Game Preview: Knicks at Pacers- 3/12/2019

For whatever reason the Knicks (13-54) are facing the Pacers (42-25) tonight. Indiana has lost two consecutive games, certainly they’ll be intent to reverse the tide. New York has 3x as many consecutive losses, so step off, losers.

The Pacers currently sit in fourth place in the East and seem set to rip into their playoff opponent. An attempt to put some fear into the rest of the conference for next season when Victor Oladipo returns. This team always plays with maximum effort and they have enough guys that are looking to prove themselves on a big stage, that they seem like the type of first round matchup you’d typically want to avoid.

In stark contrast, the Knicks have been eliminated from the playoffs and will be jockeying for lottery position. They’ll probably be reach the bottom of the ocean and have the actual worst record in the league and then pick fifth in the lottery where they’ll take a tremendously flawed player who will never pan out, but this will be the time they finally stick with that player for several contracts, and they’ll build around him. So get your engines revved up for RJ Barrett lifelong Knick who never makes an All Star team. Ok, let’s... play ball!

Projected Starters

Big Vic ‘Dipo suffered a season ending injury but the Pacers have taken it as in stride as they possibly could have. Knick annihilator, Domantas Sabonis, just returned from a little ankle scuff and made the highlight reel against Philadelphia.

Sabonis played twenty minutes and according to Scott Agness of The Athletic, had a very sore ankle afterward. Agness also had the scoop on Tyreke Evans who has been out with an upper respiratory infection but seems to be doing fine.

Key Matchup

Myles Turner leads the NBA in total blocks with 172. Mitchell Robinson, who has similarly great timing but adds tremendous leaping ability, only has 123. The only difference i really see is that Turner has played nearly double the minutes on the season.

So will the Block Ness Monster reject one of Turner’s patented 21¾-foot pick and pop jumpers and run the other way for a sky scraping jam? Why yes, yes he will. Will Robinson get more blocks total than Turner? Yes, he will. Unless Emmanuel Mudiay is playing. Something tells me Turner will swat everything Mudiay attempts. Drive right, spin left, hang... rejected.

Prediction

Once means always when it comes to the Knicks. So Wesley Matthews will be playing for the Knicks and intends to shoot 2-18 in honor of John Starks and with respect to the tank. Also, Kyle O’Quinn has been warming up for his role as a bench big and got some serious work in on the Sixers’ Joel Embiid.

Expect this and so much more. The current Knicks do still have Mudiay to keep everyone out of rhythm so I’m not too concerned.

Knicks by -15.

Warm Up Music

This is the laughter...

And this is the tears...

Drink full and descend.