One of the most ambitious clubs in the NBA – the New York Knicks, will start the preseason with a game against the Indiana Pacers. In the 2020-21 draw, Tom Thibodeau’s team finished fourth in the regular season and was eliminated in the 1/8 of the playoffs. It will be even more interesting to see if they can improve upon their results in the upcoming championship. The debut preseason match will take place at 00:30 UK time at the legendary Madison Square Garden Arena.
Possible line-ups:
New York Knicks – Derrick Rose – Evan Fournier, Alec Burks – Taj Gibson, Julius Randle.
Indiana Pacers – Malcolm Brogdon – Justin Holiday, Torrey Craig – Oshae Brissett, Domantas Sabonis.
New York Knicks:
Tom Thibodeau has excelled in building a great team. The Knicks made their way to the playoffs without stars. Moreover, the New York collective made a star out of Julius Randle themselves. This player even took part in an All-Star game?
The Knickerbockers did not change their players much during the offseason. The only worthwhile acquisition was Kemba Walker. He managed to buy the contract from the Thunderbirds and joined the Knicks.
Indiana Pacers:
Rick Carlisle will be Indiana’s head coach this season. This specialist has proven himself well in his work at Dallas. It seems that the Pacers management is not satisfied with the results that this team demonstrates. After all, the coaches in Indianapolis have been changing too often lately.
The Pacers will play with a minor lineup against New York. First of all, they will miss Caris LeVert. Also in the team’s infirmary are Edmond Sumner and T.J. Warren. In this case, Rick Carlisle will probably bet on the reservists, because it would be stupid to squeeze all the juice out of Domantas Sabonis before the start of the regular season.
New York Knicks vs Indiana Pacers statistics
New York Knicks finished the regular season, collecting an average of 45.1 rebounds, which looks more than convincing against the average of “Indiana” with 42.7 rebounds.
At the end of the last campaign, “Indiana” was in the top 6 with an average performance of 115.3 points. However, in three head-to-head meetings of the season against the “Knicks”, this number dropped to 110 points.
New York Knicks vs Indiana Pacers Tips:
Before this match, the New York Knicks appear to be the favorites. The Indiana Pacers have too many injuries, while the Knicks can use all the players in the match. Thanks to this, Tom Thibodeau’s wards are almost certain to win the match.
The odds for the Knicks to win are 1.55.
The absence of Indiana key players is unlikely to allow this team to demonstrate effective play. In face-to-face meetings, the Knicks and Pacers did not impress with spectacular basketball. Most likely, this won’t happen now either.
The second prediction is that the total points will be less than 220.5 points for 1.62.