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

[ballzboyee]

It's hard to really judge this Knicks team. Detroit almost took them to seven games, and they very easily could have lost that series as every game was decided by a couple of points. After blowing multiple 20+ point leads I think it's basically a borderline miracle that Boston did not eliminate them. You have to give them credit for storming back, but nine times out of ten that's not happening, especially on the road. Also the Knicks getting blown out by a Boston team that not only did not have Tatum but also with Porzingis basically not being able play is very troubling. I think Porz played 12 minutes and had like 1 point. How do they get blown out by that Boston team in a close-out game? Knicks were a .500 team after the all-star game. Their overall record is not that great when you realize they got swept against nearly ever good team they played in the regular season. They were 0-4 against Boston, 0-4 against Cleveland, 0-2 against OKC, 0-2 vs Clippers, 0-2 vs Warriors, 0-2 vs Lakers, etc. They had so few quality wins in the RS. They padded their record through by beating up on the worst teams in the league in the East like the Wizards, Toronto, 76ers, Charlotte, Miami, etc. They basically had to sweep all of those teams otherwise they are a sub forty-five win squad.

On paper this Knicks teams is ever so slightly above average. Definitely not an elite team. Maybe they are just getting hot at the right moment or maybe they matchup well with the Pacers and this carries them to the Finals. But, generally, teams are what their regular season record reflects, especially when you starting talking about tier one matchups in the playoffs. Pacers closed the season on fire and were 20-9 after the all-star break. Pacers lost three of four against the Bucks in the RS and in the playoffs almost swept them. Cleveland actually did not play bad at all n their series against Indiana, the Pacers just displayed a flawless brand of unbeatable basketball. They were just utterly dominant. The series against Cleveland was an insane display of masterful coaching and execution at all levels.

In summary, a lot red flags in my book for the Knicks. I'll take the Pacers to win in six or seven games.

What it's looking to me like is that the Knicks paced themselves during the regular season for a deep playoff run. We didn't really see this level of defensive intensity all year and Thibs didn't really run diverse gameplans the way he has in the playoffs. We didn't have Mitchell Robinson until March and he took awhile to ramp up. While technically a role player, he's been really critical to what we've done defensively this playoffs and when he's in we're back to being the elite offensive rebounding team we were last season. When he did come back, we didn't have Brunson so still not a full arsenal. Then, Detroit was a great tuneup. Not star studded but a very tough team that can stay in any game with their defense, and with an up and coming star player who I think is going to plant himself firmly in the Top 10 next season.

So this isn't really the same team you saw and the regular season data is not really looking at the team we see before us now. They're finally fully healthy and Brunson is performing at a level that he previously held back from so we didn't burnout early like last season.

I guess that I could be accused of "cherry picking," but I have never heard team going 0-16 against tier 1 competition in order to pace themselves. I get what you are saying. If I am Knick's fan I am not hanging my hat over sweeping Memphs and the Bucks, lol. Taking the Nuggets series in a sweep was impressive, and like I said they did take season series against Pacers. Even if you take those positive series into account, the Knicks still had very lopsided losing record against teams that had dominant arcs throughout the season. They also got blown out a lot. Many of their losses were by double digits.

On the other hand, Memphis and the Bucks were very up and down and dysfunctional. Denver too in my opinion, but they have the best player in the league. I guess the question is whether or not their level is closer to that 0-16 record during the RS against those dominant teams or if their true level right now is somehow reflected in their improbable and fluke win over Boston in which they had to come from behind twice on the road when they were down by 20. Throw in Tatum blowing his Achilles in the back end of the series with Boston having two home games left, it all gets murkier. And by "fluke" I don't mean it in a pejorative way, but in the sense I honestly don't know if those circumstances have ever before happened to a 60-win team. I am pretty sure they have not. I have to believe that we re-simulated the exact same scenario 100 times, the Knicks lose 90 percent of the time. First of all, Boston's best player doesn't blow out his Achilles and second of all when a team goes down by 20 on the road in playoff game most of the time the win probability drops to single digits. To win to both of those games so that Boston can't force a game 7 at home is a fluke.

[Fat]

Knicks going down in 6… six games and it’s a wrap for NY. Great season regardless.

