May 14, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) drives to the basket against Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (24) during game four of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Tonight the New York Knicks look to keep their season alive by winning an elimination game in Indiana. It won’t be an easy task, though; in fourgames in Indiana this season, the Knicks have lost by an average of 15 points. However, there’s still reason to believe that the Knicks could force a Game 7.

The status of the Pacers’ starting point guard, George Hill, is still uncertain. He missed Game 5 with a concussion – an injury with strict policy in the NBA – and his absence certainly benefited the Knicks. In the series, Hill is averaging 17.3 points with 34% 3FG and 4.8 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. Without Hill, the Pacers relied on DJ Augustin to run the point almost full time, but he is neither as efficient as a distributor or as menacing a defender as Hill. If Hill misses Game 6, it surely increases the Knicks’ odds of winning.

Likewise, the Knicks seemed to rediscover their identity a bit last game. “Big” lineup experiments by Mike Woodson were cast aside, and instead, the usual small ball lineups yielded greater results in floor-spreading and pick-and-rolls as Raymond Felton was able to squeeze his way to the basket for some close shots. Whereas the Knicks had previously been the team adjusting to the Pacers’ identity, in Game 5, the Knicks forced Indiana to adjust to their Knicks’ game.

There’s also still the fact that these Pacers are young and haven’t ever closed out a semi-finals series. Last season they had the Miami Heat down 2-1 before the Heat came roaring back to win the series. Though this group is more experienced, and the Knicks aren’t the Heat, there’s still pressure on the Pacers to actually close out another good team, especially facing the prospects of a Game 7 in New York.

However, the Knicks’ play hasn’t inspired too much confidence to win a Game 6 in Indiana. The Pacers’ home crowd is a loud, dedicated one, and this Knicks team is prone to bouts of frustration. When things don’t go their way, that aggravation mounts. The Pacers’ tight defense and rebounding advantage has proven to be thorns in the Knicks’ sides, and New York can’t let it overcome their focus.

Truth be told, this game could go either way. The Knicks definitely face the greater challenge: on the road, looking at elimination, playing against a (thus far) superior team. However, last game showed promising signs. Carmelo Anthony’s offense has gotten a little more efficient, and he was looking to attack the Pacers more. J.R. Smith seems to have re-found his stroke, Raymond Felton’s dribble penetration opened things up, and Chris Copeland added some sizable contributions off the bench.

The game begins at 8:00 ET. The Knicks have 48 minutes to keep their season alive.

It was odd, too, given Copeland’s strong finish to the season. Through March and April, Copeland averaged 12.3 points per game on 47.2% FG, 47.6% 3FG, and 3.3 rebounds per game in 21 minutes per game. He filled in admirably at the end of the season as various Knicks’ big men all caught the injury bug, placing the undersized Copeland at center.

In the first round series with the Boston Celtics, there wasn’t a huge need for Copeland; the Knicks’ offense was able to function fairly well. However, in the semi-finals, struggling to score against the staunch Indiana defense, the Knicks needed a floor-stretcher and a guy who could create his own shot, especially with so many of the Knicks’ most consistent scorers off-target. Last night, Copeland got his chance.

After Mike Woodson’s failed experiments at going “big” versus Indiana in Game 4, and the Knicks’ inability to break 85 points on the road, Copeland was told he’d be seeing real minutes in Game 5. Fans and analysts alike agreed with the move as Copeland could stretch the floor, potentially pull away Indiana’s bigs from the basket, and provide scoring to a parched offensive team.

Copeland responded with 13 points on 4-6 shooting, 3-4 from behind the arc, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals in 19 minutes. Furthermore, he provided the Knicks with momentous plays at various points during the game. Upon checking in in the second half, he immediately knocked down a three-pointer on a spot-up attempt. Later in the third quarter, he chased down DJ Augustin to break up a two-on-one fastbreak, misfired on a three, but collected an offensive rebound on a second attempt and laid it in to put the Knicks up 11.

Though his playing time has been limited, Copeland has had a positive effect when he’s on the floor. in 74 minutes of playing time, with Copeland on the court, the Knicks have an Offensive Rating of 108.5 – best on the team – and a Defensive Rating of 90.4 which is three points better than the Knicks’ average DefRtg in the postseason. His 18.1 Net Rating could be inflated by playing at the end of games or in short spurts, but overall, the Knicks have been better with Copeland on the floor.

Given his positive effect on Game 5, it seems likely that Copeland has secured a spot in the rotation for the remainder of the playoffs – hopefully longer than one more game.

However to accomplish what only eight other teams have done previously, come  back from a  3-1 series hole, the Knicks are going to need head coach Mike Woodson at his best, which means shrinking his rotation.

May 16, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks head coach Mike Woodson during the game against the Indiana Pacers in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won 85-75. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

There are several things that Woodson must do to maximize the Knicks chances to win Game 6 and force a deciding Game 7 at The Garden  and  the first deals with superstar Carmelo Anthony.

The first thing that Woodson must realize is that he has to pull out all stops to come away with a win. There is no tomorrow and if that means playing his best player minutes, then so be it.

Anthony needs to be on the floor as much as possible and if I’m Woodson I have a very hard time taking Anthony out of this game unless the Knicks build a comfortable lead.

The second thing that Woodson must do is play Anthony and Chris Copeland together often.

Copeland is the one Knick that is shooting the ball well and right now is really the only one capable of stretching the floor. If Anthony and Copeland are on the floor with a couple of guards who can penetrate, it opens up so many more options offensively.

Another must for Woodson is to go to the pick-and-roll with Raymond Felton far more often. If Felton is running the P&R with Tyson Chandler or Kenyon Martin, Indiana must respect his mid-range game, which means either Felton is making shots or creating plays for his big men. Either way, Felton is the guy who can put the most pressure on the Pacers’ defense.

But while that’s a lot of things that Woodson should do, there are also a lot of things he shouldn’t do.

The first being not giving J.R. Smith major minutes.

If it seems early on that Smith is about to shoot the Knicks out of the game, it’s almost impossible for Woodson to play him 30+ minutes.  It will be a tough decision, but if it looks as if Smith is going to have another tough night then Woody has to pull the plug.

Next there’s Jason Kidd.

Kidd shouldn’t be on the floor much in Game 6 as he couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat right now.  If you are Woodson, you love the intangibles that Kidd brings to the table, but he hasn’t hit a shot in over 202 minutes and it’s getting hard to run him out there right now. This just isn’t the right time to let the future Hall of Famer work out of his shooting slumps.

Finally Woodson needs to use less of Amar’e Stoudemire.

He only gave STAT six minutes of run in Game 5 and it’s hard to make the case that he should get more right now,

Sure the Knicks could use Stoudemire’s low-post scoring, but Stoudemire still hasn’t had enough time to adjust defensively. Copeland, at this point, can offer a bigger impact on that end because he can hold his own inside and out. Copeland proved he can hold his own defensively down low in Game 5. He had two steals in the contest and was aggressive against David West. That’s something that Stoudemire simply can’t do.

With the Knicks season on the line, the pressure is going to be on everyone to perform at a high level, especially Woodson. If he makes the right adjustments and some tough decisions, the Knicks will have a much greater chance of coming home for Game 7.

May 16, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks point guard Raymond Felton (2) dribbles the ball around Indiana Pacers point guard D.J. Augustin (14) during the second half in game five of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Knicks win 85-75. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

The New York Knicks live to see another day. Facing elimination on their home floor, the Knicks put together a buzzer-to-buzzer victory over the Indiana Pacers, squeezing out just enough offense and stingy enough defense to force a Game 6. The Pacers, playing without starting point guard, George Hill, struggled to find offense and combusted with a bevy of crucial turnovers and foul trouble to important players.

After losing their identity over some of the previous games – failed attempts at small-ball, a lack of launching from downtown – the Knicks more-or-less got back to their brand of basketball. It helped, of course, that players actually made shots. Carmelo Anthony led the way with 28 points, hitting from all spots within the arc; Raymond Felton found his stroke on wiggles to the lane and pull-up jumpers in the pick-and-roll; Chris Copeland and J.R. Smith both came through with significant offensive contributions. Late in the game, the fate still very much undecided, the Knicks went cold. However, they turned to their defense, forcing seven fourth quarter turnovers, three in the final two minutes.

Let’s take a look at the individual performances with player report cards.

Carmelo Anthony – 42 minutes, 28 points, 12-28 FG, 6 rebounds, 1 steal, 3 TOs, +6

‘Melo began the game with a renewed accuracy. He kicked things off with a jumper at the elbow off a little curl, and then a pull-up three in transition – a welcomed sight. Earlier in the game, too, he exploited mismatches, posting up the smaller, smothering Paul George, and a few times getting mismatches with David West and Roy Hibbert. As the game went on, Anthony got a little more stationary and a bit colder. However, contrary to previous games, Anthony came up with some huge fourth quarter baskets, mostly on face-ups on the right elbow versus Sam Young and George. If the Knicks are going to win the series, they’re going to need the same level of scoring, plus an increased effort on the glass and defensive end – the latter two were a bit lacking in this one.

Final Grade: B

J.R. Smith – 36 minutes, 13 points, 4-11 FG, 1-4 3FG, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 TOs, +8

It wasn’t a return to form, necessarily, but it was a step in the right direction. For the first time perhaps all series, Smith looked like himself on the floor. There the occasional bouts of over-dribbling, ball-stopping, poor shots, and defensive lapses, but paired with those deficiencies were some canned jumpers, good rebounds, timely forced turnovers, and clutch free throws. With Iman Shumpert in foul trouble and Pablo Prigioni and Jason Kidd contributing little, it was a good time for Smith to step up. And then there’s that whole ‘elimination’ thing, too, so yes, nice timing, J.R.

Final Grade: B-

Chris Copeland – 19 minutes, 13 points, 4-6 FG, 3-4 3FG, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 TOs, +2

Mike Woodson reads Twitter? Calls for the dreadlocked rookie resounded during the team’s anemic offensive performance in Game 4, and he received mostly insubstantial playing time. But speak thy name and he shall get playing time… or something like that. Copeland got minutes to start the second quarter, and when the team turned to him in the second half, he responded. His impact on offense was felt almost immediately as he went to the line or canned three-pointers promptly off the bench. His best sequence came when he chased down DJ Augustin on a two-on-one fastbreak, helped force a Pacers turnover, came back on offense, missed a three. Then, when the Knicks rebounded that miss and shot another three, Copeland scooped up that rebound and put it back in for a layup to the roar of the Garden crowd and his teammates. I think he’ll play Game 6. Just a hunch.

Final Grade: A-

Raymond Felton – 37 minutes, 12 points, 6-14 FG, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 0 TOs, +7

Facing up against DJ Augustin instead of George Hill surely had an effect on Felton’s solid work in this one, but his accomplishments won’t be taken away. Felton’s offensive attack came in spurts, at times dashing his way to the rim off pick-and-rolls, others pulling up at the foul line extended for jumpers. His penetration makes such a significant difference in the Knicks’ ability to get better looks on offense, one can only hope that he keeps it up. Throw in his superior possession care-taking (zero turnovers) and all the stray passes and dribbles he got his flippers on, and this was a vintage Felton playoff performance.

