Indiana Pacers vs New York Knicks Playoffs Preview & Predictions

Indiana Pacers vs New York Knicks Playoffs Preview & Predictions

Yo, what’s going on, guys? And today we’ll be doing the conference finals breakdown, preview, and prediction between the New York Knicker versus the Indiana Pacers. If you guys haven’t watched this before, I would like to hear your thoughts down below in the comments section. Who do you think will win and why? Let me hear those thoughts. I’d like to hear what you have to say. Hit that like and subscribe button. It’ll help out the channel a ton. Now, if you just want to hear my predictions, just go to the end of the video as that’s where we’ll talk about them. But we’re going to start off with the Knicks as the Knicks recency bias is fresher in everybody’s mind. They beat the Celtics, which were, you know, a team that was ailing, was not healthy. But so far through 11 games, the Knicks in the playoffs look like contenders. And if you look at what the Knicks have been doing, Tom Tivo trusts his core players and has a penchant for toughness, rebounding, and resilience. Jaylen Brunson, he is the engine of the Knicks offense. Brunson has been spectacular. almost 30 points a night, eight assists, three rebounds on a bad ankle, carrying the scoring load while still being a floor general. He’s putting up a high volume efficiently. Male Bridges, he’s been taking on the toughest defensive assignments and is bringing some steady scoring from the wing. His shot, yeah, hasn’t fully clicked, but there’s been times that it has and he’s had some good games. 15 points, two steals, and a block. I think him playing almost 41 minutes a night just reflects Tom Thibido’s trust in Male Bridges. OG Anobi, did you know OG Anobi led all NBA players that were non- bigs in dunks in the regular season? Uh-huh. 15 points, five rebounds, almost two steals again. An Obi, a lockdown defender, is another person who’s vital to New York’s perimeter defense. He’s a guy who’s contributing, you know, timely threes, transition dunks, and playing with a physicality on both ends that they’ve needed. Josh Hart, he’s the ultimate glue guy. He was traded for what, Cam Reddish in some seconds. That’s crazy. He leads the team in hustle plays. He’s averaging 13 and a half points, eight rebounds, almost five assists. He’ll rebound as a wing. He’ll be a small ball four. He’ll be able to hit big shots while guarding one through five. Josh Hart’s probably one of my favorite players and he’s also shooting 42% from the field. It’s incredible what he’s doing. Then there’s Carl Anthony Towns. Just under 20 points, 11 rebounds, playing with a physicality that I’ve never seen him play before with. He’s anchoring the paint offensively, providing spacing, but also going inside and taking advantage of anyone who’s smaller than him and getting to the free throw line. And his rebounding has been elite. Then you mix in a little bit of Mitch Rob. Mitchell Robinson who’s a defensive anchor coming off the bench who’s strong on the glass, protects the rim. Even though he’s limited offensively, he’s going out there four and a half points, seven rebounds, a block a night, 19 minutes absurd. Then Deuce McBride, he’s a guy who’s able to space the floor, play solid perimeter defense, come in for either Brunson, male, Josh, OG, and Anobi. and he’s mainly for Brunson and Bridges, but the fact that he can help the second unit and hit timely threes is huge. Then Cam Payne has been used sparingly mostly in spot minutes for ball handling relief as he struggled from deep and then again Li Shamut’s a minimal role. Presua is a emergency front court option with some defensive upside but barely used. So what are we seeing? Tom Theo is an iron man strategist. His four starters, Bronson, Bridges, OG, and Hart have all been playing 40 minutes a night. And Carne Towns plays 36 with Mitchell Robinson coming in to help or play alongside him. The Knicks are holding teams to 108 points per game. Anobi, Bridges, Hart are key stoppers on that end. And with Hart, Cat, Mitch on the glass, the Knicks are punishing teams, demoralizing, physically imposing their will, grinding them down, getting second chance opportunities. So with Brunson playing like an MVP playoff performer, the versatility that they’re showing defensively across the board, the Knicks have emerged as a legit contender in the East, their margin and er the margin of error is thin. if the m if like their miles aka the minutes pile up. But this is a team that has a core that is clearly battle tested. So let’s get over to the Pacers as I thought that was a good little description for what we just talked about. Now I find this interesting. The Pacers. Why? because they’re a team that I believe could surprise people. Tyresese