It will all end in Indiana on May 31st at the latest

Unfortunately it’s the end of the rope for the Knicks

Knicks good luck charm all playoffs. It’s proven whoevers side he’s on loses

[Palma Dutch]

knicks in 6 tattooed above my ass

[Capn'O]

It's hard to really judge this Knicks team. Detroit almost took them to seven games, and they very easily could have lost that series as every game was decided by a couple of points. After blowing multiple 20+ point leads I think it's basically a borderline miracle that Boston did not eliminate them. You have to give them credit for storming back, but nine times out of ten that's not happening, especially on the road. Also the Knicks getting blown out by a Boston team that not only did not have Tatum but also with Porzingis basically not being able play is very troubling. I think Porz played 12 minutes and had like 1 point. How do they get blown out by that Boston team in a close-out game? Knicks were a .500 team after the all-star game. Their overall record is not that great when you realize they got swept against nearly ever good team they played in the regular season. They were 0-4 against Boston, 0-4 against Cleveland, 0-2 against OKC, 0-2 vs Clippers, 0-2 vs Warriors, 0-2 vs Lakers, etc. They had so few quality wins in the RS. They padded their record through by beating up on the worst teams in the league in the East like the Wizards, Toronto, 76ers, Charlotte, Miami, etc. They basically had to sweep all of those teams otherwise they are a sub forty-five win squad.

On paper this Knicks teams is ever so slightly above average. Definitely not an elite team. Maybe they are just getting hot at the right moment or maybe they matchup well with the Pacers and this carries them to the Finals. But, generally, teams are what their regular season record reflects, especially when you starting talking about tier one matchups in the playoffs. Pacers closed the season on fire and were 20-9 after the all-star break. Pacers lost three of four against the Bucks in the RS and in the playoffs almost swept them. Cleveland actually did not play bad at all n their series against Indiana, the Pacers just displayed a flawless brand of unbeatable basketball. They were just utterly dominant. The series against Cleveland was an insane display of masterful coaching and execution at all levels.

In summary, a lot red flags in my book for the Knicks. I'll take the Pacers to win in six or seven games.

What it's looking to me like is that the Knicks paced themselves during the regular season for a deep playoff run. We didn't really see this level of defensive intensity all year and Thibs didn't really run diverse gameplans the way he has in the playoffs. We didn't have Mitchell Robinson until March and he took awhile to ramp up. While technically a role player, he's been really critical to what we've done defensively this playoffs and when he's in we're back to being the elite offensive rebounding team we were last season. When he did come back, we didn't have Brunson so still not a full arsenal. Then, Detroit was a great tuneup. Not star studded but a very tough team that can stay in any game with their defense, and with an up and coming star player who I think is going to plant himself firmly in the Top 10 next season.

So this isn't really the same team you saw and the regular season data is not really looking at the team we see before us now. They're finally fully healthy and Brunson is performing at a level that he previously held back from so we didn't burnout early like last season.

I guess that I could be accused of "cherry picking," but I have never heard team going 0-16 against tier 1 competition in order to pace themselves. I get what you are saying. If I am Knick's fan I am not hanging my hat over sweeping Memphs and the Bucks, lol. Taking the Nuggets series in a sweep was impressive, and like I said they did take season series against Pacers. Even if you take those positive series into account, the Knicks still had very lopsided losing record against teams that had dominant arcs throughout the season. They also got blown out a lot. Many of their losses were by double digits.

On the other hand, Memphis and the Bucks were very up and down and dysfunctional. Denver too in my opinion, but they have the best player in the league. I guess the question is whether or not their level is closer to that 0-16 record during the RS against those dominant teams or if their true level right now is somehow reflected in their improbable and fluke win over Boston in which they had to come from behind twice on the road when they were down by 20. Throw in Tatum blowing his Achilles in the back end of the series with Boston having two home games left, it all gets murkier. And by "fluke" I don't mean it in a pejorative way, but in the sense I honestly don't know if those circumstances have ever before happened to a 60-win team. I am pretty sure they have not. I have to believe that we re-simulated the exact same scenario 100 times, the Knicks lose 90 percent of the time. First of all, Boston's best player doesn't blow out his Achilles and second of all when a team goes down by 20 on the road in playoff game most of the time the win probability drops to single digits. To win to both of those games so that Boston can't force a game 7 at home is a fluke.

You're treating this like a math problem and it isn't one. The Knicks are simply playing better ball in the playoffs than they did at any point in the season. And it's not like we've gotten hot. We've turned up our defense and rebounding and the best clutch player in the league has come through in key moments. That's a direct result of personnel and scheming that wasn't available in the regular season.

