The Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks are set to face off in the playoffs for the second consecutive season - a decades-old rivalry renewed in the digital age.
The Pacers took last year's contest, but the Knicks are trotting out a new-look team and come into this year's series fully healthy, opposed to the battered lineup that took the court last season.
The star-studded series is going to require not just the headliners from each team to step up, but also the supporting casts. There are three particular matchups that stick out that very well could determine the series.
Jalen Brunson
Oct 25, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) controls the ball against Indiana Pacers guard Andrew Nembhard (2) during the first quarter at Madison Square Garden.
© Brad Penner-Imagn Images
1. Jalen Brunson vs. Andrew Nembhard (Or Ben Sheppard. Or Aaron Nesmith).
In last year's playoffs, Jalen Brunson embarrassed Andrew Nembhard defensively. The Gonzaga alum looked like he couldn't stop a nosebleed in isolation, let alone Jalen Brunson, and the stats match the eye test.
When guarded by Nembhard in the playoffs last season, Brunson shot 26-of-39, good for 66.6 percent from the field. Brunson's combination of footwork, eye and head fakes, and balance had Nembhard in shambles, and it was open season for Brunson.
Now, a year removed from that series, it may be a different story. Nembhard played in two of the three regular-season matchups between these two teams, and while he didn't spend a particularly long time matched up against Brunson, he held him to three-of-eight from the field.
Even more recently, Nembhard had a lot of success against Donovan Mitchell in the Pacers' series against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Mitchell averaged 34.2 points per game, but when guarded by Nembhard, he shot just 10-of-43 from the field and 3-of-18 from beyond the arc. Mitchell shot 54.9 percent against all other Pacers.
Nembhard has turned things up on both ends of the floor in this year's postseason, going from a 10.0 point per game average in the regular season to 14.6 in the playoffs, shooting over 50.0 percent from the field and knocking down half of his three-point attempts.
However, it still may not be enough for Rick Carlisle to trust him on Brunson. That assignment could go to Ben Sheppard, who spent the most time in the regular season guarding Brunson, or Aaron Nesmith, who spent the most time per game on Brunson in the regular season.
In the regular season, Brunson shot 75.0 percent from the field against Sheppard and was sent to the line for seven free throw attempts in seven minutes. Against Nesmith, Brunson shot 55.6 percent from the field, but was not sent to the free throw line, and Brunson recorded a pair of turnovers with Nesmith on him.
Brunson was a little kinder to Nesmith in the playoffs, only shooting 45.0 percent against him last year, but still turned in 68 points with Nesmith as his primary defender. Nesmith also sent him to the line the most, fouling him for 14 free throw attempts. Ben Sheppard got limited time on Brunson in the postseason, but arguably did the most effective job, holding him to 5-of-16 from the field.
Either way, Brunson is a man possessed in the playoffs. The 2025 Clutch Player of the Year has proven to be one of the best playoff risers the game has ever seen.
Against the Pacers last year, Brunson averaged 29.7 points per game in the seven-game set (the number jumps to 31.8 if you don't include the game seven in which Brunson was unable to finish after fracturing his hand). In this year's playoffs, Brunson is averaging 28.8 points and 7.7 assists per game.
Myles Turner
Oct 25, 2024; New York, New York, USA; New York Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) controls the ball against Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden.
© Brad Penner-Imagn Images
2. Karl-Anthony Towns vs. Myles Turner
Towns and Turner have never matched up in the postseason, but have had their fair share of regular-season battles. Two of the best shooting big men in the game, Turner boasts high-end rim protection, and Towns is one of the best rebounders in the game, and both are going to be immensely important to their respective teams in this series.
Turner was absent from one of the three matchups the two teams had in the regular season this year, but in the two matchups both players were present for, Towns put together better individual performances.
In the two games, Towns averaged 25.5 points and 12.0 rebounds per game, while Turner turned in 19.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per contest, while also blocking 2.5 shots per game.
According to NBA.com's tracking data, Towns converted 60.9 percent of his field goals when guarded by Turner this season.
