Indiana (0-0) at New York (0-0)
When: Monday, May 6th 2024
Where: Madison Square Garden,
New York, NY
Time: 7:30 ET | TV: TNT
Opening Odds: New York -6.5/216
The Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks have a great history of playoff battles and a new era will take the Madison Square Garden court on Monday night in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series. This will be the eighth time the Pacers and Knicks have met in the postseason with Indiana holding a 4-3 lead. However, six of the meetings came in an eight-season span (1993-2000) when Reggie Miller haunted the MSG faithful. Those series were filled with a ton of drama and memorable moments.
Sixth-seeded Indiana eliminated third-seeded Milwaukee in the first round rather easily thanks to injuries to the Bucks’ star players. New York had a tougher series, but ultimately booted the Philadelphia 76ers in six games. The Pacers went 2-1 against New York in the regular season despite Jalen Brunson averaging 35.7 points in those contests. Indiana has the top-rated offense in the league (123.3), while the Knicks were second in points allowed at 108.2. New York enters Game 1 as a 5.5-point favorite.
INDIANA PACERS
Indiana is led by Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam and Myles Turner, but the depth showed in the clinching win over Milwaukee on Thursday. Reserves Obi Toppin (21 points) and T.J. McConnell (20) help lead the way in a 120-98 victory. Siakam leads the team in points during the postseason (22.3) with Turner (19.2) and Haliburton (16.0) next. The Pacers shoot over 50 percent from the floor for the season, but also allow opponents to shoot 49 percent, which ranked 30th in the league. Indiana is 22-20-1 ATS away from home this season.
NEW YORK KNICKS
Brunson easily led the way offensively for the Knicks with a 35.5 ppg in the first round and scored 39, 47, 40 and 41 over the final four games of the series. New York had five other players average in double-digits against Milwaukee, led by Josh Hart’s 16.8 and 43 percent shooting from beyond the arc and 12.3 rebounds. Isaiah Hartenstein is shooting 60 percent from the floor in the postseason, while averaging 6.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per contest. The Knicks are 22-21-1 ATS at home this season.
Prediction:
This should be a fun and entertaining series between these old rivals. I’m going to side with Indiana in this first game. They are averaging 127.8 points against this good Knicks defense over the last four meetings and are not afraid to play on the road. Other than Brunson, I don’t trust the Knicks offense. This Game 1 goes down to the wire. Take the points.
Check out who Bobby Babowski has on his Free NBA Picks page for today.