Regarding Tatum, did you watch the game last night? And from there were you thinking "if Tatum were playing, this is an easy W for the Celtics?" Because if that's the case I'm not sure we can take this discussion further. They were absolutely dismantled and humiliated.

I haven't watched much Pacer ball and can't really comment on them but what we saw from the Knicks in G4 and G6 is champion level hoops.

[ballzboyee]

It's hard to really judge this Knicks team. Detroit almost took them to seven games, and they very easily could have lost that series as every game was decided by a couple of points. After blowing multiple 20+ point leads I think it's basically a borderline miracle that Boston did not eliminate them. You have to give them credit for storming back, but nine times out of ten that's not happening, especially on the road. Also the Knicks getting blown out by a Boston team that not only did not have Tatum but also with Porzingis basically not being able play is very troubling. I think Porz played 12 minutes and had like 1 point. How do they get blown out by that Boston team in a close-out game? Knicks were a .500 team after the all-star game. Their overall record is not that great when you realize they got swept against nearly ever good team they played in the regular season. They were 0-4 against Boston, 0-4 against Cleveland, 0-2 against OKC, 0-2 vs Clippers, 0-2 vs Warriors, 0-2 vs Lakers, etc. They had so few quality wins in the RS. They padded their record through by beating up on the worst teams in the league in the East like the Wizards, Toronto, 76ers, Charlotte, Miami, etc. They basically had to sweep all of those teams otherwise they are a sub forty-five win squad.

On paper this Knicks teams is ever so slightly above average. Definitely not an elite team. Maybe they are just getting hot at the right moment or maybe they matchup well with the Pacers and this carries them to the Finals. But, generally, teams are what their regular season record reflects, especially when you starting talking about tier one matchups in the playoffs. Pacers closed the season on fire and were 20-9 after the all-star break. Pacers lost three of four against the Bucks in the RS and in the playoffs almost swept them. Cleveland actually did not play bad at all n their series against Indiana, the Pacers just displayed a flawless brand of unbeatable basketball. They were just utterly dominant. The series against Cleveland was an insane display of just masterful coaching and execution at all levels.

In summary, a lot red flags in my book for the Knicks. I'll take the Pacers to win in six or seven games.

To start…when did the Pistons almost take out the Knicks? Almost took them out in 7? They were down 3-1 and lost in 6. That isn’t exactly almost taking out anyone.

Knicks coming back against Boston down +20 twice…yeah, they did the improbable against the defending champs. That doesn’t happen. Kinda says a lot about this team that did it not once, but twice on the road. As for getting blown out by Boston in a game without Tatum…they still had another All Star forward with 2 All Defensive team guards out there playing for their pride being down 3-1 when they were fully healthy. Knicks played like ****…then promptly disposed of them in a 38 point blowout the next game.

Bringing up the team’s regular season record against top teams…what’s the point of this? Let’s point out that they were 2-1 against the Pacers this season if that matters so much. Or 2-0 against the Nuggets. or 2-0 against Memphis. Or 3-0 against the Bucks. It’s easy to cherry pick certain matchups and try to create an agenda against a team. But guess what? As you said, the Celtics were 4-0 against them…got taken out in 6 games.

And please, the Cavs had Garland out there playing on a sprained toe. Mobley was on a sprained ankle. Hunter had a dislocated thumb. That team wasn’t close to looking like they were in the regular season since Donovan was out there playing hero ball to make up for those injuries. This isn’t to say that the Pacers wouldn’t have won that series regardless, but making it seem like those injuries didn’t have an impact is laughable.

If the Knicks haven’t proven anything in these playoffs, the Pacers have done much less.

Detroit was ahead in game 6 with 30 second left. Should I remind that Detroit also nearly swept the Knicks in the RS taking 3 out of 4. A game 7 is not a gimme for the Knicks.

Bottom line is the Knicks got swept 0-16 against teams that had dominant runs during the RS. By "dominant" I mean teams that had sustained peaks in which they were clearly in the top 10 in winning percentage for long runs throughout the season -- mostly the back half. I don't consider Memphis and the Bucks in that group because they were not. Of the teams in that group the Knicks had five wins against Houston, Denver, Pacers, and Twolves combined -- all teams Teams that finished in top 10 in winning percentage after January 1. That's still give them a 5-19 record over all. The reason I didn't mention those wins because even if you take them into account their overall record was still terrible. Okay, I'll give you those five wins. There. For the most part, the Knicks got beat down by teams in the top 10. But this is a secondary point really. it's not even that they had a lopsided losing record against what I consider to be elite teams, it's the fact that they got swept in so many season series and many of their losses those games were by double digits. I find this fact to be very unusual for a team that supposedly is a threat.

