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For the second season in a row, the New York Knicks' playoff run came to an end at the hands of the Indiana Pacers. From the highs of a win over the Boston Celtics to the lows of an Eastern Conference Finals failure, the Knicks have some important issues to solve despite their best season in 25 years.
The New York Knicks faced a tricky opening-round series against a young and talented Detroit Pistons side, eventually claiming a 4-2 win in hard-fought fashion. They then went into their second-round clash with the defending champion, the Boston Celtics, as the heavy underdogs, having lost all four regular season games to them. However, they ended up pulling off a seismic shock, which included two 20-point comebacks, to defy the odds and move into a first Eastern Conference Finals since 2000 with a 4-2 victory.
An extremely exciting and underrated Indiana Pacers side stood in their way - the same team who knocked them out in the second round last year. And in the end, the Pacers once again proved far too strong for the Knicks. For the most part, they were considerably the better team, winning 4-2 to move into the NBA Finals.
The Knicks had no answer for Indiana's incredible offensive prowess and pace in transition, while Jalen Brunson - who has been one of the best players this postseason - struggled when guarded by Andrew Nembhard. For a team built to win now, it was a disappointing end to the season. After their win over Boston, they would have thought they were set for the NBA Finals. However, it wasn't to be. There are always massive expectations around the Knicks every season, due to their large and very demanding fan base. And that fan base is divided around coach Tom Thibodeau, with a portion of the fan base accusing him of not making the right decisions and not using his bench enough. However, simply put, the Pacers were just better than the Knicks, and a large factor to that is they have a bigger rotation.
The Knicks rely on about seven players, and the playoffs this year has proven that you need a big bench to be competitive. Additionally, the Knicks' defence is just not good enough to compete this deep into the season. Their best players, Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, are fantastic offensively, but they offer close to enough on the other end of the court. And the pieces they have in their roster just can't make up for the lack of defence.
Additionally, they could do with another reliable ball-handler and shooter in the rotation to take some of the load off Brunson. If he is guarded out of the game, the Knicks don't have any other options, and it leads to a lot of turnovers, which we saw in the Eastern Conference Finals. So while Thibodeau has come under fire, perhaps simply, they were just not good enough to beat the Pacers, and a few changes are needed in the offseason.