Agreeing With Knicks Superfan Stephen A. Smith, ESPN Analyst Predicts New York Team to Triumph in Eastern Conference Finals

This year’s Eastern Conference Finals is set to reignite one of the NBA’s greatest rivalries — the New York Knicks vs. the Indiana Pacers. And both teams are on fire.

The Pacers knocked out the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, while the Knicks derailed the Boston Celtics’ title defense in six games. But who is the favorite to triumph in the East and head to the Finals?

Stephen A. Smith and Monica McNutt recently broke down the upcoming series on ESPN. Putting his Knicks fandom aside (though he kept saying “the Knicks got a shot”), Smith asked McNutt for her thoughts on the matchup. And her prediction was one that would surely excite the New York faithful, SAS included.

“I’ve got the Knicks coming out of this series in seven games,” she stated. However, McNutt also offered some advice on what the Jalen Brunson-led squad needs to do to avoid getting blown out like the Cavaliers.

“They’ve got to stay healthy,” she warned. That’s something that might seem obvious, but was a major issue for both the Cavs and even the Celtics against New York.

On top of that, McNutt urged the Knicks to set the tempo early and not let the Pacers dictate the games from the start. This was another area where Cleveland struggled.

“They’ve got to control the pace. If they find themselves chasing Indiana, I don’t like it,” added McNutt.

The Pacers are no pushovers, and McNutt knows it. “I think Indiana is really, really good. I take nothing away from their group,” she said, before highlighting the tremendous seasons Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, and Myles Turner have been having.

More importantly, McNutt understands the history between these two teams. The Knicks haven’t reached the Eastern Conference Finals since 2000, when they faced the Reggie Miller-led Pacers, who won the series in six games.

“This is gonna be a slugfest, and it’s really gonna be a battle of styles in it,” concluded McNutt.

Whether McNutt’s prediction proves right will be decided this Wednesday, when the Knicks host Game 1 at Madison Square Garden, which is expected to have its most electrifying crowd in years. But it also presents Indiana with a prime chance to strike an early blow to New York’s hopes, especially with how magical Haliburton has been this season.

The Pacers pulled off a similar feat against the Cavs, winning twice at home to jump out to a 2-0 lead and shock the entire city of Cleveland. Mentally, that’s where they could have lost out.

Will Haliburton and the Pacers pick up where they left off? We’ll find out soon, when the action shifts to the Big Apple in just two days.

About the author

Joseph Galizia

Joseph is a Las Vegas based actor and circus performer. For the last seven years he's had the pleasure of covering sports for multiple outlets, including the Lifestyles section of Sports Illustrated. In that time, he's conducted over 50 interviews with athletes, filmmakers, and company founders to further cement his footprint in the journalism world. He's excited to bring that skillset to the SportsRush, where he'll be covering the NBA news cycle.

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