2025 EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: #3 New York Knicks vs #4 Indiana Pacers (IND leads 1-0)

[LFGK]

I’m sorry, but I can’t take the Pacers seriously when they’ve the weakest road to the conference finals…maybe after Minny. Maybe they’ll prove me wrong this series. But I’ll be the arrogant one this time around. Don’t see how they beat the Knicks.

I been saying this and people say arrogance, brother 5 series last 2 years, 1 team was fully healthy and it ended in a sweep, I know their fans want to be taken seriously as a contender but if injuries don't occur(part of the game) they are probably a 6 seed in the east. Last years series doesn't go past game 5 if Knicks weren't so short handed and this years series isn't going past 5, a huge reality check is coming.

The Pacers are 48-20 since December 8th. They've been the equivalent to a 60 win team since Haliburton recovered from his Team USA injury.

There is a reality check coming, you are correct.

Your team sucks, benefit of playing hobbled teams every series, you won't get that luck this series, bunch of scrubs who run up and down the court coached by the biggest whiny b*tch the game has ever had, 5 games.

[Nuntius]

the issue with the pacers is defense. their defense is straight up weak.

Is it, though? Throughout this year, the Pacers and the Knicks had the exact same DRTG at 113.3. That put both teams tied at 13th.

And if you want to delve even further and look where our DRTG was after Nesmith and Nembhard returned from injury (circa mid-December), you'd see that for the 3/4ths of the season our defense actually ranked in the top 10.

This take was accurate for last year's team but it's no longer accurate.

[Nuntius]

I been saying this and people say arrogance, brother 5 series last 2 years, 1 team was fully healthy and it ended in a sweep, I know their fans want to be taken seriously as a contender but if injuries don't occur(part of the game) they are probably a 6 seed in the east. Last years series doesn't go past game 5 if Knicks weren't so short handed and this years series isn't going past 5, a huge reality check is coming.

The Pacers are 48-20 since December 8th. They've been the equivalent to a 60 win team since Haliburton recovered from his Team USA injury.

There is a reality check coming, you are correct.

Your team sucks, benefit of playing hobbled teams every series, you won't get that luck this series, bunch of scrubs who run up and down the court coached by the biggest whiny b*tch the game has ever had, 5 games.

Ah, there you are again. I see that you're still in your Knicks in 5 take. Have you, perhaps, reconsidered my bet proposal? Just name your price and if the Knicks do win in 5 (barring injuries, of course), I'll send you the money.

Unless you aren't all that confident in your take, of course

[xBulletproof]

I been saying this and people say arrogance, brother 5 series last 2 years, 1 team was fully healthy and it ended in a sweep, I know their fans want to be taken seriously as a contender but if injuries don't occur(part of the game) they are probably a 6 seed in the east. Last years series doesn't go past game 5 if Knicks weren't so short handed and this years series isn't going past 5, a huge reality check is coming.

The Pacers are 48-20 since December 8th. They've been the equivalent to a 60 win team since Haliburton recovered from his Team USA injury.

There is a reality check coming, you are correct.

Your team sucks, benefit of playing hobbled teams every series, you won't get that luck this series, bunch of scrubs who run up and down the court coached by the biggest whiny b*tch the game has ever had, 5 games.

There he is. Knicks court jester.

Will never respond to this moron again. Sheesh. Goodbye

[LFGK]

The Pacers are 48-20 since December 8th. They've been the equivalent to a 60 win team since Haliburton recovered from his Team USA injury.

There is a reality check coming, you are correct.

Your team sucks, benefit of playing hobbled teams every series, you won't get that luck this series, bunch of scrubs who run up and down the court coached by the biggest whiny b*tch the game has ever had, 5 games.

Ah, there you are again. I see that you're still in your Knicks in 5 take. Have you, perhaps, reconsidered my bet proposal? Just name your price and if the Knicks do win in 5 (barring injuries, of course), I'll send you the money.

Unless you aren't all that confident in your take, of course

Big dawg I already have a small little bet of $100 on em winning in 5, betting some guy on the internet lol. I'm not gonna be shut up with that "put ur money when your mouth is" I'll upload a pic when I get home. To put an end to this nonsense, guys best a couple hobbled teams and think they're world beaters now, the defense will be the undoing of that loser team. 5 games

[LFGK]

The Pacers are 48-20 since December 8th. They've been the equivalent to a 60 win team since Haliburton recovered from his Team USA injury.

