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

[Froob]

I got **** for saying pacers in five, maybe I overestimated the knicks

[Astaluego]

Siakam and Brunson were stellar. I'd even say the Knicks were better overall, but the small details fall on the Pacers' side. Towns, as talented as they are, are too careless. In my opinion, they're the biggest culprits for the loss. . Addition for subtraction, it's fool's gold. The Wolves haven't missed them at all. .. Trade him straight for KD.

[Prestige]

Thibs is gone if they lose this series. I can see them hiring Mike Malone.

[bronxknicksfan1]

Give Carlisle the Knicks roster instead of the Pacers roster…he’d still be up 2-0.

We might have the worst coach left in the playoffs and it’s showing in embarrassing fashion.

Eh, this is really on the players. Can't be bleeding points like this and hoping for bailouts from the refs to succeed.

If every stat in the world is telling you your starting lineup is not good and every other lineup is better, but you don’t adjust…as a coach, you’re not putting your players in a spot to succeed. That’s on Thibs.

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

Give Carlisle the Knicks roster instead of the Pacers roster…he’d still be up 2-0.

We might have the worst coach left in the playoffs and it’s showing in embarrassing fashion.

I mean, Knicks fans were very confident in him as a coach coming into the series, losing two games sucks, but he’s apparently been amazing for y’all all season, no?

[xxSnEaKyPxx]

One crazy thing about the NBA, I think everyone would agree Karl Anthony-Towns is a better basketball player than guys like Aaron Nesmith or Andrew Nembhard. Between the All-Star games and All-NBA teams, he’s one of the best players in basketball.

Yet with the game on the line, the Knicks felt they were better off with him on the bench. Meanwhile, the Pacers feel like they can’t win those games without Nembhard and Nesmith on the floor in the big moments.

Obviously just one game and KAT usually closes games, just kinda interesting. Every role can be super important when you find the players willing to buy in.

[G R E Y]

Whew Pacers are on a scorching heater!

[FlatearthZorro]

Oh and I've said this since last year, Haliburton>>>>>> Fox... NO idea what the heck Fox is doing.

[Wolfgang630]

Fire Thibs and hire Mike Malone after the Knicks lose this series

[Optimus_Steel]

Haliburton with the oopsie doopsie!

Haliburton really looks like Magic out there at times. Obviously, a long ways to go before he' in that conversation but he has a lot of the same characteristics as a player in terms of his ability to affect the game without scoring. Magic must be smiling watching him work. Hali proves pretty convincingly that Magic would dominate this league today.

the pacers are the nash/dantoni suns fully realized.

Nah, the Suns teams of that Nash era were better than this Indy team.

[garrick]

One crazy thing about the NBA, I think everyone would agree Karl Anthony-Towns is a better basketball player than guys like Aaron Nesmith or Andrew Nembhard. Between the All-Star games and All-NBA teams, he’s one of the best players in basketball.

Yet with the game on the line, the Knicks felt they were better off with him on the bench. Meanwhile, the Pacers feel like they can’t win those games without Nembhard and Nesmith on the floor in the big moments.

Obviously just one game and KAT usually closes games, just kinda interesting. Every role can be super important when you find the players willing to buy in.

If KAT isn't giving you 30 points he's a complete liability because he commits the dumbest fouls and is such a bad defender overall.

I've always thought he was super overrated as a player.

[bronxknicksfan1]

Give Carlisle the Knicks roster instead of the Pacers roster…he’d still be up 2-0.

We might have the worst coach left in the playoffs and it’s showing in embarrassing fashion.

I mean, Knicks fans were very confident in him as a coach coming into the series, losing two games sucks, but he’s apparently been amazing for y’all all season, no?

I was more confident in the talent because I don’t think that’s the issue rn. Thibs has been holding this team back for a while.

[Castle Black]

Think the Knicks lock in and win Game 3 to make it a series. They're not getting swept imo. Then we get a pivotal Game 4.

[Capn'O]

Give Carlisle the Knicks roster instead of the Pacers roster…he’d still be up 2-0.

We might have the worst coach left in the playoffs and it’s showing in embarrassing fashion.

I mean, Knicks fans were very confident in him as a coach coming into the series, losing two games sucks, but he’s apparently been amazing for y’all all season, no?

Not really all season. It felt like there was a disconnect between coaching philosophy and personnel. Mitch bridges that a lot and he wasn't available for much of the season. The Boston series was a good moment for him but also when it felt like it finally clicked with Mitch.