Final Grade: A

Kenyon Martin- 20 minutes, 7 points, 2-2 FG, 2 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks, +8

Martin’s minutes didn’t pile up too high, but he was forced to play an important role substituting for the oft foul-plagued Chandler. He did a stout job defending Indiana’s bigs, and while his rebounding was a bit shy, he protected the rim about as well as a 6’9″ center can. He finished a few looks around the rim and set some good screens, which was nice of him

Final Grade: C+

Iman Shumpert – 26 minutes, 5 points, 2-10 FG, 1-4 3FG, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 TO, +8

Shumpert saw more pine than usual due to some foul woes, some of which were tick-tacky, others a little more justified on the refs’ parts. Though he looked physically better than Game 4, his stroke was astray, and he committed a few emphasized errors, like going under a screen and leaving Paul George open for a three that connected, cutting the Knicks’ lead down to four midway through the fourth quarter. Whether his poor shooting is a result of an iffy knee is hard to tell, but there’s no more than a day’s rest for the remainder of the series, so he’s going to have to keep contributing on the boards and hopefully pick up his D.

Final Grade: C-

Pablo Prigioni – 18 minutes, 3 points, 1-2 FG, 1 rebound, 3 assists, 1 steal, +3

Prigs, thankfully, saw more than three minutes of action in this one, but he still didn’t play a whole lot. Part of that was his ineffectiveness on the floor, and the other was his own foul troubles. The Pacers’ big lineups don’t suit him well on defense, and there was a whole lot less pick-and-roll action for him in Game 5. It’d be preferable for him to start second quarters with Stoudemire and Martin to try and initiate that pick-and-roll magic.

Final Grade: C+

Tyson Chander – 27 minutes, 2 points, 1-4 FG, 8 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks

It seems that Chandler is OK after a scary fourth quarter fall that had him rolling on the ground in agony. That’s good. Chandler was shaky on offense, failing to finish over the Roy Hibbert’s beanstalk arms. However, his defense neared 2011-12 levels, including some big ole swats at the rim. If not, he just tossed ‘em to the ground like he did to Lance Stephenson on a delusional posterization attempt. Lance, meet floor. Most importantly, Chandler played a big part in denying the Pacers so many offensive rebounds, and in the meantime, came up with some biggies of his own. Now get that back fixed.

Final Grade: B+

Amar’e Stoudemire – 7 minutes, 2 points, 0-0 FG, 2-2 FT, 2 rebounds, 1 TO, +4

Stoudemire’s action was limited to the first half and no one quite knows why. In those seven first half minutes, his offensive attempts turned into free throws and a turnover. As was the case in January, Stoudemire looks to be featured a little too much, and his attempts usually come at the expense of rhythm. Stoudemire is a much better player in rhythm. For now, it really doesn’t feel like he’s had much impact on the games; he’s just kind of out there.

Final Grade: C

Jason Kidd – 5 minutes, 0-1 FG, +2

It seems even Mike Woodson has his limits with Kidd. It’s sad to see, but Kidd’s impact on the game is so diminished that it’s not unreasonable to think he doesn’t deserve minutes on the floor. He hasn’t scored in his his last 160-something minutes, and for the second straight game, blew a fastbreak layup. It kind of saddens me to think that his confidence is so misplaced, but these are important games, and charity minutes can’t be dished out.

Final Grade: C

The Knicks have a day off and will play Game 6 in Indiana.

Here are three adjustments the Knicks should make if they wish to keep their season alive:

1.) Go Small, Stay Small - Last game, Mike Woodson panicked and decided to start a bigger, more traditional lineup of Raymond Felton, Iman Shumpert, Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin, and Tyson Chandler – a lineup that hadn’t played before Game 4. The unit performed awfully, putting up an Offensive Rating of 62.1 with a Defensive Rating of 107.6, according to NBA.com/Stats. Not good numbers, to say the least. By making this move, Woodson crowded the paint with two big men with limited offensive skills, and forced ‘Melo onto the perimeter where he’s been misfiring for most of the playoffs (though he shot decently in Game 4).

The Knicks’ offensive recipe all season has called for small lineups to open up the spread pick-and-roll game. Two point guards in the back-court increases ball-handling and playmaking, and putting Carmelo Anthony at the four gives him a mismatch on offense with nearly all players. Woodson’s thinking was a bigger lineup would keep the Pacers off the boards and help the defense, but New York was still out-rebounded by 22 in Game 4. Frank Vogel praised his team after the game, saying their best quality is that they don’t adjust to other teams – other teams adjust to them. Woodson should keep a hell-bent small-ball mindset and try to force Indiana to match up with the Knicks, not the other way around.

2.) Gang Rebound – As mentioned, the Knicks have been crushed on the boards all series long. Through four games, the Pacers have collected 50 more rebounds than the Knicks. Since New York plays at such a slow pace, there’s no reason for guards or anyone else to be leaking out in transition when the Pacers shoot the ball. Yes, a little pace would help the Knicks, as would transition opportunities off of turnovers, but the Pacers, with hyper athletes like Paul George, Lance Stephenson, and George Hill, are better suited to play a fast-paced game. During the regular season, Indiana played at a slightly faster pace than the Knicks.

Instead, the Knicks need to be rebound as a five-man unit. They’ve been hurt by the Pacers’ size and Roy Hibbert’s ability to simply reach over players and grab a stray shot. However, the Knicks have also given up many possessions by fighting for boards when three Pacers hit the glass and one or two Knicks are left to try and grab the ball. Similarly, Indiana has gotten more possessions by collecting long rebounds on hard misfires. The guards should always be around to collect long misses. In Game 5, the Knicks should look to take away possessions for the Pacers by having all five players box-out their man, and collectively grab the rebound.

3.) Exploit Mismatches- This is a follow-up to #1- play small ball. As typical-broadcaster-cliche as it sounds, the Knicks need to take good shots. Contrary to belief, the Knicks haven’t run very many isolations the last few games, but it still doesn’t mean they’ve executed their offense very well. At times, the Knicks have gotten good shots and just flat-out missed them – Shumpert, Felton, and Smith have all seen decent looks on jumpers and simply couldn’t hit. However, other times the Knicks have gone away from the spread pick-and-roll and the rapid fire ball movement that opened up so many three-pointers during the regular season.

Part of this “take good shots” business comes from exploiting mismatches. Paul George and David West are cross-matching to contain Carmelo Anthony, so that Anthony defends West, but George defends Anthony. The Knicks should run some 3-4 or 4-5 pick-and-rolls to get the long-limbed George off Anthony’s case, and let ‘Melo get the ball on the move versus slower defenders in West and Hibbert. If the Knicks can’t get those mismatches, Shumpert (assuming he’s healthy) needs to take advantage of his mismatch with West. Anthony also has the size and strength to back up George, so he should look to post him up instead of face-up, where George has been so effective in denying Anthony. Going to the post and forcing help should open up other looks on the outside or inside, and Anthony needs to be a willing passer to hit open teammates instead of forcing shots over the brick wall that has been Roy Hibbert.

The Pacers’ defense works hard to deny three-point opportunities and baskets in the paint, and the Knicks have been too happy to accept mid-range jumpshots. Felton, Prigioni, Smith, and Anthony are all talented ball-handlers in pick-and-rolls, and if they attack the pick-and-roll and go to the basket, they force Indiana’s defense to adjust. With this mindset, eventually, rotations will fail and the Knicks can open up better looks for themselves that they just need to actually knock down.

Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith are struggling. Jason Kidd couldn’t hit water if he fell out of a boat and the rest of the Knicks simply aren’t getting the job done when it comes to scoring the ball.

May 7, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks small forward Chris Copeland (14) shoots over Indiana Pacers power forward David West (21) during the first half in game two of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

That alone begs the question of why isn’t Knicks head coach Mike Woodson using Chris Copeland more in the postseason?

By no means is Copeland a savior, but the one thing he can do is fill it up and instead of watching Smith chuck up 20 bricks per night, it would be nice to see Woodson put some guys on the floor that may have been able to impact the series in a positive way.

I will admit that Copeland is horrendous defensively, but the Knicks are trailing 3-1 because they can’t make shots.

The numbers would suggest that he could have an impact.

In the postseason, the Knicks offensive rating is +15.5 points while Copeland is on the court. In addition, New York’s assist percentage is +8.5 percent (via Basketball Reference).

Then there is the fact that the Knicks have shot only 32 percent from the three-point line throughout the playoffs.

Copeland could help there as well as he has been one of the team’s most consistent shooters from deep, making 5-of-13 shots from downtown and has the third-highest three-point percentage (38.5) of anyone who is averaging more than one attempt per game.

He also has had success against the Pacers as Copeland averaged 10.8 points and shot 53 percent against them in the regular season.

For the most part I like the job that Woodson has done with this team this year, but he’s making a mistake by not playing Copeland. He’s only played in seven of the Knicks 10 playoff games and has averaged only 7.9 minutes per game.

It’s a shame to watch the Knicks go down with bullets still left in their gun.

It’s too late now, but Woodson clearly made a mistake by not turning to Copeland earlier.

A few made shots here and there and this could have been a different series.

May 14, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) sits next to forward Amar

The Knicks really never made a push in this game and were consistently overmatched from start to finish. The Pacers outplayed and outworked them once again and the Knicks looked both lifeless most of the time. Carmelo Anthony had a good first half, but the Knicks still saw themselves down 15 at the break and were never able to recover. A combination of poor second half from Melo and an overall poor shooting performance by the team wasn’t enough to make it close against one of the league’s top defenses.

Raymond Felton

Felton recovered after a brutal Game 3 performance at Indiana where he went 1/8 from the field. He looked to be back on track tonight with a 7/16 performance, but most of his value came from three steals and two blocks while facilitating the ball. He was able to get to the basket multiple times off the pick and wasn’t short of effort.

Grade: B+

J.R. Smith

No one doubts his ability to put up points, but it has to be in an efficient manner for the Knicks to win. JR’s 19 points tonight was a little deceiving, as he hit a couple of garbage-time makes towards the end of the game. If you include those, he still comes away with 7/22 shooting and 3/10 from three. Many of his misses came at times where the Knicks desperately needed a bucket to propel them back into the game and cut the lead. Whether it was bad shot attempts or he was just off, what he brought tonight isn’t going to cut it and may mark one of his last games as a Knick.

Grade: C-

Carmelo Anthony

As mentioned, Melo looked sharp in the first half as he looked towards shooting 50% for the first game in these playoffs, but he tapered off in the second half and in effect, the team followed his lead. It seemed as though he was picking up fouls rather than playing solid defense on some plays and when the Knicks needed him most to make a big time second half push, he was nowhere to be found to carry them or get hot and start his own run.

Grade: C+

Tyson Chandler

May 14, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) guards Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert (55) in game four of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Chandler finally showed up for the first time this series. With a few solid-to-very good games against Indiana during the regular season, there had to be some question of what was wrong with Chandler right now. After being embarrassed for the first three games by Roy Hibbert, he was able to grab double-digit boards for the first time and also posted a double-double with 12 points included. His 3 blocks and 7 offensive rebounds were encouraging as well, and he’ll need to carry this momentum into Game 5 if the Knicks want any chance of making this a series.

Grade: A-

Kenyon Martin

For the minutes he played tonight (28), he performed very poorly compared to how he has looked for the Knicks since getting him. His couples of blocks were a plus, but it’s not too much to ask for a few points out of him with a few more rebounds (5 tonight) as well.

