The Cope A Dope
“I don’t think there was a moment when they were big,” West said after Game 5. “They went to the lineups they’ve had success with all season.”
Iman Shumpert, J. R. Smith, Raymond Felton and Copeland combined for 22 rebounds and helped prevent the merciless march of put-back buckets that has fueled the Pacers’ offense
Footnotes (via Beckley Mason, NYT article):
After the top five Pacers, there is a cataclysmic dropoff.
The Pacers’ bench scored the second fewest points per game of any team in the regular season.
The battle under the boards exemplifies how the Knicks must overcome the mountainous Pacers front line. They cannot survive head-on confrontations. The Knicks must swarm with speed and collective energy.
Our bench is superior. We can do this.
