2024 NBA Season and Playoffs

[CelticSooner]

I thought Indiana would beat NY in the ECSF because they have more firepower than NY. But Indy have been terrible against MIL. Then I start leaning towards NY. But NY look weak now without Bogdanovic. They couldn't afford to lose him after already being down Randle. Now they are only playing 7 guys.

Is it back in Indy's favour, again?

Knicks play defense.

[Who]

I think Mitchell and Garland would give Boston some issues. Think I would rather play the Magic with their lack of 3 point shooting.

Same.

[jpotter33]

Time to go bask in 76ers fans’ misery on Liberty Ballers!

[blink]

I thought Indiana would beat NY in the ECSF because they have more firepower than NY. But Indy have been terrible against MIL. Then I start leaning towards NY. But NY look weak now without Bogdanovic. They couldn't afford to lose him after already being down Randle. Now they are only playing 7 guys.

Is it back in Indy's favour, again?

Knicks play defense.

yup, gritty, and don't give up...It is lucky we have some pretty great defenders at guard though.  we would probably do better against them than Philly w/ Jrue and D White.

[Donoghus]

Can someone tell me if the Process worked? Or are we kicking that can another year?

[jpotter33]

I thought Indiana would beat NY in the ECSF because they have more firepower than NY. But Indy have been terrible against MIL. Then I start leaning towards NY. But NY look weak now without Bogdanovic. They couldn't afford to lose him after already being down Randle. Now they are only playing 7 guys.

Is it back in Indy's favour, again?

Yeah, I was thinking about this matchup. The Knicks’ defense is going to be much less effective against a fast-paced, perimeter-oriented offense. If they get sucked into a running, offensive game, Indy could have the advantage.

[ozgod]

Remarkable game. Embiid looked spent. Brunson was huge. Harris a non event

[blink]

76ers have a lot of playoff failures with Embiid.  Doesn't matter who they surround him with, it just is never enough.  4th quarter Embiid always seems gassed and isn't productive in crunch time.

[jpotter33]

I thought Indiana would beat NY in the ECSF because they have more firepower than NY. But Indy have been terrible against MIL. Then I start leaning towards NY. But NY look weak now without Bogdanovic. They couldn't afford to lose him after already being down Randle. Now they are only playing 7 guys.

Is it back in Indy's favour, again?

Knicks play defense.

yup, gritty, and don't give up...It is lucky we have some pretty great defenders at guard though.  we would probably do better against them than Philly w/ Jrue and D White.

Eh, but they’re much more of a halfcourt defense. They’re middle of the pack in transition defense, which matters alot against Indy.

They’re also stronger on the interior/at the rim, which again is not necessarily what Indy does.

NYK is probably favored slightly, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see Indy win.

[blink]

I thought Indiana would beat NY in the ECSF because they have more firepower than NY. But Indy have been terrible against MIL. Then I start leaning towards NY. But NY look weak now without Bogdanovic. They couldn't afford to lose him after already being down Randle. Now they are only playing 7 guys.

Is it back in Indy's favour, again?

Knicks play defense.

yup, gritty, and don't give up...It is lucky we have some pretty great defenders at guard though.  we would probably do better against them than Philly w/ Jrue and D White.

Eh, but they’re much more of a halfcourt defense. They’re middle of the pack in transition defense, which matters alot against Indy.

They’re also stronger on the interior/at the rim, which again is not necessarily what Indy does.

NYK is probably favored slightly, but it wouldn’t surprise me to see Indy win.

Oh I am not even saying they will beat Indy for sure, I have no idea.  Indy is very up and down.  Knicks could get run out of the gym, but they have home court, and role players play better at home.   Will be a fun series, time to see if Hali is the real deal in the playoffs.

[Who]

Brunson's last 4 games in that series

Gm 3 = 39pts 13ast 13-27 FG 10-12 FT 4 TO
Gm 4 = 47pts 10ast 18-34 FG 9-11 FT 1 TO
Gm 5 = 40pts 6ast  15-32 FG 6-9 FT 4 TO
Gm 6 = 41pts 12ast 13-27 FG 12-16 FT 2 TO

41.8ppg
10.3apg

59-120 FG 49.2% FG%
37-48 FT 77.1% FT%
TS% 59.2%

2.8 TOs per game


Huge performances by Brunson. Major turnaround after the first 2 stinkers as well. Philly caused him a lot of problems with Oubre and Batum but clearly Brunson figured them out as the series went on.

[jpotter33]

The only thing that stinks about how the Bucks went out is that KOC can now just blame the injuries for his God-awful Bucks takes all year long.

[ozgod]

Time to go bask in 76ers fans’ misery on Liberty Ballers!

Yup glad they and the Bucks are out…two of the more toxic fanbases on Reddit for sure 

[SparzWizard]

Time to go bask in 76ers fans’ misery on Liberty Ballers!

Help us bask the Bucks too. 

[Who]

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

----------------------------

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.

------------------------------

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.