Grade: D

Role Players

Most of the key players ate up all the minutes tonight and there wasn’t much left over for the reserves. A primary note is that Jason Kidd was held scoreless once again and he hasn’t been able to score a single point since Game 2 vs. Boston (3 points).  Shumpert wasn’t able to score a point in his 16 minutes and 6 shot attempts, but much can be attributed to a bothersome knee that was visible at multiple points of the game. The Knicks were clearly missing his perimeter defense and he will need to be at full strength for the Knicks in Game 5, especially if J.R. cant get it going. A major question that Mike Woodson should be facing is why it took so long to bring in Chris Copeland and Steve Novak, when it seemed like nothing else he was rolling out there was working. Copeland looked good in his 12 minutes and Novak was able to knock down a 3-pointer in his miniscule single minute on the floor, but all was too little, too late.

Grade: F

This is a team that was expected to make the Eastern Conference Finals and anything else should be considered a failure.

This is the Knicks first time trailing in the playoffs when they are on the road team. If the Knicks are great they will pull out his huge victory tonight. If they don’t  it will be a huge uphill battle from here. Here’s everything you need to know about this pivotal Game 4 .

May 7, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert (55) shoots over New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) during the second half in game two of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Knicks won the game 105-79. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

When: Tuesday May 14th at 7:00 EST

Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, IN

Watch: TNT

Betting Line: Pacers (-5.5)

Key Matchup: Tyson Chandler vs. Roy Hibbert

If the Pacers win Game 4 and Roy Hibbert has a big game, Tyson Chandler will be pointed at as the main reason the Knicks potentially lose this series. Hibbert has dominated both sides of the floor against Chandler and has made the rebounding category one sided. Knicks fans were worried about Paul George’s scoring, but it has been the domination of the glass that has controlled this series.

I am calling out Carmelo Anthony to get a double-double tonight with rebounds. Anthony has been inserted into the 4 spot and there’s no excuse why he cannot come up with at least 12 rebounds tonight. He is physical and when it comes down to it he is the team leader. If the Knicks need rebounding help, Carmelo needs to crash the boards. LeBron and Durant do it, so why can’t he?

With Iman Shumpert’s knee acting up again, everyone putting on a Knicks jersey has to step it up tonight. Shumpert has brought raw energy on both sides of the floor that honestly no other Knick has matched. Raymond Felton has to have a much better game and lead this offense the way we know how it can be ran.

Role players like Pablo Prigioni and Kenyon Martin have to maximize their minutes and not make mistakes when they are out there. Ultimately it is going to come down to the play of Carmelo and J.R. Smith. If they are cold again, the Knicks have no shot.

The Knicks will treat this like a Game 7 and we are looking at a classic Game 5 at MSG.

Prediction: Knicks 93, Pacers 87

K-Mart has missed the past couple of practices with the flu, but according to Newsday’s Al Iannazzone, Martin is expected to play in a must-win game Tuesday night.

Kenyon Martin says he’s playing. He’s glad they had the days off. He said he would have played if they hadn’t.

— Al Iannazzone (@Al_Iannazzone) May 14, 2013

May 7, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks shooting guard J.R. Smith (8) drives to the net past Indiana Pacers small forward Paul George (24) during the second half in game two of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Knicks win 105-79. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

In addition to Martin, Sixth Man of the Year J.R. Smith is being called a game-time decision by Knicks head coach Mike Woodson as the team has listed him as questionable.

Woodson said Smith is still “sick’’ and he and Martin are being quarantined from the team so it won’t spread. However it seems all but certain that Smith will play, but given his recent struggles, that isn’t necessarily a good thing, but the Knicks can’t win this series without him.

However Smith must be feeling better as the New York Post’s Marc Berman reported that Smith was spotted Sunday at about 10:30 p.m. at Steak N Shake in downtown Indianapolis.

Hopefully the steak burger will help Smith find his shot as he is just 19-of-69 from the floor since returning from his one-game suspension in the Boston series.

In addition to Smith and Martin recovering from the flu, guard Iman Shumpert has been held out of practice with a sore knee, which is very bad timing for the Knicks, although all signs point to Shump being able to play Tuesday night, even though he is also listed as questionable.

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Already down 2-1 in their second round series to the Indiana Pacers, the Knicks face a must win situation Tuesday night at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, a place where they haven’t won this season in three tries.

May 11, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers Lance Stephenson (10) shoots the ball against New York Knicks forward J.R. Smith (8) and center Tyson Chandler (6) in game three of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Tom Russo-USA TODAY Sports

If the Knicks return to The Garden in a 3-1 hole, their season is realistically all but over as only eight teams have even come back from down 3-1 to win a seven-game series.

Given the way they have played for most of the series, how can the Knicks avoid that from happening?

There are a lot of adjustments that Mike Woodson’s team needs to make.

Let’s take a look at where they can start.

1. Defend, Defend, Defend

The Pacers aren’t a team that typically scores a lot of points and they are only shooting 43 percent from the floor this series as a team. But they are having a field day scoring in the paint. The Knicks must make it a point to make it very tough to score inside and make the Pacers a perimeter shooting team, where they are only shooting 32 percent in the series.

2. Crash the Glass

The Pacers were the top rebounding team in the NBA this season and it showed big time in Game 3. Indiana had 13 more total boards (53-40) and eight more on the offensive end (18-10). For the series, the Pacers hold a plus-25 advantage on the glass.  That can’t happen anymore as the Knicks must make an effort to be more aggressive rebounding. That needs to start with Tyson Chandler as Roy Hibbert is owning him on the glass. Hibbert is averaging close to 11 rebounds per game in the series while Chandler has averaged only four. That’s as telling as a sign as any.

3. Move the ball

Chandler called the Knicks a selfish team offensively and it’s hard to argue much against that statement. You aren’t going to beat a good defensive team like the Pacers primarily with isolation. The ball has to move much more. That doesn’t mean the Knicks should go away from the isolation sets, but they have to make the Pacers work more defensively. That means more ball movement.

But when the words “must win” are thrown on the table, that’s when superstars answer the call.

May 11, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) watches from the sidelines with four fouls against the Indiana Pacers in game three of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana defeats New York 82-71. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

To this point in his 10-year NBA career Carmelo Anthony has not been able to do that, but that’s something he has to change come Tuesday night.

If he doesn’t and the Knicks don’t come away with a win, their season won’t be officially over, but it will be all but finished nonetheless.

There are many aspects of the Knicks game that needs to improve for Game 4, but Anthony having a huge game is certainly one of them.

This is the moment he wanted when he choose to be a Knick. This is a moment that can help define his career. If he doesn’t come through, it will be hard for Anthony to shake the label of a guy who can’t win big games.

He certainly needs some help as ‘Melo can’t do it all by himself, but sometimes a superstar has to steal a game by himself.  This may be one of those games.

Anthony took just 16 shots in Game 3 but you can bet that number will increase on Tuesday. However he has to be careful of not over doing it and getting back to playing “Melo Ball.” Anthony has to find that perfect mix of carrying a team offensively but still playing team basketball. It’s a delicate line to toe, but ‘Melo has to do exactly that.

If he does, the Knicks have a good shot at coming back to New York with the series tied, 2-2.

Anthony has eclipsed the 30-point plateau only twice in his last seven playoff games; including only one-of-three games this series.

He has shot under 40 percent from the floor in two of those three games, something that can’t happen on Tuesday.

To have success, ‘Melo must find a way to score on the Pacers’ Paul George, something he hasn’t been able to do this series.

George held Anthony to 4-for-11 shooting in Game 3. Anthony has hit just 34 percent of his attempts when defended by George throughout the series.

One option could be less isolation when George is guarding Anthony. Turning to the pick-and-roll with ‘Melo in those situations could do a lot to free him up more.

Whatever the case, Anthony has to find a way to have a big game.

His back is against the wall and the pressure is on.

Those are the situations where superstars thrive and take hold of the moment.

To be in that class, Anthony has to make a big statement in Game 4.

If he doesn’t, the critics will come out of the woodworks and it will probably be well-deserved.

However Anthony still has some big games left ahead of him this postseason.

He can do a lot to silence the critics by having a huge game and bringing this series back to The Garden tied at two.

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That means the likes of Tyson Chandler, Iman Shumpert, Chris Copeland, Steve Novak and Amar’e Stoudemire must all play big roles at the offensive end of the floor if the Knicks are to have any chance of tying up their second round series against the Indiana Pacers.

May 5, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks point guard Jason Kidd (5) gestures during the second half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

But more importantly it means that Jason Kidd needs to step up and do what he was brought to the Big Apple to do- lead this team.

While this is certainly Carmelo Anthony’s team, Kidd needs to step up and be the leader right now. While Kidd’s leadership is something that has never been questioned throughout his career, he has always been the type of player that does what it takes to win.

In this case it means Kidd stepping up and knocking down some shots.

Kidd has not scored a point in seven straight playoff games. He failed to score in just two games that he played in his entire playoff career entering this postseason.

In addition, Kidd is the only player in NBA history to play at least 10 minutes in six straight playoff games and fail to score in any of them.

The 10-time All-Star and surefire Hall-of-Famer averaged 6.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.6 steals over 26.9 minutes per game this season, showing great prowess as a 3-point shooter and on-ball defender in head coach Mike Woodson‘s system. From long range, Kidd shot 35 percent.

However, outside of his streaky three-point game, Kidd’s offense was pretty much nonexistent all year. Rarely did he capitalize on opportunities to drive the lane for an open layup or even, on occasion, take a wide-open three.

It appears that in the twilight of his professional career, he has lost a bit of his confidence on the offensive side of the floor.

There’s no better time than Tuesday’s Game 4 to get that confidence back.

Kidd hasn’t knocked down a shot from the floor since Game 2 of the Celtics series, a span that covers close to 185 minutes of court time.

He’s missed his last 15 attempts from the floor and for the Knicks to advance; they are going to have to get something from Kidd offensively. If he doesn’t step up and deliver, not only will the Knicks see an end to their season, but Kidd’s Hall of Fame career could come to a quick end as well.

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However on paper, everything looked good for the Knicks having 2012 Defensive Player of the Year Tyson Chandler matched up on Hibbert for the duration of the series.

May 11, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) argues a referees call in game three of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana defeats New York 82-71. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

Unfortunately the Hibbert-Chandler matchup has turned into a mismatch. One that the Pacers have repeatedly exploited.

Knicks head coach Mike Woodson said earlier in the series that he needed Chandler to outplay Hibbert for the Knicks to be successful.

Similar to Game 1, that didn’t happen in Game 3.

Hibbert had 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Chandler finished with nine points, five rebounds and three blocks in 30 minutes. Even more disturbing was the fact that the Knicks were outscored by 14 with Chandler on the floor.

The Knicks are attempting to trap and double Hibbert, but the help is coming much too late. New York is often blessed by the fact that Chandler doesn’t need much help, which allows their defense to be more aggressive. That’s not the case here as he is getting abused.

With all of the Knicks struggles this series, except for their huge fourth quarter run in Game 2, a major reason they are down in the series is the fact that they are losing the battle of the big men in a big way.

Chandler has averaged only seven points and four rebounds this series, while only averaging 3.7 shoot attempts per game. Hibbert on the other hand has been dominant. The Georgetown product is averaging 14.7 points and 10.7 rebounds, to go along with three blocks per game.

To get back and potentially win this series, Chandler has to be much better, especially from a rebounding and defensive perspective.

He has to come to play and limit Hibbert’s effectiveness.

How long this series goes could rest on his shoulders.

Tuesday night in Indianapolis, Chandler has to come to play and make a statement doing so.

If he does, I like the Knicks chances.

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Coming off their worst performance in these playoffs, the Knicks not only need to figure out how to effectively attack the Pacers defense, but how to get physically well also.

