(Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski/Imagn Images)
The Eastern Conference Finals begins this week between the 3rd seeded New York Knicks and 4th seeded Indiana Pacers. Game one will be on Wednesday at 5:00 PM PT on TNT/TruTV. Below are five things to look for in the series.
#1. Can the Pacers slow down Jalen Brunson? Jalen Brunson is coming into the series averaging a ridiculous 28.8 points and 7.7 assists per game during the playoffs. He’s really in the zone right now. Something to look for is whether or not the Pacers will be able to do a better job defending him than the Pistons and Celtics did. If not, the Knicks are going to be extremely tough to stop.
#2. Can the Pacers’ ball movement make the difference? The Pacers averaged 29.2 assists per game during the regular season, which is 3rd in the NBA while the Knicks averaged 27.5 points per game, which ranks 11th in the NBA. During the playoffs, the Pacers have taken it up a notch with 29.7 assists per game as Tyrese Haliburton’s 9.3 assists per game during the playoffs leads the NBA. If the Pacers are going to win the series, their ball movement is going to have play a major role.
#3. Will the Pacers’ rest help them out at all? The Pacers come into this series with more rest having taken out the top-seeded Cavaliers in five games while the Knicks had to play a game six to dispatch of the Celtics. Getting a couple extra days to rest should certainly help the Pacers, but will it make any meaningful difference? Game one should tell us a lot.
#4. Can the Knicks close the gap on the 3-ball? The Knicks are shooting 35.8% from 3-point range in the playoffs while the Pacers are shooting 40.6%. If the Knicks want to win the series, it would help them a lot if they could get more threes to fall while defending the Pacers from the perimeter. The Pacers are coming in with a lot of confidence in their 3-point shooting, so slowing them down in that department will be no easy task.
#5. Will the rivalry feel rekindled? The Knicks and Pacers had a lot of battles in the 1990s and have formed one of the more iconic NBA rivalries. This series certainly has a chance to add an exciting chapter to it. The fans should be fired up on both sides. It certainly would be good for the NBA to have this be a competitive series given the history between these two teams.
Prediction: The Pacers seem to have really taken things up a notch during the playoffs. I got them winning this series in six games.
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