(Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
The Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks are all set to square off in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
These two teams go way back in the playoffs, and things haven’t exactly been pretty between them.
Nonetheless, whatever happened in the past won’t bother Pascal Siakam.
When asked about the rivalry and what’s ahead of them, the former Toronto Raptors star was completely unfazed by all those narratives, stating that this is just basketball and he’s just focused on getting the job done (via New York Basketball).
Pascal Siakam on if Knicks-Pacers rivalry excites him: “Nah. I’m trying to win playoff games. To be honest I wasn’t even watching basketball…Teams are different, it doesn’t matter…Great atmosphere b/c we know how great that arena is. But other than that it’s just basketball” pic.twitter.com/UYvIL7tHQc
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) May 6, 2024
Siakam did acknowledge that the games would take place in a great environment and praised the Knicks’ arena, but not much more than that.
Truth be told, the Knicks seem to be on a different tier than the Pacers right now.
The Knicks had a much more difficult first-round matchup, going against Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and the Philadelphia 76ers, whereas the Pacers struggled to close out the Milwaukee Bucks without Giannis Antetokounmpo and, for the most part, Damian Lillard.
Tom Thibodeau’s team is at full strength, whereas the Pacers are missing a key player in Bennedict Mathurin, and while that has been the case for a while now, it might become a factor come playoff time.
Jalen Brunson going against Tyrese Haliburton will be one of the most entertaining postseason matchups in quite a while, and the same goes for Siakam and OG Anunoby.
These teams play completely opposite styles, and it’ll be an interesting chess match between Thibodeau and a savvy coach like Rick Carlisle.
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