Hallebertton, 17 and a half points, nine assists. Dude, this guy’s got it. This guy’s got it. He plays with the swagger that you want. And I I don’t know why people don’t like Tyrese. I really don’t. But he’s the orchestrator of the symphony. He’s the guy who is you know, doing that to the team. And this is the league’s best playoff offense. He navigates pick and rolls, pushes the tempo, and even though his three-point shot is technically inconsistent, if you look at the percentage, it’s been consistent when it’s mattered the most. And then Andrew Neard, we’ve all known what he’s been able to do, but on the national stage, he’s breaking through, efficient as whole hell. And he’s poised, and he plays with his stoic self. And you never would have thought this, but he’s the co-initiator next to Tyrese Hallebertton. He’s been Indiana’s surprise X factor in both rounds. Gar’s opposing teams, you know, best offensive players at times with Aaron Emith and Pascal Seakum who are the three best defenders you could argue. And then he can also score and be a secondary playmaker. Aaron Nesmith 15 points a game, six and a half rebounds, bringing energy on defense, guarding opposing team’s best players, shooting lights out from deep. Nmith is able to play the three of the four and he’s stretching the floor like you need and he’s been able to hold his own against bigger wings. So then Seakkum, I’ve said this all year, probably a top three player in his position, arguably a top 15, top 20 player in the NBA. He’s able to score from all three levels. Take advantage of transition, guard anybody you want. And his efficiency and versatility has made him like the perfect second option or number one option on any given night. By the way, 17 points a game, 14 points a game, 14 points a game, 19 points a game, 16 points a game. That’s the five starters on the Pacers all in double digits. Miles Turner 16, six rebounds, and two and a half blocks. Anchoring the paint, shot blocking menace, will protect the rim and hit threes at a high clip. And I think it’s huge. Then you got Benedict Mattherin who’s a high volume bench scorer. Yeah, he’s streaky from three, but he’s attacking closeouts and he gets to the free throw line like four times a game. He’s just provides the scoring punch they need off the bench. And of course, DJ McConnell, the ant. Like he has the strength of an ant because he’s like more tough than he looks. He’s just the classic spark plug. McConnell plays with the tenacity, the ability to push the paint, orchestrate the offense, and wreck havoc with ball pressure cuts, and just hitting timely dimes. Plus, his shots falling right now. Obi Toppin’s been a transition weapon for them, a lob threat. He’s providing energy, spacing, actually some defense, and he’s just finishing at an elite rate in the open space. And then Ben Shepard’s been trusted for the spot minutes as a three and D guy who comes in as a defender and a four four spacer. Yeah, he hasn’t scored much, but his spacing and decision-m have earned him those like 13 minutes a night. And then Thomas Bryant, dude, Thomas Bryant’s killing it. Like he fills in for Turner in small spurts, but he’ll hit the three. He rebounds well, contests anything within his vicinity, and he just plays efficiently. and he’s used mostly for his size and, you know, defensive abilities, but I still like him and I think Carile’s given him some versatility out there. Now, what are we saying? This is the second best scoring team in the playoffs, best in assists, number one true shooting, number one three-point percentage, and second in assist to turnover ratio. six players averaging over eight and a half points a game I mean five over 10 points a game or 14 basically and they’ve just had great ball movement due to Halur and Nemhard and shooting nearly 51% from the field then 40% from three as a team and the fact that they have anchors in Turner and Bryant anchoring the interior Nemhard Nmith and Mr. Pascal Seakum or applying perimeter pressure. So the Pacers speed, shooting, and bench production give them the advantage against a more physical and slower Knicks team. But the question is whether Indiana’s spacing and pace can offset New York’s rebounding playoff gritty team that has like I think the Pacers are deeper personally, but one could argue that the Knicks have better talent up top. So let’s just compare them. Look, we already talked to Brunson, Cat Hart, OG Male versus Tyrese, Pascal, Miles Turner, Aaron E Smith, and Nemart. Tom Thibido is a defensive-minded coach, slow pace. They’ll literally run iso execution late in the clock. He’ll trust his starters. They’re going to play heavy minutes, and they’re going to emphasize rebounding, slowing the game down to their tempo, and beating you with their transition