May 11, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New York Knicks forward Kenyon Martin (3) shoots the ball against the Indiana Pacer in game three of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Tom Russo-USA TODAY Sports

J.R. Smith, who played 25 minutes in Game 3 on Saturday night despite a high fever, sat out of the Knicks’ morning practice on Sunday. But he’s not the only one as he was also joined by Kenyon Martin, who sat out sick as well.

“Kenyon’s kind of coming down with [illness], too,” Knicks coach Mike Woodson told ESPN’s Jared Wade, “so we’ve got to be careful that this thing doesn’t spread, and other guys start dropping.”

The Knicks not only hope that Smith starts feeling better by Tuesday’s Game 4, but they hope he finds his shooting touch somewhere along the way.

With an offense that is struggling to score against Indiana, which had the NBA’s best defense during the regular season in terms of points allowed per possession, the Knicks need Smith’s scoring.

He won the NBA’s Sixth Man Award by averaging 18.1 points per game off the bench, but without Smith performing at a high level, the Knicks offense loses much of its explosiveness.

However Smith simply feeling better may not be enough to fix the Knicks woes.

He had another tough night on Saturday. Granted he was sick, but his nine points on 4-for-12 shooting just added to his overall struggles.

Since he came back from his one-game suspension, Smith has been nothing short of awful.

The Sixth Man of the Year has connected on only 19-of-69 (27.5 percent) shot attempts and only 7-of-27 (25.9 percent) three-point attempts.

During his last six games, Smith has combined to score only 61 points, but has taken a whopping 69 shots.

While the Knicks need Smith to get healthy, they also need Martin feeling 100 percent.

Even with Amar’e Stoudemire back playing a few minutes off the bench, the Knicks need all the size they can get against the much bigger and physical Pacers.

Roy Hibbert is having a field day against Tyson Chandler and if Martin can’t give Woodson some quality minutes at the defensive end of the floor, this series could end very quickly.

So while the Knicks have to deal with the physical style of the Pacers on the court, they are also getting beat up by the flu bug off the court.

If the flu bug wins, the Knicks attention could quickly turn towards the offseason.

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But that all changed with one selfish elbow to the head of Boston Celtics’ guard Jason Terry.

May 5, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks guard J.R. Smith (8) attempts a shot during the first half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

Smith has struggled in a big way since returning from his one-game suspension and as a result he could be forced to get used to spending some more time on the bench as Knicks’ head coach Mike Woodson as said that he wouldn’t hesitate to cut Smith’s minutes beginning with Game 3 of the Knicks second-round series against the Indiana Pacers.

“I’ll gauge J.R. as we go along and if I feel he’s not giving me anything, I could always turn to other guys on that bench,” Woodson said Wednesday in an interview on ESPN New York 98.7 FM’s “The Stephen A. Smith & Ryan Ruocco Show (via ESPN’s Ian Begley).”

“I feel good about the guys that come in off that bench just like I feel good about J.R. But if he’s struggling and I feel the need (that) I’ve got to pull him, then I will do that as the head coach and then other guys have got to come in and step up and play.”

However I doubt that Woodson goes that route however it is interesting that didn’t rule out benching Smith, which goes to show exactly how much he is struggling.

Smith is missing shots and not playing well at all from an offensive standpoint. But Smith does bring a little bit to the table defensively as long as he doesn’t carry his struggles with him to that end of the floor.

To illustrate exactly how bad things have been for the Sixth Man of the Year, consider the fact that Smith averaged 23.5 points on 50 percent shooting from the floor and 37.7 percent from behind the arc during the Knicks final 16 regular season. A large part of his success was due to the fact that he was getting to the foul line 6.6 times a night.

Smith is averaging only 14.4 points on 14.7 shot attempts, while only shooting 34 percent from the floor.

Since he came back from his one-game suspension, Smith has been nothing short of brutal.

The Sixth Man of the Year has connected on only 15-of-57 (26.3 percent) shot attempts and only 7-of-24 (29.1 percent) three-point attempts.

When he was going well, Smith averaged only 2.9 long-range attempts the last month of the season. He’s averaged 5.7 during the postseason and 6.0 since coming back from suspension.

During his last five games, Smith has combined to score only 52 points, but has taken a whopping 57 shots.

That alone should result in a lot less minutes for Smith, but he’s also a guy that Woodson likes a lot so I have a hard time seeing him getting much less than the 31.9 minutes per game he is averaging in the postseason.

If Woodson did choose to decrease Smith’s minutes, it’s unclear who would step into his role. He could use Jason Kidd as the first player off his bench or ask Chris Copeland to fill the void. Amar’e Stoudemire is also returning to the lineup Saturday in Game 3 and is expected to get anywhere between 10-15 minutes. Those minutes could come at Smith’s expense.

One thing is for sure though and if Woodson keeps riding Smith and he doesn’t turn things around quickly, Smith will shoot the Knicks right out of the playoffs.

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As expected, the Knicks have announced that power forward Amar’e Stoudemire will return to the lineup on Saturday as the series shifts to Indianapolis.

Mar. 3, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks power forward Amar

However fans that are expecting Stoudemire to make a big impact on the series may have to think again as Stoudemire will be limited to between only 10-15 minutes in his return from knee surgery.

“It won’t be very many minutes,” Knicks head coach Mike Woodson said. “I’m thinking somewhere between 10 and 15 minutes, if that.”

Stoudemire hasn’t played since March 7 while recovering from a right knee debridement, but having him out there could be a boost, regardless of the minutes restriction.

He scrimmaged for the second time this week on Thursday. He looked quick and explosive with his low-post moves and was able to take strong contact down low and finish around the rim. That was a big improvement over his first scrimmage on Tuesday when he looked very rusty.

The Knicks have a challenge on their hands facing Indiana’s skilled front court which features Roy Hibbert, David West and Tyler Hansbrough. Adding some more size in Stoudemire gives Woodson some more options as he could play two big men for extended periods of time if necessary.

Who knows exactly what STAT will bring to the table at this point, but before he was injured again, Stoudemire was playing very well. He averaged 14.2 points and 5.0 rebounds on 57.7 percent shooting in 29 games played on the season.

As the Knicks attempt to advance to the Eastern Conference finals, it’s good that Stoudemire will get the opportunity to take part in things as he has earned the opportunity.

Just hide the fire extinguishers.

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Miller was in the Garden Tuesday night for Game 2 of the New York Knicks-Indiana Pacers series, calling the game for TNT and Lee took the time to have some fun at Miller’s expense.

Shump has that explosiveness back as he demonstrated with this vicious dunk in the Knicks Game 2 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Led by Carmelo Anthony’s 32 points, the Knicks found a significantly better offensive rhythm in this one, using more diverse sets and getting away from their heavy isolation tendencies. Indiana had their moments where they scored with ease and locked up the Knicks, but New York fought back with a huge 30-2 run from the end of the third quarter to midway through the fourth quarter. The Knicks forced turnovers all game long with intense traps on ball-handlers and later forced the Pacers into arrhythmic jumpers during the second half rally. York’s 33-13 fourth quarter put them in total control of the game, and they were able to rest their usual rotation players and ride out the double-digit victory.

The series goes to Indiana now, all tied up at 1-1. Here’s a look at the individual performances:

Carmelo Anthony – 35 minutes, 32 points, 13-26 FG, 2-5 3FG, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, +20

As Chris Herring pointed out on Twitter, ‘Melo was still mired in something of a shooting slump before a Frank Vogel timeout in the late third quartergave Anthony a chance to drink Mike’s Secret Stuff. Thereafter, Anthony went 6-8 from the field, taking it to the basket for a yam in David West’s face, knocking down mid-range jumpers, and finally, hitting two of those ever-evasive “three-pointers.” Overall, Anthony’s approach was more disciplined and vintage ‘Melo (meaning the ‘Melo of, like, three weeks ago). His defense was less physical, but smarter on David West, and for the most part, when shifted to the perimeter, Anthony made some solid rotations and well-timed traps. Still worried about the shoulder, which clearly caused him pain at some points, but three days rest between games oughta help it somewhat.

Final Grade: B+

Iman Shumpert – 29 minutes, 15 points, 7-11 FG, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, +5

Mmmmmm. Blowing the Pacers out in the fourth quarter only sweetens that delightful jam Shump treated us to. Everything about it – the distance he had to run to get there, how far he had to reach to cock it back, the force he threw it down with. Oh man. Shumpert continues to be the Knicks’ best option at two-guard/ small forward, and when he’s hitting open threes, scoring off the dribble, working in the pick-and-roll in limited amounts, and pestering opposing offenses, there are very few Knicks who deserve playing time over him. Shot selection can still be a problem, as is his tendency to get lost on backdoor cuts and screens, but right now, Shumpert has been essential to the things new York has done right.

Final Grade: A

Raymond Felton – 27 minutes, 14 points, 5-9 FG, 2-2 3FG, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 TO, -2

Felton continues to attack any open space he can find on offense. His assists are way down, likely because he’s assuming much less of a play-making role than a scoring role, but he’s doing the latter quite efficiently. No matter the range, really, Felton is hitting, especially around the basket, off curl plays to the free throw line extended, and from downtown. His defense on Indiana’s guards has been (mostly) sturdy, too. It’d be even more magnificent if he could make Indiana pay for sagging off pick-and-rolls by hitting that mid-range pull-up jumper, but we can’t have everything. He got a nice rest in the fourth quarter as Pablo Prigioni took total control of the reins.

Final Grade: B

Pablo Prigioni – 21 minutes, 10 points, 4-4 FG, 2-2 3FG, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, 0 turnovers, +23

After a somewhat quiet start, Prigioni had his biggest moments during the Knicks’ 30-2 run in the second half. As mentioned, he took Felton’s place as the conductor of the Knicks’ offense, and while Carmelo Anthony will surely receive the most credit for bursting for 16 of those points, Prigioni made some terrific plays. Whether it was gathering rebounds, hitting ‘Melo for a three in transition, canning a three-pointer and a runner of his own, or dishing from the three-point line to Chandler on a gorgeous alley-oop, Pablo got the train rollin’. Let us not forget his own noteworthy harassment of Indiana’s guards during the run, too. It seems he’s gained Woodson’s trust – finally – and it couldn’t be more deserved.

Final Grade: A

Kenyon Martin – 18 minutes, 10 points, 5-6 FG, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 2 steals, 2 blocks, +16

Strange how Martin’s efficiency has fluctuated from high at the onset of the Celtics series, to low in that same series, to high, once again in this Indiana series. Martin has mostly held his own defending Indiana’s big men, and what’s stranger, he’s been the best Knick at finishing over and around them. If he can consistently hit a midrange jumper or two, and finish a play in the paint, he’ll continue to be valuable on offense. Just one small complaint on the other end: block shots a little less hard and corral them to yourself, please?

Final Grade: B

Tyson Chandler – 31 minutes, 8 points, 4-5 FG, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, +21

Chandler came away even with Hibbert in this one. After being out-played in Game 1, Tyson looked more active on the boards (despite being out-rebounded, he put a body on Hibbert), deterred some drives, and severely limited Hibbert’s offense. Chandler still needs to flat-out win that matchup each night for the Knicks’ chances in the series to look really good, but nights like tonight are a good start. Also, Chandler did a nice job finishing dunks.

