The New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers tip off their second round series on Monday, renewing one of the defining rivalries of the 1990s.
The series tips off in Madison Square Garden, as the No. 2 seed Knicks host the No. 6 seed Pacers.
Although the Pacers won the season series, 2-1, the Knicks are favored by bookmakers to win the series.
Beyond the bookmakers, though, the Knicks appear to be the popular pick. That is certainly the case at ESPN, where a poll of ESPN's NBA reporters and analysts unanimously picked the Knicks to win the series.
All 16 of the reporters and analysts who made a prediction picked the Knicks.
The most common prediction was Knicks in six.
Of course, these are just guesses, but it's a telling outlook for the series: the Knicks, coming off a draining, intense series win over the Philadelphia 76ers, are the heavy favorites to make the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2000.
How do the Knicks and Pacers match up?
The two teams are stylistic opposites, and that is part of what makes this series so compelling.
Both teams are led by elite point guards — Jalen Brunson for the Knicks and Tyrese Haliburton for the Pacers. But the two players play far differently. Haliburton likes to race up the court, sprinting in for easy buckets or spraying the ball out to shooters. Meanwhile, Brunson has a plodding, probing style that is heavy on dribbling, pivots, and maneuvering in small, tight spaces.
Rebounds might be a big factor in this series. The Knicks are one of the most dominant offensive rebounding teams while the Pacers are a poor defensive rebounding team. If the Knicks control the glass and the pace, the Pacers might have a hard time keeping up in a half-court setting. But if Indiana controls the glass — or catches the Knicks out of position — it could open up their transition game.
The series has the potential to be a close one, full of interesting matchups and adjustments.
But Indiana has at least one mental advantage: all of the pressure is on the Knicks to win this series.
