2013 Playoffs: Matchups in Pacers vs. Knicks
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
Now this is an NBA playoff series. The Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks finished with the best records in the Eastern Conference this year behind Miami, came out nearly even in point differential, they each clawed through the first round in six games, and each team feels getting this far is simply not sufficient. This series has everything. It has history. It has a superstar. It has an elite defense. The two teams split the season series 2-2 (although one of Indiana’s wins came with Carmelo Anthony suspended) and are clashing for the seventh time in the postseason after splitting the first six meetings. It has all the makings of a great series. How do the clubs match up in this year’s second round? Let’s take a look.
SMALL FORWARD: Iman Shumpert vs. Paul George
George must play a great series for the Pacers to move on. Shumpert, a second-year defensive stopper, has the foot speed to stay in front of Indiana’s All-Star but faces a severe height mismatch. Look for Shumpert to harass George whenever he puts the ball on the floor and to body him on the perimeter to keep George from shooting easily over the top. On offense, Shumpert is lightning-quick, keeps a good dribble and has been hitting 3s at a 40-percent clip. George enjoyed some wonderful moments in the first round and is the far more accomplished player. He’s a great option defensively for the Pacers to throw at Carmelo Anthony. He’s their best bet for star power on offense. If George doesn’t obliterate Shumpert, something’s gone terribly wrong for Indiana.
EDGE: Pacers
POWER FORWARD: Carmelo Anthony vs. David West
Anthony led the NBA in scoring at 28.7 points per game. West was second on the Pacers with 17.1 points per contest. Anthony is playing for his legacy and wants to prove he can win a ring. West is the veteran leader of a team still trying to learn how to advance deep in the postseason. This is an unusual matchup in the sense that the two players won’t always go head-to-head. Anthony is likely to spend quite a bit of time guarding West, and the Knicks are fine with that since ‘Melo has demonstrated a willingness to grind in the paint on defense. West will certainly force him to do so. On the other end, the Pacers definitely have to cross-match on Anthony because West is too slow to track him out to the 3-point arc, where Anthony would easily beat West off the dribble.
EDGE: Knicks
CENTER: Tyson Chandler vs. Roy Hibbert
Two darn good players square off in the middle. Chandler won the Defensive Player of the Year award last season. Hibbert was a serious candidate this year. Chandler is 7-foot-1. Hibbert checks in at 7-2. Each scores in double figures. Each is seemingly the perfect foil for the other. Splitting hairs, Chandler is the superior rebounder (about 11 per game to Hibbert’s nine) and moves around the floor more nimbly, while Hibbert offers his team scoring from the low-post (Chandler does not). For what it’s worth, Hibbert shot just 40 percent from the field in the 51 minutes he and Chandler shared the court this season. But they are a match, so look for the series to be decided elsewhere.
EDGE: Even
SHOOTING GUARD: Raymond Felton vs. Lance Stephenson
Felton is more of a point guard who is capable of playing shooting guard, and that’s what he’s been doing in the Knicks’ small lineup. On offense, this is typically beneficial because of his talents as a scorer, driver and distributor. Defensively, however, Felton is nothing to write home about and, for a 2-guard, is woefully short at 6-foot-1. Stephenson had a breakout year and seemed steady against the Hawks. He has the quickness to stay with Felton as an on-ball defender, but Felton averaged about 14 points and six assists per game in the regular season. He means far more to the Knicks than Stephenson does to the Pacers.
EDGE: Knicks
POINT GUARD: Pablo Prigioni vs. George Hill
Hill averaged 15.2 points per game in the first round, doing most of his damage in Indiana’s four wins. He’s a two-way player who will sometimes decide to take over games late or to be aggressive early; that versatility keeps opponents wondering and on edge. Hill can defend, run, shoot, drive and find the open man. Prigioni, a 36-year-old NBA rookie, may be physically overmatched by the bigger, stronger, quicker Hill. Though New York’s floor general will make some nice passes and pile up a few steals, the Pacers shouldn’t just win this matchup — they should dominate it.
EDGE: Pacers
THE BENCHES:
This is the chief spot of concern for Indiana, given that J.R. Smith is capable of outscoring the Pacers’ reserves all by himself. New York also simply has more bodies to throw at them: Kenyon Martin, Jason Kidd, Steve Novak, Chris Copeland, Marcus Camby, Quentin Richardson and (potentially later in the series) Amar’e Stoudemire. Indiana is sure to play Tyler Hansbrough as West’s backup and to use D.J. Augustin as the second-string point guard, but everything else is up in the air. Little-used Jeff Pendergraph saw minutes at small forward in big lineups at the end of the first round. Ian Mahinmi, ineffective for months, has been in and out of the rotation at center. Pacers coach Frank Vogel seems to have weak faith in swingman Gerald Green and almost none in rookie guard Orlando Johnson. While New York justifiably counts on positive contributions from some of its reserves, the Pacers set the bar extremely low for theirs: just don’t give up a big run to the other team.
EDGE: Knicks
COACHING:
Our (entirely theoretical) Coach of the Year vote went to Mike Woodson, and he also defeated Vogel in the season-long race for second place, so it follows that Woodson would get the nod here. Despite constant injury attrition and the league’s oldest roster, New York’s former interim coach produced a 54-28 season and led the franchise to its first playoff series victory since 2000. Woodson first proved his chops in Atlanta, where he took the Hawks from 13 wins in his first season to 53 wins in his sixth, improving their record in five straight seasons along the way. He’s an old-school guy who played for Bob Knight at Indiana and learned the art of coaching under Larry Brown. This season he’s induced career years from Anthony and Smith while creating a brilliant offensive system from scratch in his first full season on the job.
EDGE: Knicks