Final Grade: B-

J.R. Smith – 30 minutes, 8 points, 3-15 FG, 1-7 3FG, 6 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals, 3 TOs, 1 block, +27

Kind of weird that Smith registered the highest +/- of any Knick, but hence why that stat can be misleading in a single game. For the game, the Knicks shot 49.4% FG, 33.3% 3FG, and had seven turnovers. Without Smith, those numbers would have been 55.4% FG and 39.3% 3FG, and their turnovers would’ve been nearly halved. Of course, that isn’t totally fair, but it goes to show that Smith has hurt the Knicks on offense. Credit, though, to J.R. for finding other ways to be effective. He played aggressive, feisty defense, rebounded well, and moved the ball better later in the game.

Final Grade: C-

Quentin Richardson – 5 minutes, 6 points, 2-3 3FG, 1 rebound

Q-Rich hopped off the bench late in the game and launched up some threes, two of which sank to cap the absurdity of the Knicks’ late run.

Final Grade: B-

James White – 5 minutes, 2 points, 1-2 FG, 2 rebounds

White also joined the bench bros who got to run around like kids in a classroom once the teacher leaves. He tipped in a missed shot.

Final Grade: C+

Jason Kidd – 24 minutes, 0 points, 0-3 FG, 2 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 2 TOs, +20

Despite his complete inability to put the ball through that iron cylinder, Kidd had probably his best game of the playoffs in this one. He came at Indiana’s guards and big men with smart traps, frazzling them with his Venus flytrap hands, and forcing turnovers. He’s mightily non-threatening on offense, but still has the ability to whip around some assists. To cap the third quarter, he dove out-of-bounds to save the ball under the Knicks’ basket, and placed it right in Chandler’s hands for an easy dunk. That felt like a huge play at the time.

Final Grade: C+

Chris Copeland – 11 minutes, 0 points, 0-4 FG, 1 steal

Cope got a little too quick-triggered in launching some threes on pick-and-pop opportunities, but it’s forgivable; the Knicks need him to be aggressive if he’s getting minutes. If Amar’e Stoudemire does indeed return soon, then Copeland probably won’t see minutes beyond garbage time anymore. However, if he does still see court, I’m personally interested in seeing a possible ‘Melo-Copeland-Chandler frontcourt to put a bigger body on West, reduce Anthony’s physical beating, and still spread the floor.

Final Grade: C-

Steve Novak – 5 minutes, 0 points, 0-1 FG

Missed his only attempt in garbage time. Healthy or not, it’s hard to imagine Novak getting minutes in this series. Sorry, Steve.

The Knicks will take on the Pacers Saturday in Indiana.

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After getting dominated in Game 1 in a 102-95 loss, the Knicks need to win Game 2 if they have any chance of advancing. You don’t want to go into Indiana down 0-2.

Which Knicks team will show up, the one in early April or the one we have seen in the last 3 out of 4 games?

Here’s everything you need to know for Game 2:

When: Tuesday May 6th at 7:00

Where: Madison Square Garden in New York City

Watch: TNT

Betting Line:  New York Knicks (-6)

Key Matchup: Tyson Chandler vs. Roy Hibbert

The Indiana Pacers’ offense revolves around Paul George but if the Knicks want to win, they have to contain Roy Hibbert. Hibbert dominated Chandler who had a very forgettable game with four points and three rebounds in 28 minutes of play.

The two seven-footers are both tough guys but Hibbert is clearly the more polished offensive player. Chandler has to get back in his Defensive Player of the Year form and lock down Hibbert. Chandler has to control the glass and stop the Pacers from getting second chance opportunities.

The entire Pacers starting five scored in double digits in Game 1 along with 16 points off the bench by D.J. Augustin. Raymond Felton has been the only consistent Knick these playoffs and shined in Game 1 with 18 points (8-for-12 from the field) and three assists. Simply put, Anthony and Smith have to drive more and take better shots. Going a combined 14-for-43 is unacceptable and isn’t a winning recipe.

The Knicks don’t match up well with the Pacers at all but I think the Game 1 loss was due to the Knicks scorers being cold. I think Mike Woodson makes the adjustments and the Knicks come out better especially on the defensive side of the ball.

Carmelo has to have a big, but efficient game in the Garden. If he doesn’t it might be the last game at home for the season. The Knicks have to win this game because going into Indiana (30-11 home record) down 0-2 is a very hard task to overcome. It will be a hard fought game and hopefully the shots fall early for New York.

Prediction: New York 96, Indiana 92

Even more has been made about J.R. Smith’s struggles and immature behavior off of the floor.

May 5, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert (55) looks for a shot against New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

But as equally disturbing as how Anthony and Smith have struggled, the struggles of New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler is having an impact on the Knicks, who have lost three of their last four playoff games.

If that is to change and the Knicks are to even up their second round series against the Indiana Pacers, Chandler must step up and be dominant in Game 2 on Tuesday night.

Chandler was severely outplayed by Pacers’ center Roy Hibbert in Game 1. Hibbert finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, five blocks and four assists, while Chandler only had four points, three rebounds and two blocks.

That prompted Knicks head coach Mike Woodson to say, “I’ve got to get Tyson [Chandler] playing better than Hibbert.”

When you think about it, Chandler’s performance is a real key to the series.

Throughout the postseason, Chandler is averaging only five points per game, failing to score in double figures in any of the Knicks seven playoff games. He has also only averaged 7.8 rebounds and has average only 3.7 shot attempts per game.

That’s down from the 10.4 points and 10.7 rebounds he averaged during the regular season. He shot 63.8 percent from the floor while averaging over six shot attempts per game.

It’s as simple as getting Chandler more touches.

However it’s hard to keep him involved when the Knicks continue to go away from the pick-and-roll, something that Chandler and Raymond Felton have great success with. But in the second half of Game 1, the Knicks offense was dominated by Anthony and Smith in isolation plays.

That plays right into the Pacers hands.

Indiana is a very good defensive team and if the ball isn’t moving, Hibbert doesn’t have to move much. That means he is always in position to contest shots and clean up the glass.

If Hibbert continues to dominate Chandler, this will be a quick series.

Even though it is early, Game 2 is almost a must-win situation for the Knicks.

That won’t happen unless Chandler steps up at both ends of the floor.

Defensively he has to be as physical with Hibbert as the Pacers are with the Knicks, but he can’t get into early foul trouble. He simply can’t allow Hibbert to put up a line like he did in Game 1.

Offensively, the Knicks have to get away from the constant isolation and move the basketball.

Chandler has to be involved in the gameplan and has to put up double-double type numbers for the remainder of this series.

If the Knicks have plans to advance to the Eastern Conference finals, Chandler has to play a major role in things.

He can start with a big game Tuesday night.

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As expected, forward Amar’e Stoudemire scrimmaged with his teammates on Monday and is targeting a return to the lineup for Game 3 on Saturday in Indiana.

March 6, 2013; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; New York Knicks power forward Amar

Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv reported the following:

“The only way I wouldn’t be [available for Game 3] is if I don’t recover well from today and if I don’t recover well from the following practice [Wednesday],” Stoudemire said. “If there is any setback from that, then that ‘ll be difficult to deal with. But hopefully everything goes well.”

Knicks coach Mike Woodson said: “‘If he doesn’t have any setbacks he’ll probably suit up Saturday.”

If Game 1 was any indication, the Knicks definitely could use Stoudemire’s size as Woodson has to play more than one big against the Pacers. Going small isn’t going to work as the Pacers are clearly the bigger and more physical team. Carmelo Anthony can’t keep having to guard David West or this is going to be a  very quick series.

While Stoudemire returning is great news for Knicks fans, how much he helps is another story altogether.

When he returned for the first time this season, Stoudemire was very rusty and it took some time for him to get his timing back.

The Knicks don’t have that much time to wait for him.

There’s also the fact that the Knicks need to  be tougher defensively, which is an area that STAT doesn’t help at all. But having him available could allow Woodson to shift Anthony to the 3 and play Tyson Chandler and Kenyon Martin together, which on paper could be their best chance to win this series.

As far as the scrimmage, Stoudemire didn’t look so good, which leads me to believe he won’t be of much use this series.

The New York Post’s  Marc Berman reported that Stoudemire looked very rusty and has a ways to go after getting outplayed by third-string center Earl Barron.

“It feels good to finally be on the court (in) competition,’’ Stoudemire told Berman. “I had a tough day today but it felt really good. I had no pain running, cutting slashing – I felt explosive. The one thing is getting my wind back up and go from there.”

Stoudemire hasn’t played since March 7 after undergoing his second knee debridement surgery of the season.

He scrimmaged alongside Marcus Camby and James White facing the trio of Barron, Chris Copeland and Quentin Richardson. When it ended, he reportedly laid on the court and looked exhausted.

Stoudemire will rest Tuesday and hopes to scrimmage Wednesday and Friday. The Knicks had the good fortune of having three days off between Games 2 and 3, which should hopefully give his knee enough extra time to get ready for what promises to be a  very physical series the rest of the way.

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A big reason why the Knicks now trail 1-0 in their second round series was the performance of Pacers’ center Roy Hibbert.

May 5, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Indiana Pacers center Roy Hibbert (55) looks for a shot against New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports

And if Hibbert continues to be dominant in this series, it will be a quick one as the Knicks will be hitting the golf course a lot quicker then they may have originally planned.

The Pacers hold a distinct size advantage over New York and can dominate the paint in almost every game.

The difference for Frank Vogel’s team is that he can play two legitimate bigs in Hibbert and David West, while Mike Woodson will never use two bigs at the same time as he continues to go with a small lineup. Maybe when Amar’e Stoudemire returns that could change, but by that time, the series could be in jeopardy of being over.

The problem is that the Knicks have no legitimate answer for Hibbert.

Hibbert scored 14 points in thoroughly outplaying counterpart Tyson Chandler, while West had his way with Carmelo Anthony guarding him and scored 20 points. The duo combined to make 14-of-24 shots on the afternoon while West and company frustrated Anthony as he struggled from the floor once again. ‘Melo scored 27 points, but did so on only 10-of-28 shooting.

However while Hibbert and West had a nice afternoon offensively, that’s not where they will impact this series the most.

What he does at the defensive end could be enough to carry the Pacers to a quick series victory.

The Knicks were held to 42.9 percent shooting inside five feet with Hibbert on court in Game 1 (league average: 59.4 percent). The Pacers have outscored opponents by 50 points inside five feet with Hibbert on court this postseason and have been outscored by 22 with Hibbert on the bench.

Basically that means the Knicks must do a better job of getting the Georgetown product in foul trouble and keep him off the floor.

When he’s out there he makes life miserable for the Knicks.

Hibbert’s defensive presence alone is intimidating and he can handle anyone in a Knicks’ uniform straight up, which allows the rest of the Pacers defenders to be more aggressive and physical knowing Hibbert is behind them.

The Knicks shot a measly 13-for-30 at the rim, which isn’t going to get it done this series.

If they don’t find a way how to neutralize Hibbert at the defensive end of the floor, this will be a quick series.

They need a better plan and need it quick as Tuesday night has now become a must-win situation at The Garden.

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After a hot start which saw the Knicks play with tempo and a clear game plan in mind, the Pacers caught up and simply out-worked the Knicks and adjusted far better. New York began the game with a disciplined offensive approach – attack the basket in the pick-and-roll, when the defense collapses, kick it out to shooters. They rang up 27 points on Indiana in the first quarter, but the second quarter began the trouble. Indiana began to work inside-out on offense, punishing the Knicks inside, or draining from the outside when New York’s rotations were slow. On offense, the Knicks hurt themselves by going away from their effective attack in the pick-and-roll, but Indiana’s number-one defense plugged up remaining holes. Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith, the two most heavily leaned-upon Knicks, struggled once again, and in doing so, complicated the Knicks’ approach.