There is a reality check coming, you are correct.

Your team sucks, benefit of playing hobbled teams every series, you won't get that luck this series, bunch of scrubs who run up and down the court coached by the biggest whiny b*tch the game has ever had, 5 games.

There he is. Knicks court jester.

Will never respond to this moron again. Sheesh. Goodbye

Kick rocks, feelings hurt? Deal with it...when you get older you'll forget about it "moron" and Haliburton is a front running scrub

[xBulletproof]

The Pacers are 48-20 since December 8th. They've been the equivalent to a 60 win team since Haliburton recovered from his Team USA injury.

There is a reality check coming, you are correct.

Your team sucks, benefit of playing hobbled teams every series, you won't get that luck this series, bunch of scrubs who run up and down the court coached by the biggest whiny b*tch the game has ever had, 5 games.

Ah, there you are again. I see that you're still in your Knicks in 5 take. Have you, perhaps, reconsidered my bet proposal? Just name your price and if the Knicks do win in 5 (barring injuries, of course), I'll send you the money.

Unless you aren't all that confident in your take, of course

I think cgf even said Knicks in 5. That's a whatever, when backed up with intelligent thought. I don't expect someone to not believe in their team.

But the Knicks Court Jester sounds like an angry 12 year old with impulse control issues. Just no real thought or basketball intelligence. Everything is one extreme or the other. Just low IQ Twitter fodder, honestly. You can't have a conversation with that

[LFGK]

Your team sucks, benefit of playing hobbled teams every series, you won't get that luck this series, bunch of scrubs who run up and down the court coached by the biggest whiny b*tch the game has ever had, 5 games.

Ah, there you are again. I see that you're still in your Knicks in 5 take. Have you, perhaps, reconsidered my bet proposal? Just name your price and if the Knicks do win in 5 (barring injuries, of course), I'll send you the money.

Unless you aren't all that confident in your take, of course

I think cgf even said Knicks in 5. That's a whatever, when backed up with intelligent thought. I don't expect someone to not believe in their team.

But the Knicks Court Jester sounds like an angry 12 year old with impulse control issues. Just no real thought or basketball intelligence. Everything is one extreme or the other. Just low IQ Twitter fodder, honestly. You can't have a conversation with that

Brother I'm not having a convo with you because it's a waste of time, I've forgotten more about ball then you know about it.

[LFGK]

the issue with the pacers is defense. their defense is straight up weak.

Is it, though? Throughout this year, the Pacers and the Knicks had the exact same DRTG at 113.3. That put both teams tied at 13th.

And if you want to delve even further and look where our DRTG was after Nesmith and Nembhard returned from injury (circa mid-December), you'd see that for the 3/4ths of the season our defense actually ranked in the top 10.

This take was accurate for last year's team but it's no longer accurate.

They're giving up nearly 113 points a game in the playoffs...

[Castle Black]

Why are Knicks fans like this. Same with Philly fans.

Read on Twitter

?

[LFGK]

Of the top 5 teams giving up th least point a game I t he playoffs 3 are still in the playoffs, offense will happen, you will score, but when needed can you get a stop. The Knicks are much better defensively in the playoffs idk why that's so ridiculous

[Dan33185]

Why are Knicks fans like this.

Read on Twitter

?

Pretty sure that's the 12 year old Knick fan in this thread

[NiceLikeChrist]

the issue with the pacers is defense. their defense is straight up weak.

Is it, though? Throughout this year, the Pacers and the Knicks had the exact same DRTG at 113.3. That put both teams tied at 13th.

And if you want to delve even further and look where our DRTG was after Nesmith and Nembhard returned from injury (circa mid-December), you'd see that for the 3/4ths of the season our defense actually ranked in the top 10.

This take was accurate for last year's team but it's no longer accurate.

They're giving up nearly 113 points a game in the playoffs...

And that’s against a bad bucks team without dame and a Cavs team that was hurt and hobbled.

They gave up 114 ppg to a Cavs team that shot 43/29/79 splits

[Nuntius]

It took the pacers 7 games to beat an injured Knicks squad last year. Now the Knicks are healthy while the pacers are the same team. Knicks in 6

The Pacers aren't the same team, though. Here are the three key differences:

1) The Pacers are a much better defensive team this year. Last year, we were a bad defensive team. Our DRTG ranked 24th, making us almost a bottom 5 defensive team. This year, we have been above average throughout the season and for the largest portion of the season, we have been outright top 10.

