2025 EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: #3 New York Knicks vs #4 Indiana Pacers (IND leads 2-0)

[mg]

Still buzzing about this game the next morning, been awhile since I was this excited about a game my main team didn't win. Been really fun rooting for the Pacers this playoffs!!

We all know how that '94 series ended.

Just saying...

Actually I just hope this one goes 7 too.

[cgf]

Anyways fun game 1, excited for the rest of this series and to see how both teams adjust. Think we need to slow things down to stay fresher at the end, but maybe we just need to adjust the rotation a little bit to give Wright & Achiuwa some burn keeping up the pace, since we were having success playing at their speed until running out of steam.

Maybe running Karl, Precious, Mikal/Hart, Deuce, & Wright when they go to their bench? That's a group that can run, control the glass, and switch everything, while keeping up offensively. Brunson - Deuce/Wright/Bridges - Bridges/Hart - Anunoby - Robinson can handle their starters when Karl needs a breather. And maybe close with JB, wingstop, and the double bigs?

[Capn'O]

To put lipstick on a pig from the Knicks perspective, it was a 1 point game early in the 4th. Then the Knicks went on a run and were up big with a few minutes left. Then the Pacers went on a run to send it to OT.

So was it really a Knicks "collapse" or just a game/quarter of runs? It was probably a collapse haha, but you could look at it the other way too.

As others have mentioned it wasn't a collapse in that we were making shots. We just couldn't get a stop and that's VERY concerning.

In that regard, the Pacers' ability to maintain a frenetic style probably put us in a place where they still had some gas and we didn't on defense. We're used to the shoe being on the other foot with conditioning. That's the big adjustment. How to slow the game down or how to get other guys involved. If we can't do that, we could be the next Celtics with a favored talent edge but losing to a style of play/coaching.

[___Rand___]

Can you believe last night's game!!!

[NiceLikeChrist]

To put lipstick on a pig from the Knicks perspective, it was a 1 point game early in the 4th. Then the Knicks went on a run and were up big with a few minutes left. Then the Pacers went on a run to send it to OT.

So was it really a Knicks "collapse" or just a game/quarter of runs? It was probably a collapse haha, but you could look at it the other way too.

It was neither. It was a miracle. You give a guy 6 lightly contested 3s how often are they hitting all 6 in a 2 minute span?

How often is Hali getting that bounce?

And that’s just their end. We missed FTs, were slipping all over the court, had a missed goaltend that turned what would’ve been a 6 pt OT lead into an open pacer 3 and 1 pt lead.

Just call it what it actually was. A pacer miracle.

[Capn'O]

To put lipstick on a pig from the Knicks perspective, it was a 1 point game early in the 4th. Then the Knicks went on a run and were up big with a few minutes left. Then the Pacers went on a run to send it to OT.

So was it really a Knicks "collapse" or just a game/quarter of runs? It was probably a collapse haha, but you could look at it the other way too.

It was neither. It was a miracle. You give a guy 6 lightly contested 3s how often are they hitting all 6 in a 2 minute span?

How often is Hali getting that bounce?

And that’s just their end. We missed FTs, were slipping all over the court, had a missed goaltend that turned what would’ve been a 6 pt OT lead into an open pacer 3 and 1 pt lead.

Just call it what it actually was. A pacer miracle.

They've been doing this all playoffs. If we don't take it seriously and adjust we can easily end up out like Boston.

Spoiler:

Sorry to keep harping on this Bisme

[Crunch 99]

I like the Knick's starting five over Indiana's starting five, but after last night, have to give the edge to Indiana based on better expected Indiana Q4 energy resulting from a larger rotation. All five of New York's starters are averaging more mpg in the playoffs than Tyrese Haliburton.

I was looking for Barkley's "Fresh as a daisy" comment about Nesmith to replay, but couldn't find it.

[Clemenza]

Hali hit them with the choke sign in 2025, Wow!

[jowglenn]

PACERS IN THREE

That's right the Knicks will simply forfeit game 4 - calling it now

[cgf]

To put lipstick on a pig from the Knicks perspective, it was a 1 point game early in the 4th. Then the Knicks went on a run and were up big with a few minutes left. Then the Pacers went on a run to send it to OT.

