2024 NBA Playoffs: East Semifinals: #2 New York Knicks vs #6 Indiana Pacers (IND WINS 4-3)

[Nuntius]

it’s hard to say… when you look at the injuries to some of the guys out it seems more like just freak accidents/bad luck.. are minutes to blame for batum rolling in to bogdanovic’s leg pretty much as soon as he checks in to the game in game 4 of the philly series which ended his season? or randle getting undercut by jaime jacquez trying to take a charge and him landing square on his shoulder? or embiid flailing and rolling over mitchell robinson’s already surgically repaired ankle ? the one guy who possibly has a case for injury caused my overuse is OG.. and maybe brunson’s latest injury as he’s been hobbled since game 2

I didn't see Bojan's or Randle's injuries but Mitchell Robinson's injury was definitely not due to minutes. That was primarily due to Embiid.

Bojan got a weird hit from Batum in R1 chasing a ball and Randle's injury was also a direct result of contact. There's an argument that Randle shouldn't have been in the game up 15+ with 5+ minutes to go but it's not a particularly strong one.

OG is the main guy where you can argue overuse. Especially with his history.

Yeah, OG is just injury prone, man. Always has been which is why I didn't really want the Pacers to go after him.

I'd say that the only overuse injury for the Knicks right now is Jalen Brunson.

[azcatz11]

X Factor yet again is Myles Turner who sucks on the road...

[Nuntius]

Bilal Coulibaly with some random bulletin board material from a player on a lottery team lol.

Read on Twitter

That is the most random comment ever

For what is worth, Siakam didn't play against the Wizards at all as a Pacer. We played all 3 of our games against the Wizards before the Siakam trade. Siakam did play against the Wizards twice as a Raptor.

Siakam had 39 points (15/23 shooting), 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals (also 6 turnovers) in the first game on November 13 -> https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/202311130TOR.html

Siakam had 22 points (9/15 shooting), 11 assists, 6 rebounds, 1 steal (also 4 turnovers) in the second game on December 27 -> https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/202312270WAS.html

Bilal isn't wrong about Siakam's tendency to spin, everyone knows that, but still. Amazingly random comment

[Nuntius]

X Factor yet again is Myles Turner who sucks on the road...

I do not think that it is accurate to say that Myles Turner sucks on the road. These are Turner's stat-lines on the road in these playoffs:

Game 1 @ MIL: 17 points (5/17 shooting), 8 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals.

Game 2 @ MIL: 22 points (9/15 shooting), 7 boards, 6 assists, 3 blocks.

Game 5 @ MIL: 13 points (6/9 shooting), 5 boards, 3 assists.

Game 1 @ NYK: 23 points (8/16 shooting), 2 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block.

Game 2 @ NYK: 6 points (3/11 shooting), 7 boards, 1 assists, 1 block.

Now, do not get me wrong, Myles DOES play better at home and he's had a couple of bad games on the road but he doesn't suck there all the time.

[azcatz11]

X Factor yet again is Myles Turner who sucks on the road...

I do not think that it is accurate to say that Myles Turner sucks on the road. These are Turner's stat-lines on the road in these playoffs:

Game 1 @ MIL: 17 points (5/17 shooting), 8 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals.

Game 2 @ MIL: 22 points (9/15 shooting), 7 boards, 6 assists, 3 blocks.

Game 5 @ MIL: 13 points (6/9 shooting), 5 boards, 3 assists.

Game 1 @ NYK: 23 points (8/16 shooting), 2 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block.

Game 2 @ NYK: 6 points (3/11 shooting), 7 boards, 1 assists, 1 block.

Now, do not get me wrong, Myles DOES play better at home and he's had a couple of bad games on the road but he doesn't suck there all the time.

Yeah you're right. That was a bit dramatic. I should have rephrased and said it seems like sometimes he's a flame thrower from 3 @ home...not that he necessarily sucks on the road.

[Knicks Byke]

big game tonight.

may the best team win.

[Nuntius]

X Factor yet again is Myles Turner who sucks on the road...