2) We have our full team this series. A point that often gets overlooked due to how injured the Knicks and the Bucks were last year (and it makes sense that this was overlooked, I'm not trying to say that our injury issues were as important as their injury issues) is that we weren't fully healthy either. Bennedict Mathurin didn't play a single minute in last year's playoffs and he's a pretty important player for us (started 49 games this year, played 29.8 MPG and averaged 16.1 PPG).

3) Pascal Siakam has much better chemistry with the team this year than last year. Siakam came over in a mid-season trade last year and didn't have a full training camp with the team prior to last year's playoffs. But this year, the team knows each other much better and, as a result, our chemistry is much better. Siakam looked like an awkward fit with the team at times last year. This is no longer the case.

The Knicks are definitely a much improved and healthier team this year so there's no issue with picking them. I do expect most people to pick the Knicks after all. But the Pacers are also a much improved and healthier team this year.

[Nuntius]

Honest question to all Pacers fans: Realistically, how do see your teams position going to ECF vs the Knicks? Do you consider the Pacers as a favorite, and if yes, why is that?

Realistically, the Knicks are the favourites. They had the better regular season record and they have more star power.

Personally, I expect a close and very fun series.

[GiannisAnte34]

I think the Knicks logging so many big minutes on their starters could bite them in the ass against a deep Pacers team that could be a long series

Bridges, Hart, and OG are all in the top 10 most minutes played on the regular season and then a lot of minutes in two longer series than the Pacers

[cgf]

I’m sorry, but I can’t take the Pacers seriously when they’ve the weakest road to the conference finals…maybe after Minny. Maybe they’ll prove me wrong this series. But I’ll be the arrogant one this time around. Don’t see how they beat the Knicks.

They exhaust us & are able to just outwork us because we’re gassed; Carlisle out-coaches Thibs; we can’t dominate the glass & get sloppy enough for them to kill us in transition; Turner going off from 3 breaks our defensive schemes; getting KAT in PNRs instead of trying to isolate him in space lets them abuse his defense in a way Boston didn’t; or Hali / Nembhard just hit insane shots in the clutch while Jalen is too tired to keep up.

There’s a reason I picked them to take the Cavs to 7 and thought that series was a toss up before the Cavs started to break down. They are a very good basketball team with one of the best non-Brunson closers, one of the best coaches, fantastic depth & ball movement & defensive pressure for 48 minutes.

Basically everything that makes people hype OKC but tilted towards offense instead of defense with a better coach and a clutcher star who is better at getting his team-mates involved.

Do you want to switch sides before this madness begins ?

There is still time and cure for you bro

And I can order for you Obi Toppin jersey , what size do you wear ?

lol no worries, with you leading the way the Knicks are unstoppable!


When Jalen shook him, Ausar died. In Brunson-time Bill Simmons cried. From whitestown to whiteland it’ll be denied.

Knicks in 5

[SweetTouch]

Knicks should win it

But


If they don’t


It will go down in history as an epic collapse

Pacers playing with house money and their coach Carlisle is reminding them constantly that they are the underdogs

[bronxknicksfan1]

I think the Knicks logging so many big minutes on their starters could bite them in the ass against a deep Pacers team that could be a long series

Bridges, Hart, and OG are all in the top 10 most minutes played on the regular season and then a lot of minutes in two longer series than the Pacers

I’d argue all those minutes in the regular season work to their advantage. The team is conditioned to playing big minutes and can make a team like the Pacers, who will play a full 5 man bench unit pay for doing so.

[Im Coming Home]

the issue with the pacers is defense. their defense is straight up weak.

Is it, though? Throughout this year, the Pacers and the Knicks had the exact same DRTG at 113.3. That put both teams tied at 13th.

And if you want to delve even further and look where our DRTG was after Nesmith and Nembhard returned from injury (circa mid-December), you'd see that for the 3/4ths of the season our defense actually ranked in the top 10.

This take was accurate for last year's team but it's no longer accurate.

Knicks have the #1 remaining DRTG in the playoffs and are #2 overall(111.0). Pacers are #7 overall(112.7), #3 remaining behind Knicks and Nuggets

Knicks give up 105.9 ppg, Pacers give up 112.2 ppg