This series, Carlisle and the Pacers are really exposing the Brunson/Hart/KAT lineups and we don't have anything in the clip that's tested and ready to counter. It's a problem that he's set up the entire season by running such a short rotation and inflexibility with the SL. We were able to find a mix in the last series that worked. In this one, we're out of options.


We do have a young player in Hukporti who showed flashes of providing a lot of what Mitch provides and iHart provided last year but he got hurt right as he was starting to get integrated and hasn't cracked the rotation this playoffs. Then there's Delon Wright who can provide some relief handling the ball and guard 1-3. He could spell Mikal and Hart. Carlisle has kept your guys fresh by trusting in guys like Sheppard for spurts and he's been rewarded. These are habits that are built up over the course of a season and it's what Thibs absolutely refuses to do until he's forced by injury.

[Tracymcgoaty]

Dayum Pacers! Carlisle is such a great coach. Crazy Dallas didn't keep him.

[ChuckChilly]

I still think the Knicks can come back and win or at least get it to game 7. It took a basketball miracle for them to lose game 1 and they just didn't play well all around game 2, with Siakim literally having the best playoff game of his career.

The Knicks starting 5 just needs to figure out how to all play well on offense at the same time. Seems like 2 or 3 of the 5 is always having a subpar game while the others thrive.

[Nuntius]

Spend all these assets and money on defense (Bridges and OG) but bring in Towns and it's meaningless. Can you build a respectable defense with Brunson/Towns getting 40 min a night in the playoffs?

I think so. Or at least a more dynamic offense that can help make up for it. I don't think KAT is a horrible defender he's just not being used correctly. He did alright in the Celtics series because we stopped doing stupid drop coverage. But now Thibs has reverted and KAT struggles in drop coverage plus drop coverage in modern NBA is stupid AF.

I think that the worst way to attack KAT defensively is to do what the Celtics did and iso against him. When KAT can focus on doing a single thing (ie, stay in front of X) then he does alright. But run him through multiple actions so he has to account for a lot of different scenarios and that's when you can pounce.

[NoStatsGuy]

One crazy thing about the NBA, I think everyone would agree Karl Anthony-Towns is a better basketball player than guys like Aaron Nesmith or Andrew Nembhard. Between the All-Star games and All-NBA teams, he’s one of the best players in basketball.

Yet with the game on the line, the Knicks felt they were better off with him on the bench. Meanwhile, the Pacers feel like they can’t win those games without Nembhard and Nesmith on the floor in the big moments.

Obviously just one game and KAT usually closes games, just kinda interesting. Every role can be super important when you find the players willing to buy in.

when people get blinded by efficiency, advanced stats and regular season performance vs the bobcats on a tuesday evening. KAT is not passing the eye test way too many times for an all nba player.

yea its a bit of prisoner of the moment and recency bias, i wont argue that. everybody agrees that kat is better than randle. but is he actually? im not so sure. basketball is played on the court and not in the calculator and on the court im not in love with kat half the games hes played

[Capn'O]

Spend all these assets and money on defense (Bridges and OG) but bring in Towns and it's meaningless. Can you build a respectable defense with Brunson/Towns getting 40 min a night in the playoffs?

I think so. Or at least a more dynamic offense that can help make up for it. I don't think KAT is a horrible defender he's just not being used correctly. He did alright in the Celtics series because we stopped doing stupid drop coverage. But now Thibs has reverted and KAT struggles in drop coverage plus drop coverage in modern NBA is stupid AF.

I think that the worst way to attack KAT defensively is to do what the Celtics did and iso against him. When KAT can focus on doing a single thing (ie, stay in front of X) then he does alright. But run him through multiple actions so he has to account for a lot of different scenarios and that's when you can pounce.

I basically just wrote the same thing on our forum. He's basically a modern Carlos Boozer. His positive defensive side is especially true against bigger players and he's played some great defense against guys like Jokic and Embiid this year. Or he can even guard the perimeter 1 on 1 because he can take advantage of his size. Siakam and Turner are terrible covers for him because Siakam is shifty and Turner is inside out and faster than KAT and they're both still big. Then you can run him through a bunch of switches and other actions and he's lost.

[FlatearthZorro]

I got **** for saying pacers in five, maybe I overestimated the knicks

I said Pacers in 6. It is what it is, it could still go 6 (same way we did).