2013 Playoffs: Pacers-Knicks Game 6 viewer’s guide
By CHRIS GOFF
ISL Correspondent
The Pacers have another opportunity to close out their second-round series against New York in Game 6 on Saturday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Knicks trail the best-of-seven series 3-2 and must win to force a winner-take-all battle on Monday in New York City. The last time these rivals met in the playoffs, in the 1999-2000 season, Indiana brought a 3-2 lead into Game 6 and sealed the deal with a 93-80 win. The Pacers hope to wrap this series up in similar fashion and turn their attention to Miami in the Eastern Conference finals.
Here are the trends to know for the 8 p.m. tipoff:
Over the hill: Starting point guard George Hill was cleared to play this afternoon and will start. Coach Frank Vogel said Hill will have no limitations as a result of the concussion he sustained recently. After missing Game 5, Hill showed no symptoms in the following two days and thus makes a quick return. He’s crucial to Indiana’s play on both ends. He’s an excellent defender at the point of attack and is the team’s best outside shooter.
Knicked and bruised: Indianapolis has been a most inhospitable stop for the ‘Bockers of late. In all four visits this season – all losses – the Knicks have shot 36 percent or worse from the field. New York has lost five straight overall at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, with the most recent win coming during the glory days of Jeremy Lin and with the prominent involvement of Landry Fields and Mike Bibby. In postseason play, the Knicks are also dealing with a five-game skid in the Hoosier state. Their last playoff win there came on June 9, 1999. Pay special attention to how New York starts the game. Are the visitors comfortable? Are they jumpy or overanxious? Do they seem relaxed and undaunted by their previous travails? Or are they spooked and tense? The Pacers are 5-0 at home in the playoffs, winning by an average margin of 15.4 points. They’ve not come close to sniffing even the possibility of a loss in front of their home fans.
Playing angry: From Roy Hibbert to Lance Stephenson, a number of Pacers were very upset at the poor effort in Game 5. Hibbert and Stephenson understandably were the most vocal because they failed to contribute much offense with Hill watching from a dimly lit trainer’s room. If Hill is off in Game 6, Hibbert and Stephenson simply must bring more to the table to help out West and Paul George. The Pacers are right to feel that they handed one to the Knicks. Nineteen turnovers and 14 missed free throws will do that. If it results in the entire team playing with a nasty edge in Game 6, then Vogel will surely feel something good came out of Thursday’s unwatchable contest. Hibbert is known for scoring early in games but has a tendency to fade as the action moves along. See if the Pacers stick with him as a focal point of the offense. Hibbert needs to play down low on the block. Part of the reason he was ineffective in Games 4 and 5 offensively is because the Pacers employed him too often as a pick-setter. That’s not an ideal use of Hibbert, who committed multiple fouls on illegal screens. He and Stephenson need to be attacking the paint.
Clinching time: Not since 2006 has a team come back from a 3-1 deficit to advance in the NBA playoffs, and the Pacers don’t want to give New York any ideas. Twelve previous Knicks teams have fallen behind 3-1, and all went on to lose the series. Yet Tyson Chandler said he feels, if any Knick team could do it, this would be the one. Jason Kidd said they have nothing to lose at this point. Maybe so. But the Pacers want to finish the series Saturday. They don’t want a Game 7. They’ve never blown a 3-1 series lead in the five times they held one. And they feel confident knowing they have outrebounded the Knicks 229-184 in this series. The ultimate rebound would be bouncing back from a Game 5 dud to get that all-important and decisive fourth win in front of a sea of gold-clad partisans.