Look... they were down by 20 on the road twice against Boston. That's who the Knicks have been for almost 99 percent of the season when they have faced elite teams. They were going to get blown out again in both games. Sandwiched in there are those two wild come backs in the second half which essentially saved their season. That's it. We are supposed to believe that's who the Knicks are now. I don't buy it.

[cgf]

I respect the hell outta the Knicks starting 5 and yet I can’t watch them for more than a few minutes. Still better than the Celtics who I would have to be paid $100 tax free to watch a full game telecast. I watched the Pacers all season on my dime and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Regardless of opponents and “who beat who when and how healthy they were” yada yada it’s the playoffs at the end of the day. A team that scores 118 to 112 surrendered in the tournament shouldn’t have much of an issue with one at 107 to 106.

The Knicks runs are usually sparked by Hart throwing his body all around the arena. His hustle and nose for the ball are real basketball skills but not by much lol. Meanwhile the Pacers runs are spearheaded by timely defensive swarming (if Nesmith and Nembhard aren’t locking down iso) and genius level ball movement. The Basketball Gods will reward the far more polished product.

Really odd take on the Knicks late game dominance this postseason. Hart is a great energy guy, secondary playmaker, and one man fast break…but our runs have been predicated on our defense clamping down, Robinson dominating the paint & glass, Brunson being an assassin, and Towns / Anunoby / Bridges giving Jalen the support to close any gap.

This would be like saying that all of Indy’s runs are based on Nesmith daring the refs to make the right call, just because that happened once.

[NoDopeOnSundays]

Kat doesn’t scare me. I’ve always thought he was a paper tiger, guy who puts up numbers but isn’t a winning player. Minnesota looking stronger with Randle in his place is certainly interesting.

A lot of casual takes in this thread, especially the defense comments. Pacers are the #8 defense since January, this is not the 2023 Pacers. Every Pacers series thread so far has had some overconfident dudes who don’t watch games saying their team is gonna win in four or five. We’ll see.

You're 9th defensively since January, which is worse than the Celtics who were 3rd over that stretch and the Pistons who were 5th.

The Celtics were also better on offense and had a higher net rating.

Difference is the Celtics never played like those stats in the semifinals. Pacers are honestly player better offensively than they did in the regular season when you factor in how much half court ball is forced in the playoffs with the pace slowing down.

The Celtics defense didn't really slip until game 6, and they had been better on offense & defense through the time period that Pacer fans keep bringing up, which centers around Neismith coming back. They play at the 2nd fastest pace among teams still left in the playoffs, they have one good shot creator in the halfcourt in Siakam, I feel like if they're not pushing tempo or forcing turnovers they're going to have a harder time scoring than people think.


Seriously speaking, just look at who they've played in terms of defenders, not one single perimeter defender on either the Cavs or Bucks is even remotely decent, not a one. It's easy to look good against teams that are hobbled, playing Kevin Porter jr and Gary Trent 30+mpg, isolating on an island with Ty Jerome isn't the same as Bridges or OG.

[cgf]

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Kat doesn’t scare me. I’ve always thought he was a paper tiger, guy who puts up numbers but isn’t a winning player. Minnesota looking stronger with Randle in his place is certainly interesting.

A lot of casual takes in this thread, especially the defense comments. Pacers are the #8 defense since January, this is not the 2023 Pacers. Every Pacers series thread so far has had some overconfident dudes who don’t watch games saying their team is gonna win in four or five. We’ll see.

KAT should continue opening people’s eyes with his play during this run; he’s really made a ton of winning plays for us & I couldn’t be happier to have him, despite having been one of Randle’s biggest fans on this board for years and missing his playmaking.

The Celtics having no answer for him was a big part of what made that series so difficult for them, even when Jalen would have an off night.

[ibraheim718]

The thing about the Detroit series is that Detroit was playing really good the last quarter of the season.

This series matches up really well. Indy is going to use Nesmith on Brunson at times and they're going to use Nembhard at times also. Both those guys give different looks.

OG and Siakim are really familiar with each other from their days in Toronto.

Turner and Towns are a good matchup also.

