Indiana vs NY NBA Hoops Handicapping
Indiana arrives in the Big Apple off its first loss of the season and will aim to get back on the rails when they take on a slumping New York Knicks on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
Indiana arrives in the Big Apple off its first loss of the season and will aim to get back on the rails when they take on a slumping New York Knicks on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
The Bulls have not gotten off to the start they were hoping for. They have just one win in three games, by a point, and they didn’t look good in the opener against Miami, a team they want to compare themselves to.
The Indiana Pacers gave the Miami Heat a run for their money in the postseason last year, coming within a single win of the NBA Finals, and are now the sexy pick to make it to the NBA Finals out of the East this year.
The Heat won a highly tense Game 5 to take a 3-2 lead in this series, but it was a costly win since both Udonis Haslem and Dexter Pittman were called for flagrant fouls and both will miss this game.
The Heat took back home court advantage in this series with a monster game from LeBron James in Game 4 and now the Pacers have to find a way to win or they will be going home down 3-2.
The Heat have lost the last 2 games of this series and Game 3 was an ugly loss where Dwyane Wade and even had a spat with his head coach.
The Pacers won Game 2 and while LeBron James and Dwyane Wade combined for 52 points in the game these 2 stars got no help with no Miami player going for more than 5 points.
The Heat won Game 1 by 9 points, but they got some bad news since Chris Bosh is out indefinitely with an abdominal injury. LeBron James and Dwyane Wade dominated the 2nd half in Game 1, as they either assisted on or scored 48 of Miami’s 53 2nd half points.
The Pacers lost their first 3 games of the season facing the Heat, but they won their last match up. The Heat are the big favorites to win this series, but the Pacers have flown under the radar all season and they have no pressure on them since they are expected to lose.
After losing Game 1 at home the Pacers have won the last 3 games in this series and now have the Magic on the brink of elimination.
The Magic got off to a good start in this series by stealing Game 1 on Jason Richardson’s hot shooting. While they did take home court advantage away from the Pacers, you still have to like Indiana’s chances because of how they rebounded in Game 2.
The Pacers came into this Eastern Conference playoff series as huge favorites since Dwight Howard is out, but now the Magic have home court advantage since they pulled off a big upset in Indiana in Game 1.
The Chicago Bulls need just one win in their final two games to clinch the top spot in the Eastern Conference.
Both the Indiana Pacers and the Philadelphia 76ers will be coming off Monday night games when they clash on Tuesday night in the City of Brotherly Love.
Oklahoma City has the best record in the Western Conference, but after two straight losses they are just one game ahead of the San Antonio Spurs.
The Pacers have been one of the surprise teams in the NBA this season and they have a good chance to add to their win total facing a Knicks’ team that will be without 2 of their top 3 scorers.