Things looked to be turning around early in the third quarter, but quick foul trouble on Anthony relegated him to the bench, and New York sputtered thereafter. The Pacers exposed whatever holes remained in New York’s defense, while the Knicks failed to reach even 20 points in consecutive quarters. Outraged over some poor refereeing and their own incompetence, the Knicks dug themselves into a double-digit hole. They fought back in the fourth quarter, gradually connecting on some jumpers, attacking the basket or at least drawing fouls, and defending with vigor. However, when they needed stops or the momentum-pushing baskets most, the Knicks couldn’t come up with.

Here’s a look at the individual performances:

Carmelo Anthony – 36 minutes, 27 points, 10-28 FG, 1-4 3FG 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 TOs, +2

As mentioned, Anthony picking up his fourth foul early in the third quarter changed the game. The Knicks were struggling, but at the time, it was a single-digit lead. Although Anthony’s offense was hardly effective to that point, his presence alone changes a team’s defense. Without Anthony, the Knicks relied on a lot of pick-and-roll and too much J.R. Smith who connected from the field like dial-up internet during a hurricane. All game – with ‘Melo still in an inexplicably ill-timed shooting slump from downtown – Anthony’s biggest problem (quite literally) was Roy Hibbert’s rim defense. Occasionally, Anthony’s attacks to the rim were denied by straight-up, staunch, clean rim defense. Other times, like on a MASSIVE near-dunk on Hibbert, Anthony was met with slaps to face, wrists, or body-to-body contact. The Knicks’ loss was by no means on the officials, but if half of Anythony’s drives were called for fouls (and they were on about half of them), the game would’ve been much closer. Later, as Anthony resolved to just pulling up from outside, he splashed on some comeback-starting jumpers, but couldn’t finish the deal with the big baskets New York really needed.

Final Grade: C+

Raymond Felton – 38 minutes, 18 points, 8-12 FG, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, -9

Felton continues to be the Knicks’ best option on offense, and his defense has become oddly stingy. Why the Knicks ever went away from Felton high pick-and-rolls in the first half is totally bewildering. For much of the game, when Felton was given a good pick, he wriggled his way into the defense, often finishing with a suddenly accurate floater, or dishing out to the perimeter or for drop-off passes. The Knicks just wouldn’t keep up with these plays for whatever reason. The Knicks won’t win this series if Felton is consistently the best scorer, although it is very appreciated, Ray.

Final Grade: B+

J.R. Smith – 34 minutes, 17 points, 4-15 FG, 2-6 3FG, 7-10 FT, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, -3

J.R. Smith’s fall from grace has come in the form of bricked jumpers, decided isolations, and unfinished drives. Once again, when New York needed a scorer most, Smith let the call go to voicemail (for those keeping score, that’s two phone analogies I’ve made for J.R. in this post). Smith had one strong final quarter in which he defended with gusto, getting over screens and selling fouls with conviction. In said quarter, he also suddenly drained a few jumpers and got to the basket for layups or free throws. Smith has been seen out at night for two public events in two of the last three games. The correlations isn’t definite, but the results haven’t been favorable, either. It’s fair to wonder if Smith’s sense of urgency is where it should be.

Final Grade: C-

Kenyon Martin – 25 minutes, 12 points, 5-8 FG, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 2 blocks, -6

Martin had his moments in this one, finishing some plays around the rim and deterring some drivers. He was often paired with Tyson Chandler in the frontcourt, however, and there was rarely ever any success. Martin actually defended admirably, but even when he and Chandler denied opportunities inside, the Knicks were beaten from the outside. And on offense, the pairing just clogs up space, especially when the Knicks are so dry from outside.

Final Grade: B-

Iman Shumpert – 32 minutes, 11 points, 4-11 FG, 1-4 3FG, 4 rebounds, 3 TOs, -13

Shumpert missed some clean looks from the perimeter that he’d been hitting with regularity thus far in the playoffs. The misses only compounded the Knicks’ offensive struggles. Somewhat similarly, Shumpert had his moments, but guarding Lance Stephenson and Paul George is not like defending Paul Pierce – the prior two can actually move. Again, the Knicks won’t win the series if Anthony and Smith aren’t at their best, but Shumpert needs to be positive X-factor on both ends of the floor if the Knicks want to advance.

Final Grade: C+

Chris Copeland – 8 minutes, 6 points, 2-3 FG, -6

Surprised? So was everyone else, probably. Copeland hardly saw minutes in the Celtics series, but he was suddenly thrown into the mix at the onset of this second round series. Copeland didn’t offer much, but he did hit two threes, which could be a useful skills for this current version of the Knicks. At best, Cope could serve as a surprise to the Pacers who may be unaware of his offensive skills.

Final Grade: C

Tyson Chandler – 28 minutes, 4 points, 2-2 FG, 3 rebounds, 6 PFs, 1 steal, 2 blocks, 2 TOs, -8

Chandler coupled a relatively weak performance with two back-breaking blunders in the final minutes of the game. Down eight with under three minutes remaining, the Knicks’ defense forced Indiana into a deep three as the shot-clock expired, as the Knicks went to corral the rebound just before the shot clock expired, Chandler was whistled for a blatant pushing foul on Roy Hibbert during a box-out. On the Pacers’ new 24, Chandler fouled Hibbert after forcing him into a fade-away, 14-footer along the baseline. Hibbert then sank both free throws as the Pacers had knocked about 30 seconds off the clock. Already Chandler had struggled defending and rebounding against the Pacers’ big men. On offense, Chandler’s invisible on his dives to the rim – a fault that’s both he and his teammates’ fault. Like many others, the Knicks need Chandler to be the best center on the court to win this series.

Final Grade: C-

Pablo Prigioni – 22 minutes, 0 points, 0-1 FG, 6 assists, 1 steal, 1 TO, +2

What happened to our dear, sweet Pablo from Game 6? Prigioni hardly launched from deep depsite shooting fairly well for the playoffs, and he had clear trouble defending Indiana’s significantly speedier guards than Boston’s. He was, however, part of the Knicks’ uber effective pick-and-roll attack, but part of that is being willing to take open three-pointers when the defense sags off. He still needs time and can help the Knicks more than Jason Kidd, but he needs to regain his aggression.

Final Grade: C+

Jason Kidd – 17 minutes, 0 points, 0-1 FG, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 TO, +4

Ignore Kidd’s +/-; it’s not reflective of his play. Kidd has been ineffective in almost every game of the playoffs to the point where I wouldn’t be wholly upset if he stopped getting playing time. Of course that won’t happen (though credit Mike Woodson for cutting Kidd’s playing time down slightly). He can’t stay in front of guards on offense (he and Prigioni let DJ Augustin drop 16) and he’s a non-factor on offense.

Final Grade: C-

Marcus Camby – 12 seconds, -3

Camby played for 12 seconds at the end of the first half to avoid other big men picking up a foul, and the Knicks were out-scored by three points during that time.

Final Grade: C

The Knicks play Tuesday night in an essential must-win. The scary thought is that the Knicks are three losses away from ending their season. Gulp.

With a trip to the Eastern Conference finals on the line, I would expect this to be a very physical and intense series that can go either way.

Apr 26, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) smiles on the court during the second quarter of game three of the first round of the 2013 NBA playoffs against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

These two teams know each other, as do their fan bases, who both want to see their respective teams run through the other on their path to a potential NBA championship.

With that being said, here’s a look at everything you need to know about this second round series.

How they finished: No. 2 Knicks (58-30, combined regular season and playoffs) vs. No. 3 Pacers (53-34)

Season Series: Tied 2-2 (home team won each game)

Nov 18, Knicks won 76-88

Jan 10, Pacers won 81-76

Feb 20, Pacers won 125-91

Apr 14, Knicks won 80-90

Last Playoff Meeting: 2000 Eastern Conference Finals; Indiana won the series 4-2.

Playoff Schedule:

• Game 1 in New York: Sunday, May 5
• Game 2 in New York, Tuesday, May 7
• Game 3 in Indianapolis, Saturday, May 11
• Game 4 in Indianapolis (TBA)
• Game 5 in New York (TBA)
• Game 6 in Indianapolis (TBA)
• Game 7 in New York (TBA)

How they got here: Knicks defeated Celtics 4-2; Pacers defeated Hawks 4-2

After defeating the veteran squad of the Boston Celtics 4-2 in round one, the New York Knicks will take on a totally different animal in the young and hungry Indiana Pacers in round two.

May 3, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Indiana Pacers small forward Paul George (24) takes the ball down the court against the Atlanta Hawks in the second half of game six of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Philips Arena. The Pacers won 81-73. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports

The Pacers are led by one of the NBA’s up and coming stars, 2013 Most Improved Player Paul George, who was the leading scorer (19 PPG), assist man (5 APG), and rebounder (9 RPG) for the Pacers in their round one victory over the Atlanta Hawks..

The Knicks got out of round one, but it wasn’t easy.

After going up 3-0 they lost two straight but finished the Celtics off in Game 6. In the deciding game, the Knicks were up 26 but then the Celtics went on a 20-0 run faster than you can go on a bathroom break. I know it got me worried even though they won since now I know the Knicks are vulnerable to a big scoring run.

If Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Jeff Green, and Avery Bradley can ignite a run like that, how will the younger and more athletic Paul George, Roy Hibbert, David West, and George Hill do?

Coming into the postseason, Knicks fans expectations were to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pacers are one of the better teams in the league and the Knicks will have to earn it. Carmelo Anthony says he is 100 percent but it seems like his shoulder is a little banged up.

J.R. Smith has to start driving and not settling for jump shots. Tyson Chandler looks like he is back to 100 percent; being very active on both sides of the floor meanwhile Raymond Felton is playing his best ball of the season. Iman Shumpert was the Game 6 MVP and hopefully it translates to success in the second round.

Game 1 is huge and can likely determine how the series will go.

Can the Knicks defend their home court or can the Pacers steal Game 1 in Madison Square Garden? Here’s everything you need to know:

When: Sunday May 5th at 3:30 PM EST

Where: Madison Square Garden in New York City

Watch: ABC

Betting Line: New York Knicks (-5.5)

When Knicks have the ball: NYK 87.7 PPG (13th in Playoffs), 89.3 PA (5th in playoffs)

When Pacers have the ball: IND 89.3 PPG (12th in Playoffs). Knicks 82.3 PA (1st in playoffs)

May 3, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; New York Knicks point guard Raymond Felton (2) drives the ball against Boston Celtics center Kevin Garnett (5) in game six of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. The New York Knicks defeated the Celtics 88-80. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports

Key Matchup: Raymond Felton vs. George Hill

Felton had a field day against the Celtics, who lack a true point guard. He averaged 17 points and five assists in the first round and was the only consistent Knicks in the six games against the Celtics. George Hill is an above average point guard who will give Felton a totally different look he was used to in round one.

Felton will also be guarding him, which will be different than what he did against the Celtics, where he guarded Paul Pierce most of the time. Felton makes the offense very smooth and doesn’t stop the ball. Felton will have to continue his great play if the Knicks are going to advance.

The Pacers are one of the only teams that truly play like a team. You would say that George is their biggest name player but he isn’t no ‘Melo. However George has a great chance to make his name a household one if he can shine against the Knicks on the national stage.

