New York Knicks vs Indiana Pacers Game 2 Prediction, Odds & Tips 08/05/24
Calendar icon Updated 08 May 06:25

New York Knicks vs Indiana Pacers Game 2 Prediction, Odds & Tips 08/05/24

Kaleb Vanderhorst

New York Knicks vs Indiana Pacers. Shape of the Teams

The second round of the NBA playoffs is well underway, with the New York Knicks hosting the Indiana Pacers for game two after a sound victory in game one. Both teams played their absolute hearts out with a ton of great baskets made on both sides, but Jalen Brunson’s clutch performance, combined with a crafty foul drawn by Donte DiVincenzo with 13 seconds left, finished the Pacers off.

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Going into game two, the Pacers will likely be looking to continue their emphasis on fast-break plays while the Knicks play their grinding, hard-work-focused style of basketball.

Brunson, in particular, has been undoing everything on the court, from scoring in isolation and in transition to getting serious stops on the defensive side of the ball.  It’s actually getting kind of ridiculous at this point; when the Knicks need a bucket, Brunson almost always comes through with a rather smooth pass or an athletic finish.

However, the Pacers still aren’t to be trifled with, especially considering the Knicks only narrowly won while shooting 47.8% from three as a team. If Pascal Siakam can play anywhere close to as good as he did against the Bucks, the Pacers should have a great shot going into game two of this series.

Bookmakers may have the Knicks as a favourite going into this game, but they will have to fight tooth and nail for every possession, which makes for some great NBA playoff basketball.

Odds via Tonybet

Knicks vs PacersMay 8, 6:00 p.m EDT
New York Knicks odds -189
Indiana Pacers odds +150
New York Knicks spread -4.5 -114
Indiana Pacers spread +4.5 -108

New York will be looking to push their advantage at home going into this one, as the home crowd at Madison Square Garden will be at their backs. If they can manage to get the Pacers down 2-0 in the series, they will have all the momentum.

That being said, we doubt the Pacers will go down without a fight, especially considering how they toppled the Milwaukee Bucks. Pascal Siakam, Myles Turner, Tyrese Haliburton, and a litany of great bench players will be fired up.

The Knicks will have to be on top of those transition points and continue to limit Indiana’s inside shooting.

That is all to say; we have to agree with bookmakers and give the advantage to the New York Knicks going into game two. As long as Brunson continues to play at an all-star level and OG Anunoby uses his length to shut down guys like Siakam – the Knicks should be in a good spot.

The only other thing Coach Tom Thibodeau really needs to pay attention to is Turner on the inside, as he could potentially do some damage.

New York Knicks vs Indiana Pacers Prediction

We have to agree with the sportsbooks on this one, siding with the favourite New York Knicks, especially considering they are playing at home. Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, and Donte DiVincenzo have all been playing their hearts out, diving for balls, making hustle plays, and overall playing great basketball.

Outside of those four mentioned, the entire Knicks bench has been impactful, down to Precious Achiuwa, who may have only 2 points a night but is averaging 1.7 blocks. Brunson has definitely been leading the charge, but his teammates have been pushing him the entire way, there is no deadweight on the Knicks bench.

Brunson will likely be guarded by Haliburton or Andrew Nembhard again, both of whom he bullied to get easy mid-range shots all of game one. Meanwhile, Hart and DiVincenzo will be lighting it up from three, leaving very little help defence on the inside.

That doesn’t mean the Pacers have no shot, because they’re very much so still in this game and the series. If New York lets up for even a second, Siakam, Haliburton and Turner will be all over them. And let’s not forget that the Knicks aren’t the only ones with a strong bench, the Pacers also have some serious depth.

Just look at how many guys they have scoring over 10 points a night outside of the aforementioned three. Nembhard, Obi Toppin, Aaron Nesmith, and T.J. McConnell have all been dropping more than 10 points a night with some decent assist and rebound numbers.

All in all, we have to side with the Knicks on this one, they’ve simply been playing too well during the playoffs to give the Pacers the advantage. We have a ton of trust in the Knicks roster, and more specifically in Jalen Brunson.

New York Knicks vs Indiana Pacers Player Pick 

Tyrese Haliburton may have averaged well over 16.5 points in the regular season, but so far in the playoffs, his numbers have really fallen off. Moreover, in game one of the series, Haliburton only managed to score 6 points in 36 minutes!

His fast-paced style of play may have worked during the regular season, but in the playoffs, where teams really hunker down, fast-break possessions are harder to come by. That being said, Haliburton has seemed to realize this, instead fitting into more of a “jack-of-all-trades” role with 4 steals and 8 assists in game one.

If, for some reason, OG Anunoby and the Knicks lay off the gas pedal and give Haliburton some room, he will definitely take advantage of it, but that’s unlikely. We don’t think Haliburton will be a pylon on the floor by any means, but 16.5 points or more might be pushing it against the Knick’s defence.

Disclaimer: Odds are accurate at the time of posting and subject to change. Please verify the latest odds on our platform before betting.

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