(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
The Indiana Pacers scored a crucial and impressive victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in the opening round of the playoffs.
Now they are about to take on a more formidable opponent: the New York Knicks.
On Monday’s “Undisputed,” Rachel Nichols made it clear that she isn’t so sure the Pacers have what it takes to defeat Jalen Brunson and his team.
Like many, she was impressed with the Pacers during the regular season but is much more cautious after seeing how they played versus the Bucks.
.@Rachel__Nichols questions the Pacers’ grit against a tough Knicks team:
“Jalen Brunson elevated his game. I haven’t seen Haliburton or Siakam do it.” pic.twitter.com/xebbJ70Dho
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) May 6, 2024
The Pacers are one of the top-scoring and fastest teams in the entire NBA, but they weren’t looking like that against the Bucks in the opening round.
They were slower and not as explosive as they had been in the months before.
The Pacers were red-hot toward the beginning of the season, especially during their run in the In-Season Tournament.
Since then, they have suffered some problems and become more pedestrian in a number of ways.
They enter this series against the Knicks as the underdogs, partly because of how well Brunson has been playing.
Nichols claims that he will be the best player on the floor during Game 1 and beyond, which gives the Knicks a major advantage.
Of course, each series is different and the Pacers could look better against the Knicks than they did against the Bucks.
Regardless of what she said about their performance in the first round, Indiana still won that series and that means something.
But they now have to adapt and change their game now that New York is their opponent.
They proved something with their win over Milwaukee but the Pacers have much more to prove against the Knicks.
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