The “Hicks versus Knicks” rivalry from the ’90s was renewed the past two seasons, but this year’s series has really delivered.
The Knicks are underdogs heading west to Indiana for a potential elimination Game 6, but not by much as you’d think.
DraftKings has the Knicks as 3.5-point underdogs on Saturday against the Pacers, who surely don’t want to deal with a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden on Monday night.
The Knicks appear to have found a few advantages thanks to some surprising adjustments from coach Tom Thibodeau.
Thibodeau has begun expanding his lineups and giving more runway to the likes of Delon Wright and Landry Shamet, who have done an excellent job playing perimeter defense.
Shamet has the second-best defensive rating of any player in the conference finals (East or West) with a minimum of two total minutes played.
This has changed everything for the Knicks, as they’ve received legitimate contributions from bench players and that’s helped lessen the burden on the starting lineup as games get tight down the stretch.
Earlier in this series, I detailed the Pacers’ ability to wear the Knicks down and win fourth quarters based on their previous net rating numbers being the best among all playoff teams.
Well, those numbers have cratered against the Knicks. Indiana has a minus-8.3 net-rating and there’s legitimate concern for the Pacers at this point.
Since Thibodeau brought in some of his deeper bench pieces and outscored the Pacers by 16 points in the fourth quarter of Game 3, Indiana is 0-2-1 in the fourth quarters of games.
It’s on Rick Carlisle to make adjustments and figure this out, but there is indeed reason for optimism for New York.
The Knicks have played well on the road in the postseason, winning six of their eight games.
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I suspect that the Knicks’ bench will still be outscored in this game, as it has been throughout the whole series, but the Knicks are in a good spot to get a win and force Game 7.
Back the Knicks to win Game 6 and see you at the World’s Most Famous Arena on Monday.
Betting on the NBA?
If you have a ticket on the Pacers winning the series (+150) and the Pacers winning Game 1/series (+240), this could be a spot to hedge cheaply.
The best price on the Knicks winning the series is +290 at Caesars Sportsbook.
THE PLAY: Knicks moneyline (+150, Bet365)
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