You'll Need a Pace(r) Maker For Two Harts This Time | Official Pacers (#4) vs. Knicks (#3) Eastern Conference Finals Thread

Who goes to the NBA Finals?


  • Total voters
    99
Joined
Apr 30, 2012
Messages
87,894
Reputation
9,803
Daps
237,121
Pritchard gave the Knicks fits. The Celtics found success, albeit in spurts, guarding full court. Again, I'm not disagreeing, but the Knicks lack of bench depth was supposedly their Achilles heel (promise pun unintended) all season. I think the evolution from "Thibs runs players into the ground" to "Knicks are very well conditioned" is going unnoticed in a postseason littered with injuries. I trust the bucket getters on the Knicks to do so while I can see a Haliburton no showing a couple times. I personally think dominance on the boards being a huge factor this series. Myles Turner showed out against us last year. I'm not sleeping on this Pacers team at all. fukk the Pacers, doe
That's a red herring.

I don't know where this narrative came from that NBA players aren't conditioned enough, but it's categorically false.

The Knicks have just been fortunate not to be dealt a bad hand with the randomization* of injuries up to this point, but that could easily change the more the postseason goes on (hopefully, it doesn't).

- Tatum played 72 games and averaged the 8th-most minutes in the regular season, yet tore his Achilles
- Steph is one of the most well-conditioned athletes, period (in any sport), and he went down with a hamstring injury
- Aaron Gordon just suffered a hamstring injury and he's one of the most well-conditioned players in the league.

You could argue those three players had injuries that can be attributed more to being run into the ground rather than the contrary.

On a related topic -
No Pacer averaged more than 33.6 minutes per game during the regular season; no Pacer has averaged more than 34.1 minutes per game in the playoffs. All five members of Indiana’s starting lineup are averaging at least 14 points per game in the postseason — the first time since 1987 a team has done that (minimum of 10 games started) — and eight Pacers are averaging at least 8.5 points per game.
In contrast, there's been 5 Knicks players who've averaged more than 34 minutes in this postseason.

The fact that Indiana is still relatively fresh could weigh heavily in their favor against a team who's been reliant on such a short rotation.
 

obarth

R.I.P Char
Poster of the Year
Joined
May 1, 2012
Messages
17,029
Reputation
9,367
Daps
84,882
Reppin
Pawgs with dragons
That's a red herring.

I don't know where this narrative came from that NBA players aren't conditioned enough, but it's categorically false.

The Knicks have just been fortunate not to be dealt a bad hand with the randomization* of injuries up to this point, but that could easily change the more the postseason goes on (hopefully, it doesn't).

- Tatum played 72 games and averaged the 8th-most minutes in the regular season, yet tore his Achilles
- Steph is one of the most well-conditioned athletes, period (in any sport), and he went down with a hamstring injury
- Aaron Gordon just suffered a hamstring injury and he's one of the most well-conditioned players in the league.

You could argue those three players had injuries that can be attributed more to being run into the ground rather than the contrary.

On a related topic -

In contrast, there's been 5 Knicks players who've averaged more than 34 minutes in this postseason.

The fact that Indiana is still relatively fresh could weigh heavily in their favor against a team who's been reliant on such a short rotation.
I see your logic.But doesn't the fact they've got guys more than ready to clock those minutes an advantage? Especially considering the length a Bridges has and his mid-range game. OG is right there as well. I don't foresee the Pacers getting their shots off without tons of pressure. A big part of your rhetoric in the Celtics series was them playing with their food early, thus falling to the whims of a great mid range Knicks team. I see them being able to force that while weathering anything the Pacers can want to push. Whole knows, doe :manny:
 

daemonova

hit it, & I didn't go Erykah Badu crazy, #yallmad
Joined
May 20, 2012
Messages
48,061
Reputation
4,394
Daps
78,456
GrHjluBWUAAT4Gd
 

steph_harden

Superstar
Joined
Oct 25, 2017
Messages
6,260
Reputation
621
Daps
20,001
Id be rooting for the Knicks but the hicks just have a much deeper team. Run a pure offense and execute better than anybody

The Knicks have a better 5 but they will need them to perform at an elite level and pray they don’t fall apart like last year..
 

RickyGQ

No nikkas!
Supporter
Joined
May 2, 2012
Messages
16,116
Reputation
2,184
Daps
59,695
Reppin
NJ
That's a red herring.

I don't know where this narrative came from that NBA players aren't conditioned enough, but it's categorically false.

The Knicks have just been fortunate not to be dealt a bad hand with the randomization* of injuries up to this point, but that could easily change the more the postseason goes on (hopefully, it doesn't).

- Tatum played 72 games and averaged the 8th-most minutes in the regular season, yet tore his Achilles
- Steph is one of the most well-conditioned athletes, period (in any sport), and he went down with a hamstring injury
- Aaron Gordon just suffered a hamstring injury and he's one of the most well-conditioned players in the league.

You could argue those three players had injuries that can be attributed more to being run into the ground rather than the contrary.

On a related topic -

In contrast, there's been 5 Knicks players who've averaged more than 34 minutes in this postseason.

The fact that Indiana is still relatively fresh could weigh heavily in their favor against a team who's been reliant on such a short rotation.
We mean, conditioned to play 40+ minutes a game. Boston looked visibly fatigued at the end of games while the Knicks, who barely play a 7 man rotation, would not stop attacking both sides of the floor. I get that Indiana run 10 deep, but what does it look like when Carlisle tries to cut that down to 8, and guys who aren’t used to playing 38-40 have to all of a sudden in the highest of pressure situations.
 
Top