From Madison Square Garden in the heart of New York City, the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks are set to start their best of 7 series. The Indiana Pacers are the sixth seed following their upset series win over the third seeded Milwaukee Bucks. The Pacers are the highest scoring team in all of the National Basketball Association. Indiana went 47-35 during the regular season.
The New York Knicks come into the series with home court advantage once again. The Knicks are 50-32 on the season. New York won their final five games of the regular season, and then took out the Philadelphia 76ers in six games.
The New York Knicks are -6.5 at home in this game. The Knicks and Pacers have a total of 217.5.
Underdog Pacers
There is no doubt that the Indiana Pacers are going to want to push the basketball up the court in this series. The top scoring team in the league averaged more than 123 per game during the regular season. In the postseason, the Pacers are scoring just 93 points per game in their two losses, and 122 per game in their four wins.
Pascal Siakam started the postseason hot with back to back games of 35+ points. Since that though, he has gone under 20 in the last four games. Siakam still was the top scorer for Indiana during the regular season. The former Raptors start scored 21.3 points per game, playing in 41 total games.
Tyrese Hailburton is who makes this offense run. The point guard out of Iowa State has just 24 for his postseason high. But, he has dished out 56 assists over the six games in the postseason thus far.
Knicks Looking to Keep Winning
The New York Knicks made several moves at the trade deadline to improve their team. They thought they would be able to add those guys with Julius Randle, but Randle was never able to return from his injury. Despite that, the Knicks are four wins away from the Eastern Conference Finals.
Jalen Brunson has been a massive story for New York. Brunson scored more than 28 points per game during the regular season. The former Villanova guard has scored 39+ in four straight games, including 47, 40 and 41 over his last three. Brunson also is averaging 43 minutes played per game.
New York was not a great offensive team during the regular season. The Knicks ranked 19th in the league with 112.8 points per game. New York was fifth in rebounding, with more than 45 per game. New York is one of the best defensive teams left in the postseason.
Knicks Win; Pacers Cover
Look for the Knicks to win this game. But, the Indiana Pacers are going to keep this game close. This is a battle of different styles of basketball. The Indiana Pacers are going to want to score the basketball at a fast pace, while the Knicks are going to want to slow it down.
While New York wins the game, Indiana covers the spread. Our final bet for this game is the Indiana Pacers +6.5 over the New York Knicks.