So was it really a Knicks "collapse" or just a game/quarter of runs? It was probably a collapse haha, but you could look at it the other way too.

It was neither. It was a miracle. You give a guy 6 lightly contested 3s how often are they hitting all 6 in a 2 minute span?

How often is Hali getting that bounce?

And that’s just their end. We missed FTs, were slipping all over the court, had a missed goaltend that turned what would’ve been a 6 pt OT lead into an open pacer 3 and 1 pt lead.

Just call it what it actually was. A pacer miracle.

They've been doing this all playoffs. If we don't take it seriously and adjust we can easily end up out like Boston.

Spoiler:

Sorry to keep harping on this Bisme

Yep. If Thibs doesn't make any adjustments because we were winning at the 46minute mark, we'll head to indiana wondering why we're down 2-0. We need to be proactive about making sure they don't tire us out before the 4th. That means controlling the pace and/or using more of our bench.

Fortunately Thibs has been great at adjusting and learning for us, and there are adjustments we can make to come back to MSG for game 5 with a chance to clinch the series. Unfortunately Carlisle is also a fantastic coach and he still has plenty of adjustments he can make to make life harder on us and counter some of our adjustments.

The way each side counters the other's counters should be absolutely fascinating to watch as the series goes on.

[bisme37]

To put lipstick on a pig from the Knicks perspective, it was a 1 point game early in the 4th. Then the Knicks went on a run and were up big with a few minutes left. Then the Pacers went on a run to send it to OT.

So was it really a Knicks "collapse" or just a game/quarter of runs? It was probably a collapse haha, but you could look at it the other way too.

It was neither. It was a miracle. You give a guy 6 lightly contested 3s how often are they hitting all 6 in a 2 minute span?

How often is Hali getting that bounce?

And that’s just their end. We missed FTs, were slipping all over the court, had a missed goaltend that turned what would’ve been a 6 pt OT lead into an open pacer 3 and 1 pt lead.

Just call it what it actually was. A pacer miracle.

They've been doing this all playoffs. If we don't take it seriously and adjust we can easily end up out like Boston.

Spoiler:

Sorry to keep harping on this Bisme

I don't think I made a public prediction for this series but earlier in the playoffs I expressed a lot of confidence in the Pacers. My Celtics swept them somehow a year ago, but at least 3 of the 4 games could have gone either way and basically came down to late game execution and the C's taking advantage of Pacers mistakes down the stretch.

This season I watched them handle those situations much better, then the Bucks series confirmed it, and now they are like all-time clutch gods lol.

So yeah. This Pacers team is an official handful. They are dripping with confidence and they just score and score and don't really care that your awesome defenders and supposed to be stopping them.

[WeLikeOurGuys]

I'd be a bit concerned if I were a Knicks fan. The Pacers play a deep rotation and come at you for a full 48 minutes. They play hard and usually have fresh bodies on the court.

Thibs runs a tight 7-man rotation, occasionally sprinkling in Precious or Payne, but it’s essentially a flat 7. Towns, OG, Brunson, and Mitchell looked absolutely gassed last night—and it’s only Game 1.

The Knicks also had a much tougher road to get here. Let’s be honest: they won their first two series, but they easily could’ve lost both. Meanwhile, the Pacers have had a relatively easier path in terms of the grind and number of games. They also look like a very confident team right now, believing they can beat anybody.

It was a 1 in 1000 victory. They will need 3 more to beat us.

Every team we play will be deeper than us with a better coach than us but our 1-5 talent is greater than all of the teams left. That alone will win us this series. They played great ball and it got them down 14 with 2 minutes to go before a miracle happened. Miracles won’t happen every game but their poor defense will continue. Their defense will be a constant. I’m not worried about it.

I think people really underestimate the talent on Indy—I know I did last year. They ended up being our toughest out in the playoffs, even while missing a couple of key guys.

Siakam, Haliburton, Turner, Nesmith, and Nembhard make for a solid starting unit. Yes, the Knicks may have more overall talent, but the Pacers are a well-coached team. Their pace and physicality can definitely give the Knicks some trouble.

Boston blew double-digit leads against the Knicks, and while it’s just one game, your margin for error shrinks with every winnable game you let slip away.