The Pacers had four players in double digit scoring in the first round against the Hawks: George (18.7), West (16.3), Hill (15.2), and Hibbert (14.7).

Shumpert will be called upon to guard Paul George. Shumpert shined in Game 6 and showed his defensive presence along with his development as an offensive player. He will have to nag George and make the other Pacers beat the Knicks. Carmelo and Smith have to get back to attacking the rim and not be afraid of the Pacers bigs. Chandler and Hibbert should be a battle as Chandler is a great post defender and Hibbert is one of the better offensive centers in the league.

Game 1 will be a battle and after seeing the Knicks almost collapse in Game 6, I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried. I think the Knicks take a deep breath and will play better since I feel like a lot of pressure if off them. They had the pressure of being the first Knicks team in over a decade to win a playoff series along with the pressure of not choking to the Celtics. I think the Knicks go back to playing the basketball that Mike Woodson has coached them how to play.

Prediction: Knicks 94, Pacers 88

Fresh off of their first playoff series win in 13 years, the Knicks could add another weapon off of their bench as injured forward Amar’e Stoudemire is likely to make his return to the lineup against the Indiana Pacers.

Mar. 7, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks power forward Amar

Stoudemire has been ruled out for the first two games of the series, but with a long layoff between Game 2 and 3, that could benefit STAT as the Knicks are targeting a Game 3 return for him.

The plan is for him to scrimmage on Thursday and if his knee responds well to that, he will scrimmage on Friday as well.

If there are no setbacks, Stoudemire will likely make his return for Game 3 on Saturday.

“If he feels fine after Friday, then I think we will play him Saturday,” Knicks head coach Mike Woodson told ESPN’s Ian Begley.

Stoudemire’s return could benefit the Knicks against the Pacers, who have a distinct size advantage over the Knicks.

Right now it is unknown exactly how Stoudemire will be used, but Woodson also noted that his return wouldn’t effect the minutes given to Kenyon Martin, as K-Mart has become the first big man off the bench and a key contributor to Woodson’s rotation.

In all likelihood, Stoudemire coming back will affect the minutes given to Steve Novak the most.

There are also chemistry concerns as the Knicks played their best basketball of the season once Stoudemire left the lineup, finishing the regular season 17-6 and winning their first round playoff series against the Boston Celtics.

But despite the concerns, you have to think the Knicks would be better with STAT a part of the regular rotation.

He was playing pretty well before he was injured. In 29 games, Stoudemire averaged 14.2 points and made 57 percent of his field goals. If they can get that type of production off the bench from him, the Knicks will be pretty dangerous.

In addition, having the extra big body could allow Woodson to play two bigs at once against the Pacers. That’s something he hasn’t had the luxury of being able to do.

Stoudemire has been sidelined since March 7 with a right knee injury and underwent a procedure to clean out debris in the knee on March 11. The original timetable was four to six weeks, which has long passed.

But even though it took a lot longer to get STAT back into the mix, his potential return will be a welcome sight to Knicks fans.

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There won’t be much time to prepare for Indiana as Game 1 of the series begins on Sunday.

Feb 20, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (24) drives to the basket against New York Knicks guard Raymond Felton (2) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana defeats New York 125-91. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

The two teams are familiar with each other so getting off to a good start will be huge for the Knicks as they have home-court advantage over the No. 2 seeded Pacers.

The Pacers closed out the Atlanta Hawks in six games to set up a meeting of two franchises that know each other all too well, with some postseason history between them.

Both teams last playoff meeting was in 2000 Eastern Conference Finals where Indiana won the series 4-2.

In the regular season, Pacers and Knicks split their four meetings with both teams holding strong at home.

Nov 18, Indiana Pacers at New York Knicks – Knicks won 76-88

Jan 10, New York Knicks at Indiana Pacers – Pacers won 81-76

Feb 20, New York Knicks at Indiana Pacers – Pacers won 125-91

Apr 14, Indiana Pacers at New York Knicks – Knicks won 80-90

Here’s a look at when and where you can see this second round series, although the dates have only been announced for the first three games of the series at this point.

Game 1: May 5, Sun. 3:30 p.m. ET (ABC) – Indiana Pacers vs. New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden

Game 2: May 7, 7:00 p.m. (TNT) – Indiana Pacers vs. New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden

Game 3: May 11, 8:00 p.m. (ABC) – New York Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse

Game 4: (Date, Time, TV- TBA) – New York Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse

Game 5: (TBA) – Indiana Pacers vs. New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden

Game 6: (TBA) – New York Knicks vs. Indiana Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse

Game 7: (TBA) – Indiana Pacers vs. New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden

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After the New York Knicks J.R. Smith was named Sixth Man of the Year and the Memphis Grizzlies Marc Gasol captured the Defensive Player of the Year, it was Paul George’s time to capture some hardware.

April 12, 2013; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Paul George (24) dunks against the Brooklyn Nets at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Brooklyn defeats Indiana 117-109. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA announced on Tuesday that the Indiana Pacers forward has been named the leagues Most Improved Player.

It’s a well-deserved honor for George.

As a rookie in 2010-11 he earned All-Rookie Second Team honors, averaging 7.8 points in 20.7 minutes per game.

George became a full-time starter last season, starting all 66 games for the Pacers and increased his production to 12.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.6 steals in 29.7 minutes. He was very inconsistent at times, but showed small glimpses of becoming a star.

This year George showed the world that he is a legitimate All-Star.

George became the Pacers primary offensive option with Danny Granger out for most of the season and responded by averaging 17.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.8 steals per contest.

He wasn’t as efficient as a year ago as his shooting percentage dropped slightly, but he led the Pacers to the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference and made his first career All-Star team.

The voting totals have not been released yet, but George beat out the likes of Larry Sanders, Greivis Vasquez, Omer Asik and several other players to win his first major individual award.

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Some trades take some time to truly be evaluated, but when it is all said and done, one team usually makes out like bandits.

With that being said, let’s take a look at the five biggest steals on deadline day of all time.

Honorable Mention: 1989 – Indiana Pacers trade Herb Williams to the Dallas Mavericks for Detlef Schrempf

Schrempf became an instant star for the Pacers, winning a pair of Sixth Man awards in 1990 and 91. In addition, he made three All-Star teams as a member of the Pacers while Williams was nothing more than an average rotation guy in Dallas.

5. 1965 – Philadelphia 76ers trade Connie Dierking, Paul Neumann, Lee Shaffer and cash to the San Francisco Warriors for Wilt Chamberlain

This only comes in at No. 5 because technically there was no trade deadline in 1965, but the deal was made right after the All-Star break so it makes the list. Chamberlain is one of the greatest players of all-time, so this needs little explaining, but from 1965-68 Chamberlain averaged 28.0 points and 23.7 rebounds per game for the Sixers.

4. 1988 – Phoenix Suns trade Larry Nance to the Cleveland Cavaliers for Kevin Johnson, Mark West and a first-round pick (Dan Majerle)

Nance was an All-Star a couple of times with the Cavs, but Johnson and Majerle turned  around a dormant franchise and even got the Suns to the Finals in 1993. Looking back at the Suns history, there are few players more popular in team history than Johnson and Majerle.

 
3. 1994 – Chicago Bulls trade Stacey King to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Luc Longley and Dragan Tarlac

Longley wasn’t the most talented player, but he was a fantastic passing big man and almost the perfect fit for Phil Jackson’s triangle offense. By dealing a role player in King, the Bulls got their starting center on their final three championship teams.

2. 1980 – Denver Nuggets trade George McGinnnis to the Indiana Pacers for Alex English

English was one of the best pure scorers in NBA history and made eight All-Star games as a Nugget and led the team to nine playoff appearances during his time there, while McGinnis, who was a former ABA All-Star, retired two years later.

1. 1994 – Utah Jazz trade Jeff Malone and a draft pick to the Philadelphia 76ers for Jeff Hornacek, Sean Green, and a draft pick

A lot of the success of the Utah Jazz was due to the John Stockton-Karl Malone duo, but don’t underestimate how important Hornacek was. He was an outstanding piece and his three-point shooting allowed the Jazz to stretch the floor. Hornacek was the missing piece and nearly helped the Jazz win a pair of titles, but ultimately they had to run into that Michael Jordan fellow.

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The offense was messy, supported largely by bail-out J.R. Smith buckets, which provided a third of the Knicks’ offense. With the Pacers denying most opportunities off the pick-and-roll and the Knicks misfiring from the perimeter, Smith spent a good chunk of the time, dribbling the ball all over creation, weaving his way through the defense to find the best looks possible. At times he hit some ridiculous fade-away jumpers (as he is wont to do), others driving the lane for pretty finishes, but with Indiana and the lanky Paul George draped all over him, Smith rarely found room to breathe and get off quality looks.

For the rest of the Knicks, baskets were few and far between. After a trigger-happy first quarter, Chris Copeland hardly saw the court; Tyson Chandler managed some nice finishes, but also blew some easy looks and was rejected on others; Amar’e Stoudemire more-or-less looked out of sorts on jumpers and moves to the basket; Steve Novak and Jason Kidd connected on only 4-14 attempts, pretty much all on the perimeter.

The defense, however, despite how grotesque the Pacers’ offense is anyway, kept the Knicks in the game. There was an over-abundance of switching and miscommunications (particularly with Stoudemire on the floor), but a general dedication to closing out on shooters and hitting the glass helped the Knicks’ cause. Fatigue was the Knicks’ main opponent tonight, though. After allowing only 58 points through three quarters, the Knicks surrendered 23 in the final 12 minutes. It was in the crucial moments of the game, when the Knicks desperately needed stops, that their legs fell flat, failing to run out on shooters, tardy on rotations to provide help at the basket when the perimeter defense was broken down.

An icky game all around, and the player report cards don’t figure to be all too prettier.

J.R. Smith – 40 minutes, 25 points, 10-29 FG, 3 rebounds, 6 assists

The Knicks had few other options but to give Smith the ball and just watch. And by the fourth quarter, Smith actually didn’t seem too pleased with the game plan. After a hot third quarter, in which Smith tallied 12 points, his legs looked flat in the fourth, bricking jumpers and losing the step he’d been using off the dribble to get into the paint and create havoc. His 34% shooting would normally be a critique, but what else could he do with one the NBA’s best perimeter defenders hounding him and virtually all other options cut off? Head-banded, and potentially handicapped by disrupted vision, Smith, donning a Tupac-esque resemblance did what he could to keep the Knicks alive. I salute the effort, Earl. At least we got this.

Final Grade: B-

Tyson Chandler – 38 minutes, 12 points, 5-10 FG, 15 rebounds, 3 blocks

The only other Knick in double figures, Chandler found pretty much all of his field goals off the seldom successful pick-and-roll tonight. When he wasn’t receiving good looks while rolling to the basket, he was disrupted by the length and crowding of the Pacers around the basket. He missed a few easy put-backs and was rejected pretty handily at the rim by Roy Hibbert on a dunk attempt. Chandler also looked exhausted by the fourth quarter, sitting in the paint watching as Ian Mahimi stepped out to the top of the key to hit open jumpers. Chandler’s presence on the boards, however, continues to be astounding as he is now averaging 13.5 rebounds per game over his last seven.

