The Knicks’ frontcourt managed to overcome the mighty Joel Embiid in the first round of the postseason. And the reward for surpassing Embiid and the lengthy 76ers?
A matchup against the Indiana Pacers, a team that features a versatile frontcourt capable of dominating from the perimeter, in the paint and in transition.
Indiana trio’s of star forward Pascal Siakam, former Knick Obi Toppin and starting center Myles Turner brings a different dynamic than what the 76ers offered Tom Thibodeu’s team in the first round. Previously, the Knicks were focused on slowing down Embiid, the engine that makes his squad operate for 48 minutes. Now, the Knicks’ frontcourt will have their hands full slowing down Indiana’s trio. Siakam (22.3 points per game), Turner (19.2 ppg) and Toppin (12.3 ppg) all played key scoring roles in their first-round series against the Milwaukee Bucks. They all shot at least 48% from the field in the series and helped the stretch the floor while creating headaches for Doc Rivers’ squad.
Now this is Thiboudeau’s problem.
“It’s the skill level. It’s the ability to run the floor, put in on the floor, to shoot, to move without the ball,” Thibodeau said before Game 1 about the capabilities of Indiana’s forwards. “So you have to be aware. Have to play out the stance — stance and vision are everything. [We need] to have great awareness as to what they’re trying to get to.”
Staying out of foul trouble while keeping Embiid from dominating around the rim is a much different task than what’s up ahead of the Knicks. Indiana’s willingness to run the floor — led by All-Star Tyrese Haliburton — with their forwards poses a new challenge for Thibodeau and his squad. Knick center Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson will spend more time defending on the perimeter closing out out Turner, who shot 6.8 threes a game at a 43.9% clip in the six postseason games against the Bucks.
Siakam’s ballhandling and movement without the ball is a curveball that wasn’t seen much while going against a hobbled Embiid in the previous series. And this new version of Toppin was one the Knicks didn’t see while he played in orange and blue. The former first-round draft pick shot 40% from deep in 82 regular-season games with the Pacers this season. Toppin’s best three-point shooting with the Knicks came during 2022-23 season when he averaged 34.4% from deep.
“He runs the floor. He’s a great athlete. A very gifted scorer,” Thibodeau said about his former player. “He can shoot, he can put it on the floor. He’s super quick and you just have to be aware of what he’s doing on the floor. He runs the floor as well as any big in the league.”
Indiana’s small forward Aaron Nesmith has also inherited a bigger role as the Pacers progress without young star Benedict Mathurin (torn labrum). He accounted for 11 points and 4.2 boards per game in the first series against the Bucks.
The Pacers’ group of forwards present a tandem the 76ers didn’t have: steady scoring options that also rebound and run the floor. Aside from Embiid’s 33 points per game in Round 1, no other forward or big averaged at least 14 points per game. Kelly Oubre Jr.‘s high in the series was his 19 points in Game 4 and he average 13.2 overall.
This postseason, Rick Carlisle deploys four guys that contribute at least 11 points per game and two that score at least 19.
And with the current state of the Knicks’ rotation, problem may arise.
Thibodeau narrowly escaped the first round leaning on Hartenstein and an injured Robinson.
Precious Achiuwa, who only played in Games 2 and 3 in the previous series, was mostly relegated to the bench while smaller forwards Josh Hart and OG Anunoby shared minutes at the four.
Without All-Star Julius Randle and midseason pickup Bojan Bogdanovic, Thibodeau could insert Achiuwa back into the rotation. But time will tell if the Indiana’s performance will force Thibs to adjust.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge,” Carlisle said before tip-off on Monday. “This is going to be a highly competitive series. No one knows exactly what’s going to happen.”