[Effigy]

Pacers are a team of destiny.

I'm pretty sure their destiny is to be bludgeoned by the Thunder though.

[cocktailswith_2short]

Why was the court so wet ? Players were slipping from the get go . Clean your **** up msg .

[cgf]

Pacers are a team of destiny.

I'm pretty sure their destiny is to be bludgeoned by the Thunder though.

Nah. Their destiny is to lose to the Knicks in an all-time great ECF before the inevitable Towns & Bridges vs Randle & DiVincenzo revenge match.

I think OKC will be pushed by the Wolves as that series wears on and either eastern conference team could beat either western conference team. The Pacers are too fast for OKC's pressure to speed them up, they're just as deep, they're better coached, they have the better closer, and they're better in the clutch. The Knicks could dominate the glass against the Thunder, frustrate SGA, and beat them down the stretch with the better closer & coach.

[mademan]

You can accept a couple of the three's Nesmith made, but after like 2 of them, how are you not aggressively switching on those screens? How's he still getting open looks?

Knicks arent serious

[Hoop Hunter]

To put lipstick on a pig from the Knicks perspective, it was a 1 point game early in the 4th. Then the Knicks went on a run and were up big with a few minutes left. Then the Pacers went on a run to send it to OT.

So was it really a Knicks "collapse" or just a game/quarter of runs? It was probably a collapse haha, but you could look at it the other way too.

It was neither. It was a miracle. You give a guy 6 lightly contested 3s how often are they hitting all 6 in a 2 minute span?

How often is Hali getting that bounce?

And that’s just their end. We missed FTs, were slipping all over the court, had a missed goaltend that turned what would’ve been a 6 pt OT lead into an open pacer 3 and 1 pt lead.

Just call it what it actually was. A pacer miracle.

I'll just call it a win, does it really matter how it happened? How often has Hali hit a shot like that? 11 out of 12 times this season. Not with that bounce, you can't swish them all, but seems he CAN make most of them.

Of course, It's just 1 win. Every game is different. You can't say cause "this" happened in one game "this" is gonna happen the next game, for either team. One thing that could be the same, the Knicks running out of gas at the end.

You think we'll get outscored 14-0 with Brunson on the bench again? That seemed almost as crazy as the come back.

I'm not great at math, but I'm pretty sure it's better to need 3 more wins than 4. 78% of teams that win the 1st conference finals game win the series. We'll see, that's why we play them.

I don't make wildly stupid predictions, like several obnoxious Knicks fans on here (Plenty of cool ones also). I like our chances better today than yesterday.

[cgf]

Part of me wants to see Thibs say "f*** it, we can win at this pace, we just need to be able to maintain it"; giving some burn to Wright, and Achiuwa...or maybe even McCullar; this feels like the kind of series that kid could give us good minutes in, feeding off the frenetic energy. Before switching it up in game 3 and really slowing things down with the double bigs.

[cgf]

You can accept a couple of the three's Nesmith made, but after like 2 of them, how are you not aggressively switching on those screens? How's he still getting open looks?

Knicks arent serious

This isn't the west, the pacers make you sweat for 48 minutes and tired defenders make tired decisions. That's why we need to control the pace and/or expand the rotation to stay fresher down the stretch or they'll keep wearing us down the way they will whoever they face in the finals.

[Effigy]

Pacers are a team of destiny.

I'm pretty sure their destiny is to be bludgeoned by the Thunder though.

Nah. Their destiny is to lose to the Knicks in an all-time great ECF before the inevitable Towns & Bridges vs Randle & DiVincenzo revenge match.

I think OKC will be pushed by the Wolves as that series wears on and either eastern conference team could beat either western conference team. The Pacers are too fast for OKC's pressure to speed them up, they're just as deep, they're better coached, they have the better closer, and they're better in the clutch. The Knicks could dominate the glass against the Thunder, frustrate SGA, and beat them down the stretch with the better closer & coach.

I can see why you'd be rooting for that. I think the Knicks definitely have a real shot at being in the finals, despite yesterday. I'd call it pretty much 50/50 right now. But I don't think Minnesota's chances are nearly that good.