Of course I'm a huge Mitch Robinson fan and I think he's going to be big this series again protecting the rim and boarding.

For me I think this comes down to the coaches and HCA. Advantage Indiana with Carlisle and advantage MSG.

Overall MSG will probably be the deciding factor and the Knicks having the home court will prove the difference.

New York also has multiple looks they can give Hali.

Knicks in 7 but by a hair.

[Capn'O]

The thing about the Detroit series is that Detroit was playing really good the last quarter of the season.

They surprised me. I left that series as a fan of Cade. Ivey being out probably helped them too. He has a lot of talent but needs seasoning to help a serious team.



Mikal is a wildcard to me. His performance has varied wildly on offense but when he's on we're really hard to beat.

[Jamaaliver]

Read on Twitter

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

Read on Twitter

Man, I miss this.

[SFour]

Pacers still on cloud 9 from taking out the hospital Knicks in 7. This is going to be deja vu with the pacers having an easy route to the eastern conference finals and folding against a fully healthy team

You're assuming the Knicks stay healthy.....a single OG injury would change the series

[cgf]

What it's looking to me like is that the Knicks paced themselves during the regular season for a deep playoff run. We didn't really see this level of defensive intensity all year and Thibs didn't really run diverse gameplans the way he has in the playoffs. We didn't have Mitchell Robinson until March and he took awhile to ramp up. While technically a role player, he's been really critical to what we've done defensively this playoffs and when he's in we're back to being the elite offensive rebounding team we were last season. When he did come back, we didn't have Brunson so still not a full arsenal. Then, Detroit was a great tuneup. Not star studded but a very tough team that can stay in any game with their defense, and with an up and coming star player who I think is going to plant himself firmly in the Top 10 next season.

So this isn't really the same team you saw and the regular season data is not really looking at the team we see before us now. They're finally fully healthy and Brunson is performing at a level that he previously held back from so we didn't burnout early like last season.

I guess that I could be accused of "cherry picking," but I have never heard team going 0-16 against tier 1 competition in order to pace themselves. I get what you are saying. If I am Knick's fan I am not hanging my hat over sweeping Memphs and the Bucks, lol. Taking the Nuggets series in a sweep was impressive, and like I said they did take season series against Pacers. Even if you take those positive series into account, the Knicks still had very lopsided losing record against teams that had dominant arcs throughout the season. They also got blown out a lot. Many of their losses were by double digits.

On the other hand, Memphis and the Bucks were very up and down and dysfunctional. Denver too in my opinion, but they have the best player in the league. I guess the question is whether or not their level is closer to that 0-16 record during the RS against those dominant teams or if their true level right now is somehow reflected in their improbable and fluke win over Boston in which they had to come from behind twice on the road when they were down by 20. Throw in Tatum blowing his Achilles in the back end of the series with Boston having two home games left, it all gets murkier. And by "fluke" I don't mean it in a pejorative way, but in the sense I honestly don't know if those circumstances have ever before happened to a 60-win team. I am pretty sure they have not. I have to believe that we re-simulated the exact same scenario 100 times, the Knicks lose 90 percent of the time. First of all, Boston's best player doesn't blow out his Achilles and second of all when a team goes down by 20 on the road in playoff game most of the time the win probability drops to single digits. To win to both of those games so that Boston can't force a game 7 at home is a fluke.

You're treating this like a math problem and it isn't one. The Knicks are simply playing better ball in the playoffs than they did at any point in the season. And it's not like we've gotten hot. We've turned up our defense and rebounding and the best clutch player in the league has come through in key moments. That's a direct result of personnel and scheming that wasn't available in the regular season.

Regarding Tatum, did you watch the game last night? And from there were you thinking "if Tatum were playing, this is an easy W for the Celtics?" Because if that's the case I'm not sure we can take this discussion further. They were absolutely dismantled and humiliated.

I haven't watched much Pacer ball and can't really comment on them but what we saw from the Knicks in G4 and G6 is champion level hoops.

Yeah there’s a reason people who judge teams by their numbers & metrics have been surprised by the Knicks / pacers / wolves in a way those of us who watched those team’s growth and look at what they could achieve with their talent, haven’t.

If you don’t recognize the way these teams have improved from the start of the year to now, you’ll miss their actual quality & continue to be surprised by how well they can play.

That said, I do like our chances in this one, but just like the RS metrics don’t tell folks what our defense is like with OG unleashed, Mikal getting physical, Mitch healthy, KAT & Jalen working hard, Thibs scheming, and playoff refs…they don’t capture how draining these pacers are to play against.

