#2 Knicks vs. #3 Pacers

#1
TOP

TOP

unconventional
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#1
I was hoping you would start this thread, ben. Worked out for the Pacers last time. If the Pacers lose, I'm going to blame it on you for no starting the thread and myself for jinxing it by starting the thread. :p
 
#2
#2
TOP said:
I was hoping you would start this thread, ben. Worked out for the Pacers last time. If the Pacers lose, I'm going to blame it on you for no starting the thread and myself for jinxing it by starting the thread. :p
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Lol i would have Sunday if nobody did. Nerd started 2 this morning. I guess this series was too boring to be concerned with lol

Pacers in 6
 
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#3
#3
bentenn said:
Lol i would have Sunday if nobody did. Nerd started 2 this morning. I guess this series was too boring to be concerned with lol

Pacers in 6
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I think it's because most people here pull for the Grizzlies who are in the West, thus they only care about the West. I don't think it's just because the East is viewed as lesser. They'd care more about what was going on in the East if their team was playing here. They can just look at the East and say "the Heat are going to win anyways so who cares" but you know if their team was in the East, they'd watch and believe they have a slight chance to take em down. jmo anyways lol

I think the Heat our headed back to the championship but I see no reason the Pacers or Knicks have any less of a chance than the teams out West to take down Miami. The East isn't as strong as the West, that's true but the top teams like the Pacers and Knicks can give the Heat as much of a fight as anyone out West imo minus the Thunder(before Westbrooks injury). Maybe I have it wrong but aside from the Thunder, I don't think the West teams are superior to the Pacers and Knicks by any means. Pacers at the end of the season had a 4 game road trip in like 5 nights and swept the Clippers, Rockets, Mavs and Suns. So... :dunno:

Another reason this series is worth watching is because it's the freakin Knicks and Pacers! Those series in the 90's were awesome! The fans today still hate each other and I think the teams do too. This could end up being a pretty awesome series. Or the Knicks could win in 5. We'll see lol.
 
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#5
#5
I hope the Knicks feel the same was their fans. They act like the Pacers had any easy road through the Hawks while the Celtics are a tough out because they won a championship in the past. They tend to forget that KG/Pierce are the only remaining players from that championship and they're a little past their prime. Last night they essentially used a 6 man rotation with players the ages of KG 37yrs, Pierce 35yrs, Terry 35yrs, Bass 28yrs, Green 26yrs and Bradley 22yrs. Not only are they rather old now and not the same team that won a championship but they're not even the same team that took Miami to 7. Terry wasn't on the team, Green didn't play because of injury and Bradley played fewer minutes because Rondo was playing. If this was the same Celtics team of the past, Pierce wouldn't have shot 36.8% from the field and 26.8% from 3 in the series. Just sayin... lol

On the flip side, the Hawks aren't old but they're full of athleticism and speed. Al Horford can bang like Chandler but has more athleticism, can shoot and attack the basket. Not even going to compare Josh Smith to Kenyon Martin, he's better in every way other than boneheaded jump shots plus he's a freak of nature athletically and he was able to help contain Paul George with his size and quickness. Carmelo isn't half the defender that Josh Smith and that's who will be guarding PG. Unless of course they want Carmelo to bang with David West/force the Pacers to play a smaller line up. West can't cover Carmelo but Carmelo also can't stop West from getting to the basket. Then you have Devin Harris who has crazy speed and was running circles around the Pacers. I think he'd run circles around anyone and the Knicks don't have anyone with that kind of speed. Harris also had the added bonus of being able to shoot 3's. Lastly, you've got Jeff Teague who is just a better all around point guard than anyone on the Knicks.

It might sound like I'm saying the Hawks are better than the Knicks but I'm not. I'm simply saying at this point, I think the Hawks were as tough of out if not tougher than the Celtics and they presented a different challenge than the Knicks will present the Pacers. The Knicks are more like the Pacers with Chandler matching up against Hibbert. Both play great defense and I'll give the edge to Chandler on rebounding but Hibbert offensively is way better. Chandler can only score when he's given an assist for an open dunk while Hibbert backs defenders down and puts in hook shots by himself and has a short jumper.

David West and Kenyon Martin are also guys that can bang down low but against, David West has an offensive game both inside and out. He was one of the top jump shooters from mid-range in the NBA this season.

Paul George has done a good job of containing Carmelo in the past. Carmelo is an elite scorer and has a clear advantage over Paul George when it comes to scoring. Has a clear advantage over 99% of the NBA for that matter. But I'll go as far as saying that Paul George is better than Melo and every other aspect. He's a better defender, he's a better passer and he's more athletic.

JR Smith is hands down better than Lance Stephenson. He's an excellent 3 point shooter and can attack the basket. Stephenson isn't much of a shooter and he's best in transition. His frame his built like a mini Lebron and he's at his best when he's getting to the rim and finishing with circus shots. He also plays pretty good defense and is big.

