Knicks-Pacer Preview

After finishing off the Boston Celtics on Friday night the Knicks face a quick turnaround as they host game one of the Eastern Conference Semifinals Sunday afternoon against the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers reached this round by beating the Atlanta Hawks in six games, also finishing off their opponent on the road on Friday night.

 

These two teams split the season series 2-2 with each team winning twice on their home court. Both teams seemed to play each other while the other was at a low point in their season. The Knicks beat a Pacers team eight games into the season that had yet to figure out how to play without injured star Danny Granger, while the Knicks gave up 125 points and lost by over 30 in Indiana as the Knicks were struggling to find cohesion right around the All Star break.

 

Now each team comes in off an up and down playoff victory and this one looks poised to be a throwback to the classic Knicks-Pacers series of the 90s. Lets look at some keys to victory for each of these teams.

 

Who guards Melo? The Pacers did a good job for much of the season of guarding Carmelo Anthony with the long and lanky Paul George. George is strong enough to give Anthony some problems and has enough length to contest his mid-range jump shots. In addition Anthony has been taking too many contested shots in isolations thus far in the playoffs and if he continues to do so it will play exactly in to the Pacers hands. The problem with this matchup for the Pacers is that it often leaves David West in a mismatch with a guard, either Jason Kidd or the emerging Iman Shumpert. Either of which could seriously hurt the Pacers chances of advancing to the next round.

 

Where does the offense come from? The Pacers biggest problem this season has been an inability to score as they came into the playoffs 23rd in the NBA in scoring at just 94.7 points per game. Much of their offense revolves around the interior play of West and Roy Hibbert. Its an ugly approach but one that has been effective enough to get the Pacers to this point. They will need someone to help George scoring on the perimeter, with the most likely candidates being George Hill or Lance Stephenson.

 

Regain Garden magic: After losing both times at MSG this season the Pacers face an uphill with four of the seven games in this series being played in New York. Back in the 90s this is where the Pacers made life very tough for Knicks fans, specifically Reggie Miller. Miller will be calling game 2 at MSG for TNT, maybe this inspiration could put the Pacers over the hump and get them the steal of a game in New York that they desperately need.

 

Shump/Kidd Production: One of either Iman Shumpert or Jason Kidd is usually on the floor at the ends of games. Kidd for his intelligence, rebounding, and general knack for making the right pass or the right swipe on defense. Shump is in for his explosiveness on defense in causing turnovers and recently he has looked much improves from beyond the 3 point arc. The Knicks need one of these guys to be going on offense or the stifling defense of the Pacers will wreak havoc on Anthony, Ray Felton, and JR Smith.

 

Big Man Rotation Questions: The Knicks have spent much of the year going with Carmelo Anthony at the power forward position next to Tyson Chandler and Kenyon Martin at the center. In the first round the Celtics did not offer the Knicks much reason to switch from this small lineup, but the Pacers offer a different challenge. They boast Hibbert and Ian Mahinmi at the center position to go along with West and Tyler Hansbrough at the power forward. These lineup combinations could cause serious trouble for the Knicks and may force them to change up their big man rotations. This could mean playing Martin at the power forward spot next to Chandler and maybe having Anthony at small forward. In addition, the possible return of Amare Stoudemire adds intrigue and possibilities to the Knicks rotation.

 

Limit the Iso-Ball: During the first round the Knicks put themselves in precarious positions possession after possession by not moving the ball and instead watching Carmelo Anthony and JR Smith dribble. Quality defensive teams like the Celtics can make you pay, but a lethal defensive team like the Pacers will absolutely shut you down if you don’t get the ball moving with the pass. The Knicks looked their best when Felton was initiating the offense and getting the ball in the paint. If they can limit the isolation situations, the Knicks should be able to score enough against Indiana.

 

Final Prediction: Just like in the 90s incarnation of this rivalry, I expect a physical series that will most likely get chippy right from the start. In the end I think the Pacers struggle too much to score and Carmelo Anthony will hit just enough big shots to push his team through. I’m going with Knicks in 7