The stats don't lie|Pacers drag Knicks into a tiebreaker: Who is the Greens' more dangerous opponent?

Rowe said the NBA

2024-05-18 11:05Posted in Fujian Sports Creators

On May 18, Beijing time, the Pacers defeated the Knicks 116-103 at home, bringing the overall score to a 3-3 tie, and the two sides will enter the tiebreaker. The Celtics have a choice of two opponents in the East, who can pose a greater threat to the Green Army, which has the league's No. 1 record? Local media in Boston believe the answer is walkers.

The Knicks' injury problems are even worse

Celtics' Porzingis is expected to miss the first two games of the Eastern Conference finals, but the Knicks' injury problems are much more serious. Randle and Bojan Bogdanovic have already confirmed their season reimbursement, Mitchell Robinson is out for an extended period of time, and Anunoby has also missed four games in a row and can only train lightly at the moment. In the G6 game, their "Iron Man" Hart also retired with abdominal pain. In contrast, the Pacers have a healthier roster, with only Mathurin reimbursing the team for the season.

The data shows that since January 1, 2024 local time, Hart has played 2,278 minutes, ranking first in the league. The Knicks have Hart tired out of injuries, and there are even fewer people available. Next, the Knicks and Pacers will play a tiebreaker, while the Celtics have nearly a week to rest and recuperate.

The Knicks have a significant disadvantage in starting height

Four of the Knicks' current five starters are no taller than 1.93m, which is a lineup change caused by injury. If Anunoby can come back, the Knicks will have an extra 2.01 meter starter, but the Celtics are obviously taller, Holiday (1.93m) and White (1.93m) are not shorter than most of the Knicks' starters, they also have 2.03 meters Tatum, 1.98 meters Brown and 2.06 meters Horford, and when the 2.18 meters Porzingis returns, the height advantage of the Green Army will be even greater.

In contrast, the Pacers are more of a tall rival to the Celtics. They have Turner with 2.11m, Toppin with 2.06m and Siakam with 2.03m.

The Greens have enough manpower to limit Brunson

White and Holiday are both standout defenders, and there is probably no team in the league that can match the Green when it comes to defending Brunson. Brunson's firepower in the playoffs was fierce, but Holiday and White were sixth and eighth respectively in the Defensive Player of the Year vote, and the Green have been one of the best defensive teams in the league all season, and their backcourt combination is a big reason.

Judging from the alignment data, although Brunson can train big men like Porzingis and Horford, when the two guards of the Green Army defend him, Brunson's accuracy does drop a lot (47.9% shooting in the regular season), and in five meetings this year, Brunson shot 8-of-19 against Holiday defense, shooting 42.1%, and 8-of-23 shooting against White's defense, shooting 34.8%. Against these two defensive giants, Brunson's performance will indeed be limited.

The regular season head-to-head is better against the Knicks

If we only talk about the regular season head-to-head, the Celtics have a better record against the Knicks. Due to the midseason, the Green Army has met with the Knicks and Pacers five times each. 4-1 against the Knicks and 3-2 against the Pacers. It is worth mentioning that the Green Army won the first 4 games against the Knicks, and the reason why they lost the last game is also related to the fact that the Green Army locked the first place in the league in advance, and the Knicks are still competing for the seeded position.

The Pacers' firepower can compete with the Greens

If there's one NBA team that can compete with the Green Army's offensive firepower, it's the Pacers. So far in the playoffs, the Celtics have ranked second in offensive efficiency at 118.9, while the Pacers have ranked first (119.2). As long as Haliburton stays healthy, his Pacers-led offense will pose a threat to the Greens. In addition, the Pacers have not lost at home in the playoffs so far.

The Celtics conceded the most points in the regular season in 10 games, three of which were against the Pacers, and the remaining seven were against different opponents.

The tiebreaker between the two teams will be held at 3:30 a.m. Beijing time on May 20, and which team do you think will appear in the Eastern Conference finals against the Green Army after the tiebreaker? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.

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