defense. Rick Carile, not a people person, but fast tempo, read and react offense, thrives in space, heavy emphasis on ball movement, almost 30 assists a game, and they’ll use deep rotations to keep legs fresh, and he’ll make adjustments and be flexible with his matchups. For the Knicks, they need Brunson to do his thing, be the orchestrator, and be clutch in the fourth. They need a lead defense from OG, Bridges, and Hart. They need rebounding from Towns, Hart, and Mitchell. They need to control the boards. They need to physically impose their will. Look, the ball movement has dropped in the playoffs. Their bench scoring has become unreliable. And the Knicks aren’t shooting as efficient as you would like. True shooting 54%. Verse the Pacers who are true shooting at 61.5%. That’s like a almost 7% swing. So figure out the spacing. Figure out how to be efficient. And the Pacers, dude, they have six guys averaging over eight and a half points. I guess it’s 10 points. They have a deep and energetic rotation. Their rebounding is where they’re going to be suspect. Their opponents are shooting at 44% from the field, which could climb. And they also allow a lot of second chance points. Almost seven offensive rebounds allowed per game. So, how can each team win? The Knicks path to victory. Slow the pace, limit transition, and force Pacers into half court and beat you with them executing plays in the half court. Win the rebounding battle. exploit Indiana’s lack of physicality inside with Miles Turner not being a great rebounder. Jaylen Brunson takeover mode or Parenthy Town. Let one of them cook, especially Brunson late in games, create mismatches. And then the switchable defense between Hart, OG, Bridges to Smother, Hallebertton, Nesmith, and Pascal Seakum. Pacers path of victory. Push the tempo, get easy points before Tib sets his defense. Spread the floor out. stretch, you know, Corinthy Towns, Mitchell, Josh Hart away from the basket by using Turner and then use those opportunities to find guys cutting inside or space the floor. Leverage your assist advantage and tire out the Knicks court by swinging the ball, swinging the ball, swinging the ball, swinging the ball, and swinging the ball till you get the open look. And then win the bench minutes. McConnell, Benedict, Matan, and Obi need to outplay New York second unit. They’re a better second unit than New York, so you need to beat them. So, offensively, the Pacers lead all playoff teams in shooting splits from field goal percentage through shooting, assist totals, three-point percentage. Defensively, the Knicks are better. They have all the wings, perimeter defense, and schemes to clamp in the crunch time. Depth, the Pacers have more rotation options and have had higher playoff production from their bench. So, the X factors are can Brunson maintain his usage at a current at the current efficiency. Will the Indiana Pacers overwhelm the Knicks physicality? Is Carl Anthony Towns ready to consistently punish mismatches inside aka Miles Turner? And can Miles Turner and N Smith maintain elite spacing without giving up too much inside and throwing Pascal Seakum? Now, so for me, if the Knicks can control the glass, limit turnovers, and win the half court game, they can drag Indiana into a slower style that favors their strengths. But if the Pacers can dictate tempo, get production from five to six guys like they’ve been all playoffs, this is their second Eastern Conference Finals, by the way, in back-to-back seasons, their offense may be too much over a sevename series, which this is going to be a sevengame series. I’m leaning Pacers in seven. They’re deeper, more efficient, and Tyres Hallebertton has enough to push through, but I really think it’s a crapshoot and anyone could win.

Cyro Asseo broke down the upcoming Eastern Conference playoff battle between the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks. Asseo discussed the Pacers’ high-powered offense led by Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana’s recent postseason surge, and how their pace and depth can challenge New York. He also analyzed the Knicks’ physical defense, Jalen Brunson’s emergence as a superstar, and the impact of key injuries on both sides. The conversation covers team performance trends, coaching adjustments, and which X-factors could swing the series. Get full preview and bold predictions for one of the most compelling playoff matchups of the season.

Catch all the postseason insights and stay locked in for more Pacers and Knicks coverage.

#cyroasseo #indianapacers #newyorkknicks #pacersvsKnicks #nba2025 #hoopshype #pacersnews #knicksnews #nba #nbaeast #playoffpreview

00:00 – Intro
00:45 – Knicks
05:00 – Pacers
10:00 – Prediction
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