Self-proclaimed Knicks fan Carmelo Anthony has enjoyed his team’s deep playoff run up to this point. And he thinks it’s all by design. After a premature exit last year, he believes the team addressed the issues to beat the teams they had struggled against, like the Celtics, whom they disposed of in six games.
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However, the Pacers are a completely different story, according to Anthony. The team that ended New York’s playoff run last season is the same team they’ll match up against in the Eastern Conference Finals. And Carmelo doesn’t think the Knicks were built to match up with Indiana.
It’s not that Anthony believes his team doesn’t match up well roster-wise with the Pacers. But the scary thing to him is that he thinks it could be a trap series after an emotional series win against the Celtics.
“We weren’t designed to match up against Indiana. You get what I’m saying? Because you’re not thinking of Indiana, in a sense. You’re thinking Boston, we got to get Boston. We’ve got to beat Boston to get through this. So, you ain’t really thinking Indiana,” Anthony pointed out on his 7PM in Brooklyn podcast before Game 1.
It makes sense that Carmelo was nervous about the Knicks potentially slipping up after a big series against the Celtics. New York has been known to choke in the biggest of moments at times. With what seems like a free trip to the Finals, they need to ensure they get there first.
Another thing Anthony is worried about is the Pacers’ style of play. He feels as though any of their players could go off at any second.
“Indiana is so unorthodox. You don’t know what they’re going to do. Don’t know what Haliburton you’re going to get. You don’t know what Nembhard you’re going to get, you don’t know what Turner you’re going to get, you don’t know what Siakam you’re going to get. Like, that’s the scary part of it,” Anthony said.
The Pacers are indeed a deep team with multiple scoring options. They had seven players average double digits in scoring. Anthony didn’t even get to the likes of Bennedict Mathurin, Aaron Nesmith, and Obi Toppin.
Because of this, Melo thinks the Knicks need to tread carefully.
“That’s why the Indiana situation, that series, we’ve got to be very careful with that series. Because it can go- if Indiana comes and gets one on this court, we’re in an uphill battle. More so than we were against Boston.”
It’s almost as though Anthony could see the future at the time. The Knicks were doing great for most of Game 1, but a complete meltdown in the final minutes led to Indiana stealing the game in Madison Square Garden. It was a stunning turn of events as they were up by as much as 17 with six minutes left in the game.
If there’s something Anthony and his fellow Knicks fans can feel better about, though, it’s that the win felt incredibly lucky for the Pacers. Even though it’s the third 7-point comeback or more in the final minutes for them, this one was perhaps the most ridiculous.
Nesmith didn’t just catch fire; he became a flamethrower. He nailed six consecutive three-pointers to bring the Knicks’ massive lead to just 2.
Then, later after OG Anunoby split a pair of free throws to put it back to a 2-point lead, Tyrese Haliburton drove into the paint, hit the brakes, sprinted out to the three-point line, turned around, then shot a ball that hit the back of the rim. The ball sat high in the air for what felt like an eternity, and perfectly came down in the basket at the buzzer. It was about as dramatic as a shot can get in the NBA.
After review, Haliburton’s shot was ruled a 2. But it didn’t matter. Anthony’s Knicks were rattled, and everyone knew they were going to blow it, which they eventually did. It was a heartbreaking loss for the Knicks. Yet, one of the most miraculous comebacks in NBA playoff history was for the Pacers.
Now, going into Game 2 with Anthony’s worst fear coming to life, New York needs to put up a statement win tomorrow night.
