Knicks Hope to Be in Pacers’ Shoes

The New York Knicks hope to do what the Indiana Pacers were able to accomplish this past season by winning the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Pacers stunned the Knicks in six games to advance to the NBA Finals, where they pushed the champion Oklahoma City Thunder to a Game 7 despite losing star point guard Tyrese Haliburton to a torn Achilles midway through the final matchup.

The Pacers should be different without Haliburton in the upcoming season, opening the door for the Knicks to take over as the top team in the East. Even though Haliburton won’t be on the court, the Pacers should still have a solid team.

Andrew Nembhard is expected to have significant duties as the team’s point guard while Bennedict Mathurin will likely be his partner in the backcourt.

Aaron Nesmith, who torched the Knicks throughout the entire Eastern Conference Finals, will likely be the team’s starting small forward. Pascal Siakam will be expected to lead the team in scoring from the power forward position while the team has question marks surrounding the center spot.

Myles Turner won’t be with the Pacers for the first time in a decade after he signed a contract with the division rival Milwaukee Bucks over the offseason, so the team needs to figure out what it will do to replace him.

“By far, the biggest question with the lineup is the center position. There is no guaranteed starter, although Isaiah Jackson is the favorite. Jay Huff and James Wiseman will likely back him up,” Indiana Pacers On SI contributor Ryan Stano wrote.

“There’s a chance that Indiana changes who they want to start at center at some point during the season, so that is a fluid spot. Tony Bradley will fight Wiseman for the third-string minutes.”

The Knicks should be favored over the Pacers during the season, but this is a team whose core was one win away from winning the championship just a few months ago.

Therefore, the Knicks have to take the Pacers seriously if they want to overtake them in the Eastern Conference hierarchy.

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