That leaves George Hill and Raymond Felton... I think George Hill is better and no real reason for it other than I do. George Hill isn't much of distributor but he can hit 3's, he can hit jumpers, he can fit floaters and he can finish at the rim. His biggest weakness is probably defense but that seems to be an issue for a lot of point guards. Deron Williams/Nate Robinson, Curry/Lawson and CP3/Conley were all lighting each other up as well.

Ultimately, Carmelo is what makes the Knicks so dangerous. Plus, JR Smith has really come on strong. Honestly, I think Carmelo is the only play better than everyone on the Pacers. From there I'd take 2 or 3 over Smith or Chandler probably. Some nights Carmelo just can't be stopped and the Knicks can catch fire quickly when they're passing. They find open 3's and they make them. What gives me hope though is watching Melo in iso mode against the Celtics. They weren't even running it through the point guard half the time. It was just Melo with the ball at the top of the key and playing by himself. The Celtics were shutting him down. If that's how the Knicks want to play, the Pacers will beat them. If they spread it around, Knicks are dangerous.
 
#7
#7
Nerd-Vol said:
I have nothing but love for the east. I just forgot to start the thread.
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No worries man :)

Good luck to you guys against the Thunder.

I had picked the Thunder out of the West but thought you guys and the Clippers had the next best chance of making it out alive. You already took the Clippers down and without Westbrook, you have a great shot at the Thunder. For whatever reason, I wasn't as sold on the Spurs as some. They're like the Bulls with a great system and come out on top during the regular season but their age... I don't know. I just think a younger team will knock em off. But maybe not... we'll see.
 
#9
#9
And I forgot to mention...

While the Knicks faced the Celtics who ran 6 man rotation last night with guys that were 37, 35, 35, 28, 26 and 22 years old, the Pacers are a far younger team. They're also bigger and more athletic. The Celtics center was KG with their power forwards being Green and Bass. You could consider them power forwards and small forwards.

Starters
26yrs 6'2 190lbs George Hill
22yrs 6'5 228lbs Lance Stephenson
23yrs 6'9 221lbs Paul George
32yrs 6'9 250lbs David West
26yrs 7'2 280lbs Roy Hibbert

Bench
25yrs 6'0 183lbs DJ Augustin
24yrs 6'5 220lbs Orlando Johnson
27yrs 6'8 210lbs Gerald Green
27yrs 6'9 250lbs Tyler Hansbrough
25yrs 6'9 250lbs Jeff Pendergraph
26yrs 6'11 230lbs Ian Mahinimi

Unlikely to play
25yrs 6'3 203lbs Ben Hansbrough
27yrs 6'6 225lbs Sam Young
24yrs 6'11 255lbs Miles Plumlee



I view it as a luxury that the Knicks faced 3 guys in the first round that were 35 years+. The Pacers only have one player over the age of 27 years old and that's 32 year old David West. Maybe the Pacers will be too young to come out on top? But I think playing a team this young will be very different after having played a team that old.
 
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#11
#11
Nerd-Vol said:
Oh, you seem to have a way with words. You're a quality poster and put a lot of thought into your posts.
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Thanks :hi:

Sometimes I kind of go all over the place though. There are a numbers of things I want to say and I don't take the time to put it all in order. Plus, I think some of what I say can be said in a shorter manner but I just kind of get going and don't bother with really making it presentable lol
 
#21
#21
Not trying to bag on TOP at all, but his posts are so long I don't read them unless they are directed at me. If they are I usually skim them. No offense intended.
 
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#22
#22
n_huffhines said:
Not trying to bag on TOP at all, but his posts are so long I don't read them unless they are directed at me. If they are I usually skim them. No offense intended.
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Maybe if it was a 5 page long stat sheet you'd read it :p
 
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#25
#25
BearCat204 said:
I think George is going to decide this series.......I'm hoping he plays poorly:)
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He very well could.

The thing that makes him good is even when he's not scoring, he'll get you rebounds, assists, steals, block shots and play stellar defense.

He's like the anti-Carmelo at the moment. Carmelo is as pure of scorer as you'll get but lacks a little on defense imo and PG isn't the best offensive player in the world but prides himself on defense and sharing the ball.

I'm hoping PG can shut Carmelo down a bit. Carmelo has struggled in his 3 meetings against the Pacers this season. He has gotten his points so I'm assuming he went to the free throw line but I know his shooting percentages weren't that great. I can look it up actually.

9/22(40.9%)
7/21(33.3%)
9/23(39.1%)

I still think he got 20-25 points in all of those games though. I'm just hoping PG and Co. can slow him down a bit cause when he's on, he's on. There is no stopping Carmelo. And West/Carmelo will be weird if the Knicks choose to go small and the Pacers remain big. West would have his way in the paint against Melo but the Knicks would be bombing 3's. I don't want to trade 2's for 3's.
 
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