Eastern Conference Finals Preview: New York Knicks (4) vs. Indiana Pacers (5)

Photo credit: Frank Franklin II, Associated Press.

One is blue collar. The other is blue collar with an attitude. 

Indianapolis and New York City could not be more different. 

One is a major Midwest locale with less than a million people. The other is a cultural melting pot of 8 million, a city that never rests. Fast-paced. All day long. 

What the state of Indiana and the city of New York do have in common though is a love for the game of basketball. One is Bobby Knight. The other is Lou Carnesecca. One is Oscar Robertson. The other is Bob Cousy. One is Larry Bird on a tractor in his spare time but dominating on the hardwood in the bowels of rural Indiana. The other is Pee-Wee Kirkland, Dr. J (Erving out of Roosevelt, Long Island) and Rucker Park’s feverish atmosphere of streetball and NBA legends convening for pick up games that hold special memories close to the heart. Man do we wish those games were on tape somewhere. 

Tonight in Madison Square Garden, where Muhammad Ali battled Joe Frazier for a second time and Vince McMahon risked everything he had in 1985 on a marquee pay-per-view called Wrestlemania, the New York Knicks will host the Indiana Pacers in Game 1 of the 2025 Eastern Conference Finals. Two basketball-centric dwellings reigniting a historic rivalry. 

One franchise is the ABA through and through. The other is the NBA through and through. Mel Daniels and George McGinnis and Walt Frazier and Willis Reed through to Reggie Miller and the Davis Brothers and Patrick Ewing and Anthony Mason. 

Despite differences off the floor, Indiana and New York are not too different on it. Both are run by great points guards who share a closeness with crunch time. One, the Knicks’ Jalen Brunson, was awarded the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year and sent the Detroit Pistons home in round one with a nasty crossover followed by an ice cold triple. The other, Tyrese Haliburton - 18.6 points, 9.2 assists, 47.3% in the regular season - gave the Pacers a 2-0 lead in the second round with a cold step back trifecta in the waning seconds on the road in Cleveland. Brunson - 26.0 points, 7.3 assists, 48.8% in the regular season - has endeared himself to Knick faithful, becoming the big-time player and leader that they have longed for since the days of Patrick Ewing. Flanking him are two stealthy wing defenders in OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges, both of whom can shoot the three. Karl-Anthony Towns emerged as an early season MVP candidate (24.4 points, 12.8 rebounds). Josh Hart, 6 feet, 4 inches, rebounds (9.6 per game) better than any three man. 

Haliburton’s supporting cast includes a title-winning forward in Pascal Siakam that won a championship with Anunoby with the Toronto Raptors in 2019. Siakam is an expert slasher and driver with length who can shoot. Aaron Nesmith is an ideal complementary wing that can shoot it well and defend, and Myles Turner inside is offensively inclined and can block shots. Off-guard Andrew Nembhard defends and scores. Coming off the bench, Bennedict Mathurin, T.J. McConnell and Obi Toppin provide punch. 

Both rosters (the Knicks won 51 games, the Pacers 50) are equipped with basketball lifers. Rick Carlisle is 65 years old, from tiny Ogdensburg, N.Y. (way upstate) and was drafted by the Boston Celtics in 1984 and has coached in an assistant or lead capacity since 1989. He led the Dallas Mavericks to the title in 2011. He was Coach of the Year with the Detroit Pistons in 2002.

Tom Thibodeau, 67, is from New Britain, Conn. He first went the college route in 1981, before arriving in the NBA in ‘89 as a Minnesota Timberwolves’ assistant. He eat, sleeps, and breathes the sport. Two Coach of the Year trophies (2011, 2021).

Both teams ranked high in the regular season, with the Knicks averaging 115.8 points during the regular season (9th) and ninth in opponent points at 111.7. Their 117.3 offensive rating was fifth, while they were also in the top 10 in field-goal percentage (46.8, 4th), 3-point percentage (36.9, 8th) and free-throw percentage (80.0, 5th). 

The Pacers ranked in the top 10 in points (117.4, 7th), offensive rating (115.4, 9th), field-goal percentage (48.8, 3rd), 3-point percentage (36.8, 9th), and 10th in free-throws made (17.0) and ninth in free-throw percentage (78.9, 9th).

During the regular season, the Knicks took two of three from the Pacers - 123-98 on October 25, were defeated 132-121 on November 10, and won 128-115 on February 11. 

The Pacers are second in the playoffs in transition points, 23 per game, to the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 27, and their 62.8 field-goal percentage in transition is number one. Their 117.7 points per game in the playoffs is second. They are also third in transition defense at 17.4 among playoff teams. The Knicks rank eighth in transition points at 19.5. 

The Pacers averaged 39.8 bench points in the regular season, seventh in the league. They maintain a definitive bench advantage over the Knicks, with Mathurin, McConnell, Obi Toppin a clear advantage over Miles McBride, Cameron Payne, and Mitchell Robinson, though McBride has scored 11 points and 10 points in his last two playoff games. 

The Knicks have an inside advantage with Towns, and Brunson and Haliburton is a terrific matchup. Andrew Nembhard is also a solid wing defender for the Pacers as is Siakam. The feeling is that the Knicks need their role guys Bridges and Anunoby to play flawless basketball, whereas the Pacer bench can carry them on some nights. 

Eight times since 1993 the two teams have squared off in the playoffs. The Pacers have been victorious five times, including last year’s 4-3 series win in the second round. 

There was Reggie Miller’s 8 points in 8.9 seconds in Game 1 of the second round of the 1995 playoffs. In 1999, there was Larry Johnson’s 4-point play at the Garden that helped the Knicks take a 2-1 lead in that year’s Conference Final. One year later, the Pacers won in six games. 

In last year’s series, Brunson averaged 29.7 points and 6.1 assists. Haliburton averaged 21.3 points and 7.0 assists. Karl-Anthony Towns and Bridges are new additions. Mathurin is healthy. 

The Pacers knocked off the 64-win Cleveland Cavaliers. The Knicks knocked off the 61-win Boston Celtics. 

It always comes down to the stars, but the supporting cast always plays an important role. 

Pacers in 7.