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

[NoDopeOnSundays]

Yea, I tend to agree. Rebounds are a thorn in the Pacers side and the Knicks have a lot of great rebounders. The Pacers can’t let the Knicks just continue to get offensive boards or they are done for.

Will be interesting to see who gets to dictate the pace of the game.

Ultimately, I suspect the Knicks will win the series, but the Pacers offense is tough for teams.

Best of luck to the cool Knicks fans! Kick rocks to the annoying ones. :-p

I just think throughout NBA history, we've seen fast-paced teams get their wings clipped against slower teams that have an uglier brand of basketball. Obviously there will be stretches or games where the Pacers get cooking from three, but for the most part a lot of what they do relies on playing fast and getting out in transition, that's harder to do when you're trying to secure defensive rebounds. I think we'll play our big lineup more often, and just try and bludgeon them with caveman basketball I don't think they can win a series if we control the pace and it's just a rock fight.

Thing is, the Pacers will run regardless. Even if y’all score, the Pacers will run.

Teams have tried the two big lineup against the Pacers, it just hasn’t worked with great success. I think Robinson will have his hands full with Turner.

I think the keys for the Knicks will actually be OG and Hart.

The Cavs big lineup didn't have any perimeter defenders, while ours has Mikal/OG, there were even times Thibs ran Hart, KAT and Mitch together, which results in a ton of rebounds and awful spacing, but still a lot of offensive rebounds


I just think there are not a lot of similarities between us and other teams with big lineups. For instance, the Cavs big lineups has two small guards, while we have 2 elite perimeter defenders, and OG will absolutely be able to switch 1-5 on the Pacers. I'd actually guard Turner with him, and hide KAT on Neismith, also Mitch was able to stick with Tatum on switches, if he can deal with that and the Celtics spacing I like his chances against Hali.

We'll see, I just think after the Celtics, we've seen a full 5 out team with 2 elite shot creators and were able to impose our ugly style on them when it mattered.

[NoDopeOnSundays]

Reading thru these comments you’d think NY is a 60 win team. These teams were separated by a whole one game. Pacers in 6.

Brunson missed an entire month.

Nembhard and Nesmith missed considerable time as well.

My brother in Christ, Nembhard and Nesmith aren't as important as a top 10 player, no offense.


Robinson missed 65 games too.

[SlimShady83]

I don’t think the Knicks can score with the pacers

I think you've forgotten about defense already

[EArl]

I'll be rooting for the Knicks to win it all from this point on.
I want their fans to be obnoxiously arrogant for a year.

[nyknicks09]

Our Knicks have home court advantage and have lost just 1 game on the road during the playoffs. The Pistons was a tough test and the Celtics gave us a sense that we can beat anyone regardless of how we played during the season versus that team.

I voted sweep! This Knicks team is build different and we bounce back when it looks like we’re about to lose the game and for some reason we turn the switch on defense and our offense just has a flow where it can win the game during crunch time.

JB is Mr. Clutch!

Starting this series at MSG looks like a good start to win the ECF. Win both games at home and the Pacers are in trouble.

[Mavrelous]

Shokicg ECF, but well desereved by both teams, each took down a giant...

[durden_tyler]

I don’t think the Knicks can score with the pacers

Good to see you backing the other side again. LOL


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’m undecided actually

Yeah, heavily leaning on Knicks but this much rest day, could still flip!

[NoDopeOnSundays]

I'll be rooting for the Knicks to win it all from this point on.
I want their fans to be obnoxiously arrogant for a year.

[Boneman2]

Brunson missed an entire month.

Nembhard and Nesmith missed considerable time as well.

My brother in Christ, Nembhard and Nesmith aren't as important as a top 10 player, no offense.


Robinson missed 65 games too.

Keep hearing about OG and Bridges’ perimeter defense. That’s what Aaron and Andrew do for the Pacers. Pacers had the 4th best record since Jan 1st, coinciding with everyone returning to the lineup.

Valid point about Robinson.

[sunsbg]

I don't see which SL position is in Pacers advantage. Better depth maybe ? Knicks have home court. The league wants them in the finals, so they probably get more calls from the refs.

[NiceLikeChrist]

Unlike last year we're healthy, Knicks in 5 or 6.

So you are saying a series win isn’t legitimate if the team isn’t healthy?

If the opposing team is missing multiple starters from game 1 and then loses a 3rd starter after being up 2-0 then of course the series isn’t legitimate. That was Knicks/pacers last year.

If, for example, a team was already down 1-3 when one of their starters gets hurt then it clearly didn’t mean much. They were going to lose either way. That was our Celtics series.

[Wolfgang630]

This is gonna be a 7 game series with Knicks pulling it out.

[NoDopeOnSundays]

Nembhard and Nesmith missed considerable time as well.

My brother in Christ, Nembhard and Nesmith aren't as important as a top 10 player, no offense.


Robinson missed 65 games too.

Keep hearing about OG and Bridges’ perimeter defense. That’s what Aaron and Andrew do for the Pacers. Pacers had the 4th best record since Jan 1st, coinciding with everyone returning to the lineup.

Valid point about Robinson.

Celtics had the second best record since Jan 1st


Our team wasn't healthy & whole until April 6th, Robinson came back in March and Brunson got hurt 2 games later, and was out a month. We'll see, I think revenge factor plays a part too. Yall had a little too much fun in that game 7

[spree8]

The arrogance of the Knicks fanbase is astounding.

Where? lol I think it’s all in your head man

[monopoman]

Knicks fans already act like they have the whole thing won, I have never seen a city go crazy for making it to the ECF or WCF.

[LFGK]

Knicks fans already act like they have the whole thing won, I have never seen a city go crazy for making it to the ECF or WCF.

Deal with it

[bronxknicksfan1]

Knicks fans already act like they have the whole thing won, I have never seen a city go crazy for making it to the ECF or WCF.

It’s been 25 years. I got a lil emotional seeing us win this. Being the butt of the joke for a quarter century, dealing with bad rosters year to year, getting spurned by big FAs, KD saying the Knicks weren’t cool…

We deserve this.

[LFGK]

This will not be a long series, people are looking at last season but teams are a bit different even though Knicks were missing a lot, the guy that will make the biggest difference(besides OG) is Mitch, he finally looks like Mitch and that is awful news for the Pacers, Knicks slow the game down and will absolutely pound them on the boards. This isn't obnoxious or cocky or anything. I have yet to see the pacers beat a team that was healthy the last 2 years. The only healthy team they played they got swept

[Butch718]

Knicks in 7.

Pacers have more depth and are a well oiled machine. It would be foolish to underestimate them after what they did to the Cavs.

But Brunson is gonna be the best player in the series. He will probably put them over the top.

[knicksNOTslick]

The arrogance of the Knicks fanbase is astounding.

The arrogance of all the posters on this board and the entire media who said the Knicks had no chance vs Boston. "Celtics in 5, Knicks would be lucky to win a game." But New York fans talk back and it's arrogant.