Biggest X-Factors In New York Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers NBA Eastern Conference Finals
Following the New York Knicks' 119-81 drubbing of the Boston Celtics in Friday's Game 6, the Eastern Conference Finals are officially set. And the matchup should generate plenty of nostalgia for 1990s NBA fans.
Jalen Brunson and the Knicks will face Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers. And the series could generate as much heat as the classic clashes between Patrick Ewing and Reggie Miller.
Some of the X-factors in those past games included Charles Oakley's grit, Dale and Antonio Davis' rebounding, John Starks' playmaking and Miller's outside shooting (back when threes were far less prevalant).
Below, we'll forecast the biggest X-factors for the upcoming matchup.
Indiana's Balance
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Tyrese Haliburton (17.5 points and 9.3 assists) is leading the playoffs in assists per game and understandably generating most of the headlines, but he's not even the Pacers' leading scorer this postseason. That would be Pascal Siakam at 18.8.
And after those two, Indiana has six more rotation players between eight and 17 points per game in the playoffs.
There's value in the scoring being so well distributed among the Pacers. That and Haliburton's no-favorites playmaking make the offense difficult to game-plan against. It's almost impossible to zero in on any individual scorer.
And the playoffs are often about which role players might have a random big quarter or half to swing a game. There are plenty of candidates on that front, with Myles Turner, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Bennedict Mathurin, T.J. McConnell and Obi Toppin.
New York's Free Throws
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The Oklahoma City Thunder are the only team still standing that's averaging more free-throw attempts per game than the Knicks.
And while Karl-Anthony Towns, Mitchell Robinson, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby are all making small contributions to the total, Jalen Brunson, despite standing 6'2", is undoubtedly the biggest reason for New York's trips to the line.
Few players in the league are as good at drawing fouls. He uses all the tricks common to the current NBA player. He gets in front of his defender, stops on a dime and hits the deck when contacted. He pump fakes, jumps way out of his natural shooting motion and draws contact. He whips his head back on the way to the rim.
And that's just a small handful of what gets Brunson to the charity stripe.
It's a good thing he's so often there. The Knicks' offense, at least prior to Friday's blowout, has struggled. So freebies have helped keep them afloat.
And he'll continue to get those easy points against Indiana.
Andrew Nembhard
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For his career, Andrew Nembhard has averaged 9.6 points, 4.6 assists and 1.0 steals in the regular season. He's hit 33.5 percent of his three-point attempts.
But in 27 playoff games, Nembhard has put up 14.8 points, shot 49.0 percent from deep and averaged 5.7 assists.
The terms "playoff riser" or "playoff faller" are sometimes thrown around a little too haphazardly, but the first one definitely applies to Nembhard.
And it goes beyond simple shotmaking, too.
Nembhard seems intent on getting too as many big shots as possible. He's willing and able to take on some of the toughest defensive assignments. And his secondary playmaking makes the offense less predictable.
Thanks to Nembhard, not everything has to run through Haliburton.
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Josh Hart
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Josh Hart is pretty much the personification of a modern NBA X-factor. He's willing to do whatever's required of him, which leads to plenty of gap filling and stat-sheet stuffing.
After totaling nine triple-doubles this season, and despite standing just 6'4", Hart is already top 45 in NBA history in that category.
He can swing an individual game against the Pacers as a rebounder, passer or defender, but the biggest X-factor to this X-factor may be his outside shooting.
In regular season games, when Hart made at least half his three-point attempts, New York went 15-7. When he's hit the same threshold in the playoffs, they're 4-2.
And if he has a big shooting night in the conference finals, the Knicks are going to be tough to beat.
Pacers' Outside Shooting
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This is almost a corollary to Indiana's balance and depth, but Indiana is averaging three more threes per game than the Knicks in the playoffs. And their postseason three-point percentage of 40.6 leads the league.
The precision from deep isn't just coming from one or two players, either.
Aaron Nesmith, Haliburton and Nembhard are all averaging over two triples per game. Nesmith and Nembhard are shooting a combined 49.0 percent from deep.
Turner and Siakam are each averaging over a three per game with a 44-plus three-point percentage, too.
The Pacers are capable of unleashing three-point barrages in a way that no other team still standing (outside of maybe the Oklahoma City Thunder) can. That includes the Knicks.
And Indiana's likely upcoming win in the three-point battle bodes well for the series.
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