I do not think that it is accurate to say that Myles Turner sucks on the road. These are Turner's stat-lines on the road in these playoffs:

Game 1 @ MIL: 17 points (5/17 shooting), 8 boards, 2 assists, 2 steals.

Game 2 @ MIL: 22 points (9/15 shooting), 7 boards, 6 assists, 3 blocks.

Game 5 @ MIL: 13 points (6/9 shooting), 5 boards, 3 assists.

Game 1 @ NYK: 23 points (8/16 shooting), 2 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block.

Game 2 @ NYK: 6 points (3/11 shooting), 7 boards, 1 assists, 1 block.

Now, do not get me wrong, Myles DOES play better at home and he's had a couple of bad games on the road but he doesn't suck there all the time.

Yeah you're right. That was a bit dramatic. I should have rephrased and said it seems like sometimes he's a flame thrower from 3 @ home...not that he necessarily sucks on the road.

Yep, that is an accurate observation. He has shot 16/30 in 5 games at home these playoffs. That's shooting over 50% on 6 attempts per game. As a Center.

So, yeah, he has been a flamethrower from 3 at home. Especially in that game 4 against Milwaukee where he shot 7 from 9.

[Hoop Hunter]

I don't really have a feel for tonight's game. Close game, blowout either way, just can't get a feel.

Pacers could easily be up 3-1, Knicks could be up 3-1, depending on a play or two.

The injuries are real, more for the Knicks obviously. The Pacers are missing Mathurin, huge part of our team before. Hali is as banged up as Brunson.

Denso had to come back to earth shooting wise, how will he shoot tonight?

The minutes thing is probably a little over blow. IMO. I hope it's a real thing though.

[Capn'O]

I don't really have a feel for tonight's game. Close game, blowout either way, just can't get a feel.

Pacers could easily be up 3-1, Knicks could be up 3-1, depending on a play or two.

The injuries are real, more for the Knicks obviously. The Pacers are missing Mathurin, huge part of our team before. Hali is as banged up as Brunson.

Denso had to come back to earth shooting wise, how will he shoot tonight?

The minutes thing is probably a little over blow. IMO. I hope it's a real thing though.

I think it comes down to whether or not Brunson can have a monster game. You have more left than we do, otherwise.

[cgf]

PS pacers fans are fun in person. At a soccer bar in Indy right now watching the Bundesliga and there’s been some fun discussions already lol

Union Jacks or Chatham Tap?

Chatham lol, had just enough of a buzz after that to get me through that s***show of a game. Hopefully tonight goes a lot better for us because I am not enough of a drinker anymore to do that again and I don't have someone coming over tomorrow to help me nurse my hangover instead of going to work

[basketballRob]

No pressure. Whoever wins game 5 of a tied up series wins the series like 85% of the time.

Sent from my SM-G781U using RealGM Forums mobile app

[Hoop Hunter]

Anyone else been impressed with Ben Sheppard this playoffs? I know his stats won't jump out at you, and he's only playing 20 mins a game, but he has serious Shane Battier vibes to me. Solid defender, good 3pnt shooter, and always seems to make the right rotation.

I think he's going to have a long NBA career, and I like him going forward for this Indy team. He's made the injury to Mathurin hurt a lot less

Yep. He and Mathurin are completely different players but I do agree that he's made Math's injury hurt a lot less.

It really is impressive that a rookie who was picked at 26th has managed to solidify himself as a rotation player who plays around 18-19 MPG in the playoffs. He's actually playing more in the playoffs than he did in the RS which is just all shorts of funny.

Yes, he's an older rookie (will be 23 in two months, he was a 4 year player) and, yes, his current role is to be a low-usage 3&D guy but, still, not every rookie can show this kind of poise when it matters.

Between Sheppard and Nembhard, the Pacers have really hit with these late 1sts/early 2nds in back-to-back drafts. Hitting with those kind of picks is what has enabled us to have this depth advantage that has helped us in our playoffs run.

