Indy vs New York
Starters
Haliburton, Nembhard, Nesmith, Siakam, M Turner
Brunson, DiVincenzo, Josh Hart, Anunoby, Hartenstein
Bench
McConnell, Sheppard, Obi Toppin, Jalen Smith
McBride, M Robinson
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I think Anunoby and Siakam will be a wash.
Brunson gives NY the go-to scorer / creator that Indy lacks. He will do better attacking Hali than Hali will him.
The bench makes me nervous. Only 2 guys against 4. Sheppard doesn't do much. Maybe 2 guys against 3 is fairer. Obi Toppin could cause NY some headaches. Too big and athletic for NY's small wings to cover on defense.
Nesmith and Nembhard are not equipped to exploit DiVincenzo and Josh Hart. Those matchups should swing NY's way. DiVincenzo the best offensive player of the bunch. Hart and Nesmith will be a fun matchup of two scrappy wings. Maybe neutral. Sheppard off the bench will be exploited by NY's wings.
M Robinson could cause Indy major headaches.
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The two teams played 3 times in the regular season. NY won once in a close 4pt win. Indy won twice both times by 14pts. The three games were in late December and two in early February. So in a 6 week period.
Siakam missed the first win. Randle the two later games. NY severely shorthanded in the final loss. Hield was still on the Pacers prior to the trade deadline. Haliburton had a crazy game in the first game a 20-20 with 2 turnovers game.
I am not sure how much there is to read into those games. The sole NY win by the most predictive. The crazy Haliburton game for one Indy win and the hugely short-handed NY team for the 2nd win. Taj Gibson was starting alongside Precious Achiuwa that night.