It’s preview time! After taking last round off in this department, I wanted to put this one together ahead of the Knicks and Pacers meeting again. Why you ask? Well first off I have the time to get it out with the series not starting until Wednesday at MSG. Second, I wasn’t exactly confident in the Knicks doing much against the Celtics last round, and I really didn’t have the heart to write about that. The good news is, the Knicks proved me wrong, as they did the rest of the basketball world.

With the triumph over Boston comes another stiff challenge in round three, as long running foes from Indianapolis arrive in The Big Apple. This series is the ninth postseason matchup between the two rivals since 1993, the first in this round since 2000. These two have played each other extremely close over the years, as the Knicks lead the all time series 124-122, including a 26-22 mark in the playoffs despite having lost the last three head to head series. This time a year ago, I wrote about the Knicks falling in seven games to these same Pacers, putting an end to a run that was very similar to this one.

That series loss really was defined by one theme and one moment. The theme of course was the Knicks becoming the walking wounded, as despite them having a 2-0 and 3-2 series lead, they ran out of healthy bodies to play with as Mitchell Robinson, Bojan Bogdanovic, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and OG Anunoby all missed time with injuries sustained before and during the series. The moment, was the one you see above, as Andrew Nembhard threw up a prayer, that denied the Knicks a potential 3-0 series lead. In the series Tyrese Haliburton tried to elevate himself to Reggie Miller villain status, and achieved mixed results.

The Pacers are coming off a pair of five game series wins, the first over a Bucks squad that was essentially Giannis and pals, and the other a stunning upset of the top seeded Cavaliers. Much like last year, Indiana’s offense is lethal when it’s able to dictate terms and tempo of the game. Experienced world champion head coach Rick Carlisle keeps this team fresh by having just about two full rotations of players, that can get out and run with the best of ‘em. They have talented shooters like Haliburton, Nembhard, Nesmaith, and McConnell, while also being able to mix it up inside and out with bigs Myles Turner and Pascal Siakam. This talented core is backed up by some solid contributors on the bench, including former Knick Obi Toppin and Benedict Mathurin who was at the center of controversy in both rounds.

For as gifted as this team is offensively, the Pacers biggest short coming exists on the defensive end of the floor. They are not nearly as committed to defending and contesting shots as the Celtics were in round two, or the Pistons in round one. It’s a trade you can live with when you score in bunches like this team is capable of, but playing close shootouts is a tricky proposition in the playoffs. The Knicks scored plenty against them last year in the playoffs, and did so as well in the regular season, including putting 128 on the board in one of the three meetings, of which the Knicks won two.

The Knicks already proved they could score on Indiana in last year’s playoffs, and that was with a group that possessed less firepower. This version of the Knicks is designed to feast on a team like Indiana when it’s going right, and perhaps the biggest reason for that is the man pictured above. To quote Brian Windhorst of ESPN, “Karl Anthony Towns has become a bell weather for this Knicks team.” Yes this team is will go as far as Brunson can take them, but an engaged and aggressive Towns takes this offense to the next level, as he opens up the floor for this offense to do what it wants. Game six against Boston was a prime example of this, as the threat of his long range shooting created space and looks for his teammates as well open drives for big 32. Indiana doesn’t matchup nearly as well with KAT as Boston or Detroit did, which showed in the regular season when he dropped 40 on them.

Other than Towns, the two Knicks everyone is looking to are OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges. Anunoby missed the majority of last year’s meeting with the Pacers with a hamstring injury, and boy was his absence felt. His rangy defensive ability would have come in handy on the perimeter as the Pacers played on the outside for much of the series, while his added offense would have helped too. He’s had an uneven playoff run to this point, but much like Towns when he’s going right the Knicks are deadly. Meanwhile, Bridges was arguably the most valuable Knick against Boston in round two. He made some stunning defensive plays late in games, did most of his scoring in the 4th quarter and helped key the offense when Brunson gets a rare rest. The Knicks need that Bridges once again this series, as this is clearly the best version of him, they have gotten since acquiring him.

Where the Pacers will try and hurt the Knicks, much like they did a year ago, is to use their wealth of depth players against the Knicks apparent lack of them. I say apparent because some of that headache is self imposed by Thibs biggest blind spot. After utilizing more of the bench in round one against Detroit, he essentially played Boston with seven players, the five big guns plus Deuce McBride and Mitchell Robinson, both of whom had strong series. While I expect him to lean into both of them again in this series, Thibs HAS TO sprinkle in more minutes for Precious Achuiwa and Cam Payne. Achuiwa gave the Pacers some trouble with his work on the inside in last year’s meeting and Payne should be able to score in this series from the perimeter. He trusted Payne enough to get the team over the line against the Pistons, and he needs to do it again here! Even just the rest it can provide to the rest of the group could make the difference in the series.

The Knicks will have home court in this round and have to use that to their advantage. They are just 3-3 under the pin wheel ceiling this postseason, including a blowout by Boston in game three that deflated a juiced up crowd instantly. That simply cannot happen again in this round, as the Knicks need to feed the energy in the building with their play. Think about the fourth quarter of game one against Detroit, the second half of game four against Boston and all of game six. The Knicks and their fans felt like a big tidal wave rolling over their opponent, with big runs filled with clutch shots and defensive stops that just made the 18,200 inside and countless masses outside get crazier and crazier. In a league that now lacks a lot of good home court advantages, the big gym on 34th street is at the top of the list and can be a superpower for this group.

I talked about this a bit in game six recap, but wanted to circle back here. I’ve never quite seen New York City like this over a sports team. Sure this town absolutely adores the Yankees and Mets, and gets excited for big playoff runs by both. A Rangers playoff run reminds this town of how much it likes hockey. Once upon a time we used to have NFL playoff games to get fired up about. But the Knicks do something to this city that is hard to describe, and it is something born out of the cities sports fragmentation. We have nine teams in the tri-state which leads to a lot division amongst fans, but the only team that unites everyone is the Knicks, because let’s face it, no one cares about the Brooklyn Nets. Combine that with their 50+ year title drought and 20 years of being an utter mess this millennium, this becomes a cathartic experience.

If you lived through all of the nonsense in the slideshow above, no you’re not over celebrating, despite what the haters like to say. This franchise turned into an unmitigated disaster for so long that this loyal fan base deserves these runs, and long may they continue! With that in mind, let’s make a pick. I anticipate that this will be another difficult series, for the Orange and blue, as Brunson and his boys face another rival with a trip to the finals on the line. It’s taken six in each round so far, so why not stick with the theme, “forget the charts!” Give me the Knicks in SIX to go to the finals!

On twitter you can find Mike @Mike_Sheerin, Tyler @TMon_19 and Sean @SeanMartinNFL. Subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Check out our Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. Our podcasts are available on Spotify. Visit the Rangers Ed Shop by clicking the link on our homepage. Check out our mailbag page to join the conversation here on the site and on our partners show, The Rangers Ed Podcast! We’ll be back with more soon.