[NYKnickerbocker]

It's hard to really judge this Knicks team. Detroit almost took them to seven games, and they very easily could have lost that series as every game was decided by a couple of points. After blowing multiple 20+ point leads I think it's basically a borderline miracle that Boston did not eliminate them. You have to give them credit for storming back, but nine times out of ten that's not happening, especially on the road. Also the Knicks getting blown out by a Boston team that not only did not have Tatum but also with Porzingis basically not being able play is very troubling. I think Porz played 12 minutes and had like 1 point. How do they get blown out by that Boston team in a close-out game? Knicks were a .500 team after the all-star game. Their overall record is not that great when you realize they got swept against nearly ever good team they played in the regular season. They were 0-4 against Boston, 0-4 against Cleveland, 0-2 against OKC, 0-2 vs Clippers, 0-2 vs Warriors, 0-2 vs Lakers, etc. They had so few quality wins in the RS. They padded their record through by beating up on the worst teams in the league in the East like the Wizards, Toronto, 76ers, Charlotte, Miami, etc. They basically had to sweep all of those teams otherwise they are a sub forty-five win squad.

On paper this Knicks teams is ever so slightly above average. Definitely not an elite team. Maybe they are just getting hot at the right moment or maybe they matchup well with the Pacers and this carries them to the Finals. But, generally, teams are what their regular season record reflects, especially when you starting talking about tier one matchups in the playoffs. Pacers closed the season on fire and were 20-9 after the all-star break. Pacers lost three of four against the Bucks in the RS and in the playoffs almost swept them. Cleveland actually did not play bad at all n their series against Indiana, the Pacers just displayed a flawless brand of unbeatable basketball. They were just utterly dominant. The series against Cleveland was an insane display of just masterful coaching and execution at all levels.

In summary, a lot red flags in my book for the Knicks. I'll take the Pacers to win in six or seven games.

To start…when did the Pistons almost take out the Knicks? Almost took them out in 7? They were down 3-1 and lost in 6. That isn’t exactly almost taking out anyone.

Knicks coming back against Boston down +20 twice…yeah, they did the improbable against the defending champs. That doesn’t happen. Kinda says a lot about this team that did it not once, but twice on the road. As for getting blown out by Boston in a game without Tatum…they still had another All Star forward with 2 All Defensive team guards out there playing for their pride being down 3-1 when they were fully healthy. Knicks played like ****…then promptly disposed of them in a 38 point blowout the next game.

Bringing up the team’s regular season record against top teams…what’s the point of this? Let’s point out that they were 2-1 against the Pacers this season if that matters so much. Or 2-0 against the Nuggets. or 2-0 against Memphis. Or 3-0 against the Bucks. It’s easy to cherry pick certain matchups and try to create an agenda against a team. But guess what? As you said, the Celtics were 4-0 against them…got taken out in 6 games.

And please, the Cavs had Garland out there playing on a sprained toe. Mobley was on a sprained ankle. Hunter had a dislocated thumb. That team wasn’t close to looking like they were in the regular season since Donovan was out there playing hero ball to make up for those injuries. This isn’t to say that the Pacers wouldn’t have won that series regardless, but making it seem like those injuries didn’t have an impact is laughable.

If the Knicks haven’t proven anything in these playoffs, the Pacers have done much less.

Detroit was ahead in game 6 with 30 second left. Should I remind that Detroit also nearly swept the Knicks in the RS taking 3 out of 4. A game 7 is not a gimme for the Knicks.

Bottom line is the Knicks got swept 0-16 against teams that had dominant runs during the RS. By "dominant" I mean teams that had sustained peaks in which they were clearly in the top 10 in winning percentage for long runs throughout the season -- mostly the back half. I don't consider Memphis and the Bucks in that group because they were not. Of the teams in that group the Knicks had five wins against Houston, Denver, Pacers, and Twolves combined -- all teams Teams that finished in top 10 in winning percentage after January 1. That's still give them a 5-19 record over all. The reason I didn't mention those wins because even if you take them into account their overall record was still terrible. Okay, I'll give you those five wins. There. For the most part, the Knicks got beat down by teams in the top 10. But this is a secondary point really. it's not even that they had a lopsided losing record against what I consider to be elite teams, it's the fact that they got swept in so many season series and many of their losses those games were by double digits. I find this fact to be very unusual for a team that supposedly is a threat.

