Knicks vs. Pacers: Three keys for Game 5
Knicks center Mitchell Robinson dunks the ball past Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard during the first half of Game 4 of the NBA Eastern Conference finals in Indianapolis on Tuesday. Credit: AP/Michael Conroy
1. Listen to the “de-fense” chants
The Knicks had some offensive issues Tuesday, but the defense that they found in Game 3 disappeared in Game 4. It wasn’t just targeting Jalen Brunson or Karl-Anthony Towns, but Mikal Bridges’ inability to slow down Tyrese Haliburton, who had a historic performance. Mitchell Robinson did not have his usual impact around the rim and they allowed many open three-point field goals.
2. Remember the combination?
The Knicks, other than when an injury caused an absence, used the same lineup for 82 regular season games and the first 14 playoff games. And then they switched the lineup up and it hasn’t exactly solved their issues. Mitchell Robinson made the offense worse and his presence in place of Josh Hart allowed the Pacers to play faster and the efforts at switching and mismatched rotations let the Pacers convert more three-point field goals in the first quarter than they had the entire previous game. So does Tom Thibodeau revert back to the traditional starters back at the Garden?
3. Be more than star power
Even if they came up nearly empty in the fourth quarter Tuesday the Knicks still can rely on Brunson and Towns to provide the offensive firepower. But don’t the Pacers look like they are having more fun out there? While Haliburton may have been the star Tuesday, it was Pascal Siakam before that and Aaron Nesmith in Game 1. In the Knicks one victory so far in this series, Towns scored 20 points in the fourth quarter and the four players who played nearly the entire quarter around him didn’t have a single field goal among them.
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.
