 38 players with at least 100 playoffs. Among these 38 players, Nemhard's shooting percentage has the largest improvement over the regular season (50.6%), while five of the Pacers' other seven shots have reached at least 50 attempts (except Tyres Halliburton and Obi Topin) have also improved.

The Pacers ranked only seventh in the playoff shooting quality (the Knicks ranked last), but their shooting quality is more than twice as high as other teams. So, they may return to average in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Knicks had their worst defensive performance of the season in Games 3 to 5 of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, but perhaps their best defensive performance of the season when they eliminated the Celtics in Game 6. Throughout the series, they gave Boston a 8.9 point less per 100 offense than the regular season, while in the first round, they gave Detroit a 5.1 point less per 100 offense than the regular season.

— John Schumann

chose

Pacers won all six battles. The Knicks have not reached the Finals since 1999 and have not won once in 52 years. The Pacers only entered once and lost to the Lakers led by O'Neal and Kobe in 2000. One of these teams will regain its strength and win the championship again. The Pacers’ strong roster and the taste of this round last spring (they were swept by the Celtics) were enough to turn the situation around. Remember, the more players you play, the more fouls will be distributed when the confrontation is fierce.

One thing should not matter: home court advantage. The Knicks gained additional game chances with the advantage of winning one more game over Indiana during the season. But both teams performed well on the road. The New York Knicks have a record of 24 wins and 17 losses, with a record of 17 wins and 9 losses against the Eastern Conference Powerhouse. The current record of 5 wins and 1 loss in two rounds. Indiana has a record of 19 wins and 9 losses since December 6, and they ended up with a record of 4 wins and 1 losses in the away game against Milwaukee and Cleveland in the playoffs.