Knicks vs. Pacers: Five things to watch in NBA Eastern Conference finals
The Knicks may have been built with an eye on matching up with the Boston Celtics, but after finishing that job, they have moved on to this Eastern Conference finals meeting with the Indiana Pacers.
While it may take just as long to clean up the streets around Madison Square Garden after the wild party Friday night, the Knicks have four days to get ready for the Pacers.
The preparation might not be that different from what they just finished with Boston. The Knicks again are facing a deep team that pushes the ball, has every player on the court firing up three-pointers and can break you almost before you know it.
Here are five things the Knicks should look for:
1. The memory should be long
The Knicks can recall all of the moments of the long and storied postseason rivalry with Indiana, but really, they need look back only to a year ago. They faced the Pacers in the second round of the playoffs and saw their season end in disappointing fashion as injuries piled up and they dropped a seven-game series. The reminders of the history were on the hoodies of Tyrese Haliburton, who trolled the Knicks on and off the court.
But what the Knicks really need to focus on is the ending, a broken hand for Jalen Brunson. It was the last of a series of injuries that ruined their chances. The Knicks took two of three from the Pacers in the 2024-25 regular season, but this didn’t seem like the rivalry to focus on — until now.
2. The run and run and run and gun
That’s not a typo. It needs to be reinforced just how much the Pacers will run and push the ball. Most teams run off missed shots, but Indiana is amazingly adept at grabbing the ball as it passes through the net, inbounding it and having all five players racing up the floor.
For the Knicks, this means that everyone has to get back on defense and communicate, an attribute that they didn’t display against Boston until Game 6. Karl-Anthony Towns, in particular, needs to stay on his feet offensively, breaking his habit of driving and hitting the floor (and then raising his arms in shock when he doesn’t get a foul call).
“I think it’s twofold,” Tom Thibodeau said during the Boston series. “The commitment to sprint back and then communicate to make sure that we understand what’s going on. You can’t have any personal dilemmas of if you’re missing a shot or if it’s not going well for you offensively, that you’re jogging back. You’ve got to sprint back. You’ve got to communicate. And we’ve got to be matched up. If one guy is slow, you’re going to give them an open shot.”
3. Deep roster horizon
Like the Celtics, the Pacers can come at you in never-ending waves. Indiana has had 11 players average at least 9.6 minutes per game in the postseason; the Knicks have seven. And those Indiana players are productive, with eight who have averaged at least 8.5 points per game. That number includes former Knick Obi Toppin.
The Knicks have had only five, as all five starters are averaging double-figure scoring. They have shrugged off the minutes criticism by reaching this round as healthy as any team in the playoffs and have shown that conditioning to play big minutes during the regular season actually helps when you have to play big minutes in the postseason.
But facing the Pacers doesn’t allow for much idle time on the floor. Getting solid contributions again from Mitchell Robinson and Deuce McBride off the bench, as well as maybe Cam Payne and a surprise addition (Landry Shamet or Precious Achiuwa), would help.
4. Find the shooters — all of the shooters
Just as the Celtics fired away from three-point range, every Pacers on the floor is capable of draining shots. Four of their prolific shooters beyond the arc have topped 40% in the playoffs.
Andrew Nembhard (50.0%), Aaron Nesmith (48.2%), Myles Turner (45.0%) and Pascal Siakam (44.1%) all made the Bucks and Cavaliers pay, and of course Knicks fans remember Toppin camped out in the corner during his days with the Knicks.
5. Consistent help would be a help
So much was on Brunson’s shoulders last season as the injuries piled up. He responded, averaging 29.7 points per game in the series. Others worth noting this time around include Karl-Anthony Towns, who averaged 30.3 points per game in three meetings with the Pacers this season. OG Anunoby averaged 19.5 in two games against the Pacers this season and had 28 points in 28 minutes in Game 2 last season before suffering a hamstring injury that sidelined him for all but a token effort to get on the floor in Game 7.
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
