Knicks vs. Pacers Preview

Today may be the biggest game of the season thus far for both the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers. In Madison Square Garden, the two seed of the Eastern Conference may be decided. Indiana right now is three wins behind the Knicks with three games left in the season. If the Pacers have any interest in clinching the two seed, they need to start winning ASAP, meaning today. For the Knicks, they just have to win one more game or Indiana would have to lose one game. It is in the best interest of the Knicks to win today and lock up the two seed, not letting anything get started.

Indy is coming off a crushing 117-109 loss to Brooklyn. The Knicks have been on a roll as of late, winning 13 of their last 14 games, including a 101-91 win over Cleveland Friday.

Neither team has a breeze for the last few games, with both playing a fellow Eastern Conference playoff team. New York will face Charlotte this week before meeting Atlanta to close out the regular season. The Bobcats have been and are a poor excuse for a basketball team and the Knicks could easily beat them, with their bench players. Atlanta might also rest most of their starters for the playoffs in their meeting. Indiana has Boston and Philadelphia ahead of them. The Celtics probably will be looking to rest their elderly starters and the 76ers have been a disappointment this season. It would take a lot for the Pacers to steal the two seed, as they do not control their own destiny. Indiana and New York are both in the playoffs, it is just a matter of who will be able put off facing Miami until the Conference Finals. It most likely will be New York, however anything can happen between these two teams, as we learned back in the ‘90s with Reggie Miller terrorizing John Starks, Patrick Ewing, and Spike Lee.

Like I said before, the best thing the Knicks can do is stop anything before it starts. By winning today, New York would have two entire games for the battered lineup to rest. Right now, there is not a hotter player than Carmelo Anthony. Melo has destroyed opposing teams, passing 21 points in the Knicks’ recent raid in the past 14 games. I like the Knick/Pacer matchup, with both teams being among the NBA’s top defenses, along with the fire powered offense of the Knicks versus the NBA’s best rebounding team in the Pacers. Today’s game may be a preview of the Eastern Conference Finals, providing someone can #BeattheHeat.