Where to start?
The storylines are endless.
The Knicks and Pacers faced off in the playoffs six times in eight years in the ’90s.
Now, after reaching the Eastern Conference finals, they’ve restored that rivalry with a playoff matchup in back-to-back years.
There are multiple reasons for revenge.
There are antagonists.
There are clashing styles of play.
There is history on the line.
May 2024. Charles Wenzelberg
Let’s dive into the series from all angles:
The Knicks were upset by the Pacers in the second round last year.
After taking a 2-0 series lead, they lost four of the next five games and lost Game 7 at Madison Square Garden.
But the Knicks were decimated by injuries — Julius Randle and Bojan Bogdanovic did not play in the series, Mitchell Robinson only played one game, OG Anunoby missed multiple contests and Jalen Brunson broke his hand in Game 7.
Josh Hart was playing through an abdominal injury as well.
There is good reason for Knicks fans to believe the Pacers got lucky last year.
The Knicks are fully healthy this time around and can right last year’s wrong.
The Pacers also eliminated the Knicks the last time they made the Eastern Conference finals, in the 1999-2000 season.
Revenge would be twice as sweet.
Tyrese Haliburton is not on the level of Reggie Miller.
Nobody is.
But he fully leans into a villain personality.
After the Pacers eliminated the Knicks last year, he wore a shirt depicting Miller’s famous choking gesture during his postgame news conference.
Haliburton and the Pacers’ ability to get under opponents’ skin — especially when in front of their raucous Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd — certainly is a factor.
It can wear teams down as a series goes on.
Speaking of wearing teams down, the Pacers style of play is hard to match game after game.
They play at an incredible pace — no pun intended — and speed opponents up faster than they’d want.
In the regular season, they averaged 100.8 possessions per 48 minutes (seventh most in the NBA).
The Knicks averaged 97.08 (fourth fewest).
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In the playoffs, the Pacers are averaging 99.3, while the Knicks are at 95.3.
Defensively, the Pacers often pick up full-court.
They utilize a deep bench with a 10-man rotation, keeping everyone fresh and full of energy when they’re on the court.
Nobody is averaging more than Haliburton’s 34.1 minutes per game this postseason.
Every single Knicks starter is above that threshold, and they’ve whittled their rotation down to seven players most nights.
The Pacers are shooting 40.6 percent from 3-point range this postseason — best among all playoff teams and nearly 3 percent higher than anyone else.
The Knicks’ 3-point defense has been streaky this postseason.
Take their past two games, for example — they allowed the Celtics to shoot 44.9 percent from deep in Game 5 and then just 30.0 percent in Game 6.
What’s happening on and off the Garden court
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The Knicks themselves have been hot and cold, shooting 35.8 percent from deep this postseason.
Karl-Anthony Towns’ prowess from behind the arc is incredibly important to the Knicks, and he went just 3-for-19 from deep last round.
Obi Toppin — the Knicks’ 2020 No. 8 overall pick whom they sent to the Pacers for two second-round picks — has carved out a steady role with Indiana.
He is averaging 8.5 points in 16 minutes per game this postseason and is a big part of the Pacers’ strength in transition.
The rivalry has long been dubbed “Hicks vs. Knicks.”
It’s New York City vs. Indiana.
It’s Wall Street vs. farmland.
It’s the coast vs. the Midwest.
Madison Square Garden vs. Gainbridge Fieldhouse.
Let the animosity commence.