Nice article on Sheppard.

https://www.si.com/nba/pacers/news/the-indiana-pacers-spent-all-season-building-trust-in-ben-sheppard-and-it-s-paying-off-in-the-playoffs

[Pacers_Freak]

I don't really have a feel for tonight's game. Close game, blowout either way, just can't get a feel.

Pacers could easily be up 3-1, Knicks could be up 3-1, depending on a play or two.

The injuries are real, more for the Knicks obviously. The Pacers are missing Mathurin, huge part of our team before. Hali is as banged up as Brunson.

Denso had to come back to earth shooting wise, how will he shoot tonight?

The minutes thing is probably a little over blow. IMO. I hope it's a real thing though.

I think it comes down to whether or not Brunson can have a monster game. You have more left than we do, otherwise.

Agree. It all ties together but the Pacers transition game has really hurt the Knicks in this series. When the Knicks get the Pacers in the half court it has been tough sledding to score. It ties together that if Brunson has a monster game and is putting the ball through the bucket it is harder to get the transition game going.

[KodiakBear]

I don't really have a feel for tonight's game. Close game, blowout either way, just can't get a feel.

Pacers could easily be up 3-1, Knicks could be up 3-1, depending on a play or two.

The injuries are real, more for the Knicks obviously. The Pacers are missing Mathurin, huge part of our team before. Hali is as banged up as Brunson.

Denso had to come back to earth shooting wise, how will he shoot tonight?

The minutes thing is probably a little over blow. IMO. I hope it's a real thing though.

I think it comes down to whether or not Brunson can have a monster game. You have more left than we do, otherwise.

Agree. It all ties together but the Pacers transition game has really hurt the Knicks in this series. When the Knicks get the Pacers in the half court it has been tough sledding to score. It ties together that if Brunson has a monster game and is putting the ball through the bucket it is harder to get the transition game going.

It is all about injuries. Nobody believes you could beat a fully battle hardened Tom Thibodeau coached team with Julius, OG and Robinson. Just be grateful. No need to overcomplicate why you are in this situation.

[31since1990]

Im hoping Myles have a good post game today. I think he could really blow this thing in. Also Pacers need a rule where if 3 consecutive 3's are missed then they can't shoot 3s for the rest of the quarter. Drive the ball

[cgf]

I didn't see Bojan's or Randle's injuries but Mitchell Robinson's injury was definitely not due to minutes. That was primarily due to Embiid.

Bojan got a weird hit from Batum in R1 chasing a ball and Randle's injury was also a direct result of contact. There's an argument that Randle shouldn't have been in the game up 15+ with 5+ minutes to go but it's not a particularly strong one.

OG is the main guy where you can argue overuse. Especially with his history.

Yeah, OG is just injury prone, man. Always has been which is why I didn't really want the Pacers to go after him.

I'd say that the only overuse injury for the Knicks right now is Jalen Brunson.

What sucks is that OG's overuse is one of the symptoms of Randle's injury. Because with Randle out and Precious unwilling or incapable of hitting 3s, we don't really have any option but to have one of OG or Hart on the court at all times.

This is why I wanted Kuzma & Caruso at the deadline. Kuz might be too much of a goofball for Thibs, but he's shown on a winning team before that he can defend...and with his growth this season, he could've backfilled some of the playmaking we lost, not just the front court scoring. So we wouldn't have needed OG or Josh at the 4 at all times.

And with Caruso to throw out there, Thibs wouldn't need OG to lead the defense at all times...granted if Batum ended up hurting Kuzma the way he did Bogdanovic, then that change wouldn't matter and there's nothing we can do about it now anyway, but we would've been in a lot better shape.

...though I can get our FO wanting to see what happened this postseason before deciding on exactly how it wanted to spend its resources before the 2nd apron creeps up on us next summer.

[cgf]

I think it comes down to whether or not Brunson can have a monster game. You have more left than we do, otherwise.

