The first round of the NBA Playoffs ended yesterday: now the second round takes off with a tense matchup between the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. This series will most likely determine a Conference Final in the East against the dominant Boston Celtics, who will take care of Cleveland relatively easily. The First Round spared no surprises, especially in the East, where powerhouses Philadelphia and Milwaukee once again failed to make a deep playoff round, losing against the Knicks and Pacers respectively in six games. They were both tightly contested series, which should make this matchup a really entertaining one. The Knicks have notoriously been one of the hardest working teams in the league defensively. On the other hand, Indiana have been one of the highest-scoring teams in the NBA all season, but have lacked defensive acumen. Will defense or attack prevail in this series?
Jalen Brunson has been on fire all season, but he stepped up big time against Philadelphia, only disappointing in the first game, after which he averaged nearly 40 in the next five matches. He has certainly been the outstanding performer in this year’s Playoffs so far. In the Bucks series, the Pacers’ best player was actually big man Myles Turner, who took full advantage of Giannis’s absence for the entirety of the series. In this series, he will have much more difficulty, as Robinson, Hartenstein and even Anunoby can handle him in the paint better than any Bucks defender could. In this first game in Madison Square Garden, its hard to see pst New York taking a 1-0 lead. Their role players have been performing for the most part, and their star player Brunson has been much more consistent in recent months than Tyrese Haliburton. I suggest playing Brunson to score over 35.5, as I believe Indiana will have no answer to his attacking prowess. The Knicks will end up going up 1-0 in the second round of the NBA Playoffs, moving on to the next game in Madison Square Garden later this week. To play this and many other events, head over to CoinGames today and start your decentralized gaming journey.
New York Knicks to Win – 1.41
Indiana Pacers to Win – 2.95