Towns' output as a Knick is actually down from his typical performances against Turner. In their 11 career matchups, Towns averages 28.9 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. Turner averages 14.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game against Towns in his career.
The game Turner was absent from was one of Towns' top performances of the season, posting 40 points, 12 rebounds, five assists, and three steals.
One thing to monitor is if coach Carlisle takes a page out of Detroit and Boston's books by putting a smaller player, such as Pascal Siakam or Bennedict Mathurin on Towns and sticking Turner on Josh Hart, allowing Turner to roam free and be aggressive as a help defender while tempting Hart to shoot.
Carlisle did not deploy this strategy in the regular season, with Turner, Thomas Bryant, and Isaiah Jackson having the bulk of possessions as Towns' primary defender.
On the other side, Towns was the only Knick to guard Turner for a significant portion of time, and that's been the case for the bigs the Knicks have faced in the playoffs. When guarded by Towns, Turner shot 53.8 percent from the field and knocked down three of his six three-pointers.
If the Pacers can put a lid on Towns' production, it makes the Knicks that much easier to beat. The issue is, even if Towns isn't being effective in terms of scoring the basketball, he is going to give the Pacers problems upon problems on the glass. Towns is far and away the best rebounder in the series, and Josh Hart has the strongest case for the second-best.
On top of his proficiency for actually grabbing rebounds, Towns was second in the NBA in box-outs this season, opening up loose rebounds for Hart, Anunoby, and Bridges to pounce on, which has been a massive part of the Knicks' success in these playoffs.
If Turner can be aggressive in finding his shot and force Towns further and further out of the paint in the half court, it can open up a lot of lanes for Haliburton and Nembhard to open up looks, and will force the Knicks' defense to be aggressive with their rotations, which has been an inconsistent effort from them the entire season.
Tyrese Haliburton
Oct 25, 2024; New York, New York, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) drives to the basket against New York Knicks forward OG Anunoby (8) and guard Cameron Payne (1) during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden.
© Brad Penner-Imagn Images
3. Tyrese Haliburton vs. Mikal Bridges (or OG Anunoby)
Typically for the Knicks, OG Anunoby handles the top offensive player on the defensive end. But that isn't always the case, and was not the case in the regular season, where Mikal Bridges drew the Haliburton assignment.
Haliburton had trouble above the break against Bridges, shooting just one-of-six from three, but had no problem navigating his way around Bridges and opening things up offensively. Haliburton scored 18 points in 18 minutes with Bridges as his primary defender in the regular season, shooting 50.0 percent from the field.
Anunoby will likely be deployed onto Siakam, as he was during the regular season, where he held Siakam to 5-of-14 shooting, including one-for-eight from beyond the arc.
Anunoby has been a standout defensive player against his star matchups this postseason, he held Cade Cunningham to 42.4 percent from the field, including missing all eight of his three-point field goals and committing six turnovers. Anunoby held Jayson Tatum to a 29.4 percent field goal percentage, and held Jaylen Brown to 39.1 percent from the floor with seven turnovers.
Bridges hasn't been too shabby in his own right, holding Tobias Harris to 33.3 percent from the floor, and Cunningham to 37.9 percent with eight turnovers. Bridges additionally held Brown to 41.7 percent with three turnovers, while Tatum gave him some issues in limited matchups, shooting five of nine from the floor.
Haliburton, for all the highs he brings over the course of each season, has perhaps the lowest of lows of any star guard in the NBA. Haliburton has had as many single-digit scoring games (three) as he has 30-point games in the playoffs in his career.
One of his single-digit games came against the Knicks last season, in a six point, eight assist Game 1 loss. Haliburton also had a single digit performance against the Cavaliers, scoring just four points in the Pacers' only loss that series in Game 3.
On the flip side, two of Haliburton's career 30 point playoff games came against the Knicks last season, in games 2 and 3, where he had 34 and 45 points, respectively.
The Pacers will rely heavily on Haliburton to be the focal point of the offense, and he'll need to go against a pair of tough defensive wings to do so, in a matchup that could ultimately decide the series.