Agree. It all ties together but the Pacers transition game has really hurt the Knicks in this series. When the Knicks get the Pacers in the half court it has been tough sledding to score. It ties together that if Brunson has a monster game and is putting the ball through the bucket it is harder to get the transition game going.

It is all about injuries. Nobody believes you could beat a fully battle hardened Tom Thibodeau coached team with Julius, OG and Robinson. Just be grateful. No need to overcomplicate why you are in this situation.

Other fanbases really need to stop trying to act like this Pacers team is a complete fluke.

Their defense was hideous to start the season, but got a lot less bad after they took Buddy & Obi out of the starting lineup + later brought in Siakam...can't remember when the cutoff was, but from some point in the season on their defense became pretty middle of pack.

Their offense is a problem even for healthy teams...but is especially effective against beat up teams because leveraging their depth advantage is a big part of why they run as tenaciously as they do. With the way their bench presses & they run off everything, it feels like playing against a hockey team when they're rolling.

Now we can still beat them and could well have beaten them if both teams were at 100%, but they are a good young team that is far from 100% themselves. Their best player is still heavily hampered and their 3rd best player is out. We have it worse, obviously, but handling injuries better is kind of the point of having better depth

[granger05]

No pressure. Whoever wins game 5 of a tied up series wins the series like 85% of the time.

Sent from my SM-G781U using RealGM Forums mobile app

I went looking for numbers on this. I found this article which is a little out of date from the 2018 playoffs.

https://www.nba.com/news/nba-playoffs-notable-numbers-first-round-series-playoff-history

Teams that win Game 5 of a 2-2 best-of-seven series go on to win the series 82.8% of the time (164-34).

Then I also found this newer version with updated data from 2022:

https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/nba/boston-celtics/how-important-is-game-5-for-celtics-these-stats-paint-a-clear-picture/253658/

Teams that win Game 5 of a 2-2 best-of-7 playoff series go on to win the series 82.2 percent of the time (180-39).

So the numbers are holding up, but 85% is wild hyperbole. In that first article, the team that goes up 2-0 at home wins 94% of the time so even losing game 5, we'd still be in a better position than we were after game 2.

[ArksNetsSince99]

I don't really have a feel for tonight's game. Close game, blowout either way, just can't get a feel.

Pacers could easily be up 3-1, Knicks could be up 3-1, depending on a play or two.

The injuries are real, more for the Knicks obviously. The Pacers are missing Mathurin, huge part of our team before. Hali is as banged up as Brunson.

Denso had to come back to earth shooting wise, how will he shoot tonight?

The minutes thing is probably a little over blow. IMO. I hope it's a real thing though.

Pacers blow out the Knicks by 20+

[durden_tyler]

Agree. It all ties together but the Pacers transition game has really hurt the Knicks in this series. When the Knicks get the Pacers in the half court it has been tough sledding to score. It ties together that if Brunson has a monster game and is putting the ball through the bucket it is harder to get the transition game going.

It is all about injuries. Nobody believes you could beat a fully battle hardened Tom Thibodeau coached team with Julius, OG and Robinson. Just be grateful. No need to overcomplicate why you are in this situation.

Other fanbases really need to stop trying to act like this Pacers team is a complete fluke.

Their defense was hideous to start the season, but got a lot less bad after they took Buddy & Obi out of the starting lineup + later brought in Siakam...can't remember when the cutoff was, but from some point in the season on their defense became pretty middle of pack.

Their offense is a problem even for healthy teams...but is especially effective against beat up teams because leveraging their depth advantage is a big part of why they run as tenaciously as they do. With the way their bench presses & they run off everything, it feels like playing against a hockey team when they're rolling.

Now we can still beat them and could well have beaten them if both teams were at 100%, but they are a good young team that is far from 100% themselves. Their best player is still heavily hampered and their 3rd best player is out. We have it worse, obviously, but handling injuries better is kind of the point of having better depth

No one’s saying the Pacers are a fluke, you are a good enough team to beat this Knicks team riddled with injuries.

Now against Boston, that’s a different and separate story and no one is saying that you can actually compete there.


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