Look... they were down by 20 on the road twice against Boston. That's who the Knicks have been for almost 99 percent of the season when they have faced elite teams. They were going to get blown out again in both games. Sandwiched in there are those two wild come backs in the second half which essentially saved their season. That's it. We are supposed to believe that's who the Knicks are now. I don't buy it.

can’t wait to read about all the improbable things that had to happen when/if the Knicks win this series. That seems to be the theme this postseason for my knickerbockers instead of just giving them their credit with no backhand remarks

[cgf]

The thing about the Detroit series is that Detroit was playing really good the last quarter of the season.

They surprised me. I left that series as a fan of Cade. Ivey being out probably helped them too. He has a lot of talent but needs seasoning to help a serious team.



Mikal is a wildcard to me. His performance has varied wildly on offense but when he's on we're really hard to beat.

Yeah, there’s a reason why I kept saying the main difference between Detroit / Orlando & Houston was that the west didn’t have Boston / New York / Indiana behind OKC. Those kids are tough.

And the methodical way that Cade utilizes his skill / strength / smarts, reminds me of a less skilled (for now anyway) but bigger Brunson. The east is going to be such a war, even without tatum

[cgf]

Pacers still on cloud 9 from taking out the hospital Knicks in 7. This is going to be deja vu with the pacers having an easy route to the eastern conference finals and folding against a fully healthy team

You're assuming the Knicks stay healthy.....a single OG injury would change the series

As would a Haliburton injury.

[RHODEY]

It's hard to really judge this Knicks team. Detroit almost took them to seven games, and they very easily could have lost that series as every game was decided by a couple of points. After blowing multiple 20+ point leads I think it's basically a borderline miracle that Boston did not eliminate them. You have to give them credit for storming back, but nine times out of ten that's not happening, especially on the road. Also the Knicks getting blown out by a Boston team that not only did not have Tatum but also with Porzingis basically not being able play is very troubling. I think Porz played 12 minutes and had like 1 point. How do they get blown out by that Boston team in a close-out game? Knicks were a .500 team after the all-star game. Their overall record is not that great when you realize they got swept against nearly ever good team they played in the regular season. They were 0-4 against Boston, 0-4 against Cleveland, 0-2 against OKC, 0-2 vs Clippers, 0-2 vs Warriors, 0-2 vs Lakers, etc. They had so few quality wins in the RS. They padded their record through by beating up on the worst teams in the league in the East like the Wizards, Toronto, 76ers, Charlotte, Miami, etc. They basically had to sweep all of those teams otherwise they are a sub forty-five win squad.

On paper this Knicks teams is ever so slightly above average. Definitely not an elite team. Maybe they are just getting hot at the right moment or maybe they matchup well with the Pacers and this carries them to the Finals. But, generally, teams are what their regular season record reflects, especially when you starting talking about tier one matchups in the playoffs. Pacers closed the season on fire and were 20-9 after the all-star break. Pacers lost three of four against the Bucks in the RS and in the playoffs almost swept them. Cleveland actually did not play bad at all n their series against Indiana, the Pacers just displayed a flawless brand of unbeatable basketball. They were just utterly dominant. The series against Cleveland was an insane display of masterful coaching and execution at all levels.

In summary, a lot red flags in my book for the Knicks. I'll take the Pacers to win in six or seven games.

Its not hard for me to judge. We beat a very physical Detroit squad that was allowed to essentially play football on the basketball court in 6., then We beat a Celtics Championship team that had home court advantage and was the people choice in 6.

I understand that this leaves Knicks haterz in shambles so the next move would be for y'all to slander the quality of our wins. Now all of a sudden we shoudls have had an easy time with he up and coming Pistons who had the "best" player on the court..... and we lucked out coming from behind by 20 points (twice) on the road against Celtics.

No sir you are COPING.I expect you to keep hedging your bets to avoid giving the Knicks any credit. Because that's what haterz do .

That's cool because we will just keep on WINNING.

[TheGOATRises007]

I'll say Knicks in 7, but it's pretty close. Could see it going either way.

[ArksNetsSince99]

Pacers still on cloud 9 from taking out the hospital Knicks in 7. This is going to be deja vu with the pacers having an easy route to the eastern conference finals and folding against a fully healthy team

You're assuming the Knicks stay healthy.....a single OG injury would change the series

OG is never injured though