Knicks vs. Pacers: Eastern Conference Finals Showdown

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00:00Game number one tonight in the Eastern Conference Finals inside the world's most famous arena.

00:06That's Madison Square Garden.

00:07A renewal of a long-standing playoff rivalry, both in the 90s and even as of last year.

00:14It's the Indiana Pacers and the New York Knicks.

00:17Our coach, J.Y. James Young, is here to break it down, to look at this series on its opening night.

00:23And, of course, to go thoroughly through game number one.

00:26The players that will impact the outcome and the flow that we will see tonight inside the Mecca.

00:32J.Y., let's start with the series overall.

00:35Expected to be tight.

00:36The New York Knicks, a minus 144 series outright favorite, but you see it there.

00:41And what the oddsmakers expect, the most likely duration is a full seven games at that plus money price.

00:50J.Y., at highbrow and at first blush here for this series,

00:54how competitive do you expect it to be between the Knicks and the Pacers?

01:00The complete opposite of the Western Conference.

01:03If this thing, honestly, Ben, doesn't go seven, I may be stunned.

01:09I think this is going to be razor thin.

01:11You have two competitive teams, two fan bases that hate each other.

01:15The rivalry runs way deep back to when they started playing against each other in the 1992 playoffs

01:21with the John Starks headbutt of Reggie Miller, you can keep going.

01:25You can go to 94 with the 25-point fourth quarter in Game 5.

01:29Knicks win Game 7.

01:30Finger rolling 95.

01:32Ewing gets hurt in a four-point play.

01:33Knicks take him out in 99.

01:37Pacers get him back in 2000.

01:39The Rory Hibbert block on Carmelo Anthony.

01:41Yes, I have some beautiful memories,

01:44and I have some battle scars from watching this rivalry,

01:47and it's going to come out in full force.

01:50Ben, I expect this to be tight.

01:52I expect this to go seven.

01:54That's why the odds, the shortest odds for this series is seven,

01:57and that's why there's no reason for you to bet over one-and-a-half games

02:01and minus 188 unless you're going to parlay it with something else

02:06where you could get it close to even money in a parlay.

02:10It's going seven, I fully expect it maybe six,

02:14but there's no way this is a four- or five-year series.

02:16Way too competitive teams, two really good coach teams,

02:20and it will be a fun one to watch.

02:22Yeah, Pacers getting a lot of respect here at the FanDuel Sportsbook

02:25to win this series at only a plus-122 price here.

02:28But if we do look at the series overall, Coach,

02:30give me maybe a player or two or a matchup that you are looking forward to watching

02:35and maybe a team that has an advantage somewhere against the other team.

02:38Well, when you really kind of look at it here, you know, to me,

02:42it's what you get out of Carl Anthony Townsend.

02:44Carl Anthony Townsend averaged 30 points a game

02:47versus the Pacers during the regular season.

02:50I think that's going to be the critical matchup that we see

02:53is how they guard Cat.

02:55Can they get going at the three-point line?

02:56So I think that's one thing you want to look at as possibly a series price

03:00is looking at Carl Anthony Townsend at 5-1 to lead the series in scoring.

03:05I think if you look at what they're going to do with Jalen Brunson,

03:08you're going to have multiple defenders, Nembrard, Naismith, you know,

03:13going against him.

03:14So I think you'll see a better T.J. McConnell.

03:17So I think you look at someone like Carl Anthony Townsend

03:19to be able to score the ball.

03:21But then you may see a regression in rebounding

03:23because he's got to go guard Miles Turner in the perimeter.

03:26So where do you look there?

03:27Look to Josh Hart possibly to lead the series in rebounding.

03:30Also because of the fact that the Knicks may go double big at times

03:33with Mitchell Robinson has been effective during the playoff run.

03:36So look for someone like Josh Hart.

03:38It was at 6-1.

03:39It's already down to plus 440.

03:41Josh Hart, most total rebounds in the series.

03:43You see the tale of the tape and the comparison there.

03:46There is much history, both a longstanding history from the 90s into 2000.

03:51The last time the New York Knicks played in the Eastern Conference Finals,

03:55they lost in six games to the Indiana Pacers.

03:58The last time New York reached the NBA Finals was the year prior in 99.

04:03They beat the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

04:06And even that recent history between these two sides,

04:10a game seven last year in the second round,

04:13Indiana triumphant in a stunning way inside Madison Square Garden.

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