O Knicks will host a Game 7 for the first time in nearly 30 years. In the last Game 7 at home, New York faced Reggie Miller and the Pacers in 1995. They lost that game. They are obviously trying to correct that mistake on Sunday.
Below, brendan brown – who spent three decades in the NBA as a coach, scout and broadcaster – explains what he sees in this series and what to look for on Sunday afternoon:
BROWN: “I haven’t written about the officiating for every playoff, but I felt like that came into play early in Friday’s game. In the first six minutes, three pacers were hit toward the basket with no call. There were other plays in the first quarter that went against the Knicks. So you’re letting it go. You’re letting the teams play. But then what is a fault? (Jalen) Bruno goes 0 for 6 in the second quarter, but gets hit several times in his movements before releasing the shot. Then he took frustrated, short-arm shots and hit them in front of the rim. And Indiana is coming back to the Knicks. This is a perfect storm for the Pacers…
“The Knicks shot 7 of 21 (33%) in the quarter. The bench was 0 of 4. The Knicks shot 5 of 9 (56 percent) from the line, with Brunson going 1 of 4 in the first half, which is inexplicable. (Miles) McBride had an excellent offensive start to the game (11 points in the first quarter), but scored -12 in the 2nd quarter. (Tyrese) Haliburton had six assists and no turnovers in the first half. The Knicks only had one turnover in the second quarter – they were just missing shots…
“Meanwhile, Indiana establishes (Pascal) Siakam on post-ups and isolations and he shoots 13 of 18 (72 percent). The Knicks started singles on Siakam (Image: Getty Images)Josh Hart defend it). But as Siakam scored more, the Knicks helped more and (Miles) turner (9 points) and others were cutting and diving for easy baskets. Now the floodgates open and the Pacers dominate in the paint. They scored 11 two-point shots in the first and second quarters. Its holders have great advantages in the quarter. They also beat rebounding, 12-8.”
OTHER IMPORTANT STATISTICS…
BROWN: “The Pacers shot 53.8 percent in the game and made 91 field goal attempts, which is a ton. They shot just 9-for-26 (34.6 percent) from three, which means they were 40-for-65 (61.5 percent) from inside the arc, which is an important number. The Indiana bench (rotation players) outperforms the Knicks bench (rotation players) 34-23. Once again, the shooting here is very important. The Pacers bench is 15 of 24 (62.5 percent), while the Knicks bench is 7 of 16 (43.7 percent). So while points are important, the Indiana bench’s ease of scoring really hurts; this has happened in four of the six games in the series so far.
“All five Pacers starters shoot 50 percent or better, which is hard to do. They made just 13 free throws to the Knicks’ 26, but they had the game under control. They outscored the Knicks 47-35. They have 35 assists on 49 goals scored. (Tyrese) Haliburton and (T.J.) McConnell has 13 assists against two turnovers; both are controlling the game heading into the paint.
“Through six games, Brunson is now averaging 35.5 points per game on 44.2 percent shooting. When you break down the numbers, he’s shooting 70-for-148 (47.2%) at 2 and just (11-for-35 (31.4%) at 3. I firmly believe that (Aaron) Nesmith and the other Pacers covering him don’t think he’s much of a three-point threat and may trap him on trips into the paint. He’s getting to the line very well – 40 of 52 (76.9 percent); there are almost nine attempts per game. Now he’s seeing more pressure in the pick-and-roll…”
THE TWO “HARTBEATS”
BROWN: “In the last two violent away games (4 and 6), (Josh) Hart and (Isaiah) Hartenstein had difficult days at the office. Hartenstein changed everything in Game 5 with incredible offensive rebounds, especially early in the first quarter. Turner got the better of Game 6, but most of the damage was done around the paint, unlike the three we saw Turner do in Game 5…
“Which brings us to (Josh) Hart. You know he’s tough and is willing to sacrifice his body and energy for the team. But this can be a core injury and it is difficult to deal with. Rick Carlisle is focused on this confrontation. And Siakam is increasingly comfortable scoring chances when defended by Hart in the post and elbow isolations. If Hart has a core injuryshooting three would be a difficult matter- and this could influence strategy concepts…”
GO TO GAME 7…
BROWN: “The Pacers played well enough to win Games 1 and 2 at the Garden and then were defeated in Game 5. Haliburton did not appear in Games 1 and 5. He was the weakest link in Game 1, when many Pacers players had a goodnight. They melted down in the second quarter of Game 5; The Pacers had nine turnovers in the first half that night and 18 for the game. The building obviously rocked Indiana in the second quarter. In their nine-player rotation, the Pacers have three veterans and six youngsters. Can they overcome MSG’s collective hysteria during Game 7?
“As for the Knicks, Hart’s condition comes first. It could (O.G.) Anunoby appear out of nowhere to help protect Siakam? How will Brunson handle pick-and-roll pressure? And will the Knicks just run their core sets from the start of the game? In game 6, (Donte) DiVincenzo and McBride cooked in five-man moves in the first half, but Brunson didn’t get on track. Will Hartenstein return to his zealous energetic self? He can (Alex) Burkes knock down some shots coming from a hard effort? Are you making all the necessary plays?
“If the game is close, who makes the best shots? In the Sixers series, Brunson had the best appearance compared to (Joel) Embiid It is (Tyrese) Maxey, and he made a ton of them. How hard does Indiana have to work to play for Siakam? – The rhythm of the game does not exist in the last minutes. Will Carlisle try to take the ball out of Brunson’s hands?
“When it comes to playoff shooting, the Pacers have Turner at 60 percent, Siakam at 38 percent and Haliburton at just 20 percent. Brunson is at 41 percent for the playoffs, DiVincenzo is excellent at 67 percent. The two players who may be left open for the Knicks are: Hart (shooting 30 percent, but made a big difference against the Sixers) and McBride (25 percent)…
“If these two guys are abandoned by the Pacers on defense, with help likely committed to Brunson, they should shoot the ball if they are wide open. This is the NBA – in the most important moments – you have to penalize the defense for trying to play five-on-four.”
