Knicks at Pacers Game 3 Preview: How, Who to Watch
Seven New York Knicks accused of a fix. One left in the third and then there six.
Amidst injuries and Rick Carlisle's complaining, the Knicks can take solace in numbers: as the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Indiana Pacers shift to Indianapolis, the Knicks are down to just six men in their regular rotation but they are also on the precipice of a commanding 3-0 series lead and will have an opportunity to earn it on Friday night.
The Knicks have not held a 3-0 lead in a series since the opening round of the 2013 playoffs against Boston but will have to get by without OG Anunoby, as the imported difference-maker is out for at least Friday with a hamstring issue. Anunoby previously came up while Jalen Brunson was restored in the locker room, the scorer of 28 points in a 130-121 triumph on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden. Brunson returned to finish with 29 points in a poetic parallel to Willis Reed's electrifying entrance on the anniversary of Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals.
That didn't sit well with the Pacers, whose head coach Carlisle complained of countless missed call and non-calls that supposedly went against the blue and yellow's favor. Indiana publicly professed its plans to submit a list of such misfires to the league, a compilation that reportedly reached 78 issues. Indiana has blown a halftime lead in each of the first two games and led by as much as 12 in Wednesday's heartbreaker.
What: New York Knicks @ Indiana Pacers, Eastern Conference Semifinals, Game 3 (Knicks lead series 2-0)
Where: Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
When/Watch: Friday, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN
Who's Favored: IND -7.5
Keep An Eye On: Josh Hart
No rest? No problem, says Josh Hart. The veteran is the first to play 48 minutes on four different occasions in a single postseason since 2014 when Kevin Durant did so. It's easy to chalk that up to Tom Thibodeau expectations (Thibodeau protege Jimmy Butler did it in 2013 with Chicago) but Hart has been more than willing to accept the responsibilities, more or less serving as a durable Julius Randle clone (one making far less money but that's a discussion for another day). More injuries in the regular rotation will force Hart into further overtime, but he likely wouldn't have it any other way.
Pacer to Watch: Andrew Nembhard
If Carlisle is looking for someone to blame, perhaps he should consult the nearest mirror: despite T.J. McConnell looking like a bonafide Knicks killer, Carlisle has displayed an extraordinary trust in the stater Nembhard. While Nembhard fulfilled his offensive duties in Game 2 (shooting 7-of-9 from the field), the Pacers were an ugly minus-21 when he was on the floor, as he was unable to handle a hobbled Brunson. If the Pacers want to make a comeback and if Carlisle is stubborn enough to keep this ride going, he's going to have to somehow justify gaining the premier minutes in clutch situations.
They Said It
"We couldn't have done it without him ... When he's out, we just have to move the ball more. I feel like when he's out we especially go a little bit more to the elbow plays where I catch it, guys move off me ... It's been us, sadly, all f***ing year. Guys being out, guys stepping up. That's just our team."-Knicks center Isaiah Hartenstein on playing with and without Jalen Brunson in Game 2 (h/t James Herbert, CBS Sports)
Prediction
The most underrated part of Brunson's latest brilliance is that the Knicks have one of the most subtle gifts on their side: room for error. In all honesty, they have every right to believe they can pull off two more immediate wins: once Brunson went down in Game 2, Indiana could not have lost that game ... but it did. The Knicks certainly don't want to take advantage of that backhanded gift, but reality has to set in at some point. Facing a desperate Pacer group trying to impress its fans ... and perhaps officials as well ... seems like the time for a medical mulligan.
Pacers 114, Knicks 112
GEOFF MAGLIOCCHETTI
Editor-In-Chief at All Knicks