Final Grade: B

Amar’e Stoudemire – 21 minutes, 9 points, 4-11 FG, 8 rebounds, 1 block

I’ll continue to chalk it up to rust as long as Stoudemire still looks like the cheap imitation of his former self. True to his word, Woodson limited STAT’s minutes to 21:31, and it was a hodgepodge of good and bad for him. On offense, Stoudemire’s post-up attempts are still largely ill-fated, either pinning himself under the basket, along the baseline, missing baby hooks, or getting stuffed at the rim. His jumper looks semi-fluid, but hardly accurate (he hit one of six attempts outside the paint tonight). On defense, Stoudemire is still all out of sorts, either missing his man on, failing to switch or assuming switches that aren’t there, or worst of all: running with his back turned to the ball on a fastbreak. He did rebound the ball nicely, though.

Final Grade: C-

Jason Kidd – 31 minutes, 8 points, 3-10 FG, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 5 TOs

The days are becoming limited where Jason Kidd can start and operate as a team’s primary point guard. Against an aggressive defense like Indiana, Kidd could rarely turn the corner on pick-and-rolls to set up big men or even hit shooters on drive-and-kicks. His defense was serviceable, but his offense was flat. Maybe at this point Jason could donate some of his hand to Raymond Felton to get him back. Right now, no one needs Felton back as badly as Kidd, who at 39-years old, simply cannot keep up this pace.

Final Grade: C

Chris Copeland – 21 minutes, 8 points, 3-9 FG, 6 rebounds, 3 TOs

A number of ugly, awkward post-up and isolation attempts early in the first quarter kind of signaled what was in store for this game. Copeland actually acted as the Knicks’ go-to man to begin the game; a situation I hope we don’t find ourselves in again. After the first quarter, Cope saw his minutes dwindle significantly, and I’m not sure why, but I doubt it affected the game much anyway.

Final Grade: C

Marcus Camby – 19 minutes, 7 points, 3-9 FG, 5 rebounds, 1 block

Arguably the most productive minutes we’d seen from Camby were cut short when he limped to the locker room and was diagnosed with a “sore left foot”. Who knows when we’ll see Marcus again, and it’s a shame because despite low shooting numbers, he was doing nice things on both ends of the floor.

Final Grade: C+

Kurt Thomas – 16 minutes, 4 points, 2-5 FG, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks

In 2013, Kurt Thomas caught a pass at the top of the key, pump-faked, took two dribbles, and pulled up for a midrange jumper, and sank it. He also forced David West, a not-so-far-off All-Star power forward, into some ugly stretches where he turned the ball over, got called for offensive fouls, and missed easy baskets.

Final Grade: C+

Steve Novak – 24 minutes, 3 points, 1-4 FG, 5 rebounds

Wherefore art thou, Novakaine? Granted, the Pacers lock up the three-point line pretty well, but Novak’s once-automatic three-point splashes have almost become a rarity where I find myself once again surprised when he does can one from beyond the arc. Tonight he was more useful on the boards, but it’s becoming a more and more relevant question lately: If he isn’t hitting shots (and Woodson seems to refuse to run plays for him) why is Steve Novak on the floor?

Final Grade: C-

Nov 14, 2012; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Indiana Pacers guard George Hill (3) drives for the basket during the third quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

The Knicks, previously the lone undefeated team in the NBA, stand at 6-1, returning home and looking to return to their winning ways when they take on the Indiana Pacers today at 12.

For the Knicks, however, a split of two games on the road against two of the best teams in the Western Conference is not a result to be ashamed of. Given their early success, of course the team and fans wanted to take both games, but realistically, going 1-1 was a very good result to a tough test.

In those two games, a noticeable trend was a slight let-up on defense. In their first five games, the Knicks had not given up more than 94 points to any of their opponents. On the previous mini road trip, they gave up 100 points to the San Antonio Spurs and 105 to the Grizzlies. Surprisingly, by the numbers, their task gets easier today.

The Pacers have crawled out to a 4-6 start. Their offense has been mediocre, averaging just 92 points per 100 possessions – 29th in the league in offensive efficiency. Their offensive struggles stem from their poor shooting. On the season the Pacers are shooting at just a 39% clip from the field and 29% from beyond the arc. Danny Granger’s absence with a knee problem, along with their lack of a true point guard – Darren Collinson was shipped to Dallas, so George Hill now starts for him – have put a heavier scoring load on players that don’t seem capable of handling it.

Their defense has remained tight, though, allowing 97 points per 100 possessions, good for 7th best in the league. The Pacers are coming off of a win over the Dallas Mavericks in which they allowed just 83 points. Will their D be good enough to stop the Knicks’ offense, which is first in the NBA in offensive efficiency?

There will be intriguing matchups all across the floor worth watching. Raymond Felton and Hill should be a good test of two speedy, feisty guards. Jason Kidd will take the assignment of Paul George, but later J.R. Smith will see lots of action against him. Carmelo Anthony will likely remain at the power forward, which will match him up with the much bigger, but slower David West. And at center, Tyson Chandler will take on Roy Hibbert, who has also gotten off to a sluggish start.

Overall, coming back home to play a struggling team without their best player should be a good time for the Knicks to begin their next win streak.

In 2011-12, the Knicks won their season series against the Pacers 2-1. The Knicks swept a home-and-home weekend with a win at MSG, and a win in Bankers Life Fieldhouse the following night. Recall that the Knicks also led the Pacers by 15 in their third meeting of the season before Indiana used a strong fourth quarter to steal the win.

April 03, 2012; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New York Knicks small forward Carmelo Anthony (7) dribbles to the basket against Indiana Pacers power forward David West (21) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana defeated New York 112-104. Mandatory credit: Michael Hickey-US PRESSWIRE

However, this season, while the Pacers haven’t made too many radical changes, the Knicks will have a different look. So, let’s see how the two teams compare.

Back-Court

The Pacers have remained a pretty quiet and steady team this offseason, but perhaps their biggest change was sending Darren Collison to the Dallas Mavericks and signing D.J. Augustin to a one-year contract. They also re-signed George Hill to a long-term deal, but otherwise the Pacers will return to the court with little depth in their back-court. The ruling on the Collison-Augustin swap is out until Augustin actually plays with the team. At one point, Augustin looked like a promising up-and-coming point guard (as did Collison), averaging 15 points and 6 assists per-36 minutes in 2010-11. However, he struggled last year, shooting a miserable 37.6% from the field and averaging nearly 3 turnovers per game. However, after being stuck in the doldrums of Charlotte his whole career, a move to a solid playoff team like Indiana may be exactly what he needs.

The Pacers also have Paul George, a back-court wing player busting with potential. In his sophomore year this previous season, George averaged nearly 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists per-36 minutes. George is part of Indiana’s young, talented core. However, much of that core is in the front-court. While the three above-mentioned players are all skilled, rotation-worthy players, the Pacers’ back-court is thin. Unless guys like Sundiata Gaines, Lance Stephenson, or Orlando Jones breaks out, the Pacers don’t have much proven talent, which will force them to rely heavily on Augustin, Hill, and George.

The Knicks, on other hand, have will have a multitude of options once they’re healthy. However, the reliability of those options is in question. The Knicks are three-deep at point guard with Raymond Felton, Jason Kidd, and Pablo Prigioni, and three-deep at shooting guard with J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, and Ronnie Brewer. Going into the season, though, Shumpert and Brewer are both recovering from knee surgery, while it is reasonable to doubt Kidd’s ability to last a full season, and Prigioni’s ability, as a 35-year old rookie, to adjust to the NBA game.

If healthy, though, the Knicks have a fairly deep back-court with a nice mix of defense, shooting, and athleticism. By virtue of having a deeper rotation, with more proven players, the Knicks have the better back-court.

Advantage: Knicks

Front-court

Whereas the Indiana Pacers are a little shallow in the back-court, their front-court is much deeper, equipped with many different options. To start, they have Danny Granger, David West, and Roy Hibbert upfront, and then they can bring Gerald Green,  Tyler Hansbrough, Ian Mahimni, Sam Young, or rookie Miles Plumlee off the bench to fill in. It’s not just that the Pacers have a number of weapons to go to, it’s that their front-court soldiers all fit together while filling a purpose. This is especially true with their starting lineup – Danny Granger spaces the floor and can create for himself, David West can step out and hit a jumper while also finishing around the basket via post-up or pick-and-roll, and Roy Hibbert has made improvements in his post-up game as well. Collectively, the Pacers’ starting front-court has some of the best positional players in the league in the small forward, power forward, and center slots.

The Knicks’ starting front-court is not entirely different from the Pacers in terms of the individual positional accolades of each player; Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Tyson Chandler are all arguably even better individual positional players than Granger, West, and Hibbert. However, questions still remain about how the Knicks’ Big Three can fit together. To date, the results haven’t been impressive. Likewise, the Knicks lack the front-court depth of the Pacers. While Marcus Camby and Steve Novak are both great role players off the bench, they, along with the 39-year old Kurt Thomas, are the only proven front-court players on the Knicks bench.

If the Knicks can stay healthy – something Anthony, Stoudemire, and Chandler had problems doing last year, now with two old veterans in Camby and Thomas – the Knicks front-court could be stacked. But for now, reliability and chemistry issues still remain.

Advantage: Pacers

Coaching

Frank Vogel took over midseason in 2010-11 for the Pacers, still with an interim tag on his name. He coached the team so well that the organization made him the official head coach. So far, though, Vogel has been somewhat tough to judge due to the fact he hasn’t ever had a full season or training camp to really take control of the reins. What exactly is Indiana Pacer basketball? It’s a hard question to answer and it’s tough to pinpoint what style the Pacers really play. There is no doubting, however, that Vogel has taken a team lacking a true, defined superstar and made them real competitors in the East. They did, after all, have the Miami Heat, the eventual champions, down 2-1 in the playoffs.

Mike Woodson is in a similar position to Vogel. He took over midseason after Mike D’Antoni resigned, and did so well with the Knicks that the team removed his interim tag. The direction the Knicks are heading this year seems a little more obvious based on their offseason moves: a slower, grind-it-out, half-court style of basketball. Whether that system actually suits all of the players remains to be seen. However, Woodson will have the advantage of a full training camp and stable roster to try and prove himself.

For now, by virtue of experience and familiarity with the team…

Advantage: Pacers

The Knicks and the Pacers are two teams that will likely be linked all season long, as they figure to both be fighting for the third and fourth seeds in the East behind Miami and Boston. Other teams will be in the running as well, but the Pacers and the Knicks have advantages in not being completely brand new teams (Brooklyn and Philadelphia) and not missing their star players to injuries (Chicago).

The Knicks have the star players and the flashy names; the Pacers have the well-fitting, team-oriented system players. I think both teams will fight and could be interchangeable at the third and fourth seeds in the Eastern Conference. As for who will be better? I will go with the higher potential for greatness:

Overall Advantage: Knicks

April 20, 2012; Cleveland, OH, USA: Cleveland Cavaliers point guard Kyrie Irving (2) brings the ball up court during the game against the New York Knicks at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Eric P. Mull-USPRESSWIRE

Even though we can attribute not going far in the playoffs to all these reasons, I still think we shoulve made a bigger improvement than winning one more playoff game in a series than the previous year because if we go at that rate, it won’t be another three years until we even make it out of the first round.

I truly think that this years downfall was not due to these reasons -I think Iman Shumpert could have definitely helped the Knicks lock up one of the two superstars (LeBron James and Dwyane Wade) and I think Baron Davis could have helped  a lot in Game 5 since we lacked a point guard and I think Jeremy Lin could have controlled the point a lot better, but do you actually think that we could have beaten the Miami Heat in a 7 game series?  Enough making excuses!!!

I think the major reason the Knicks lost was plain and simple. They had the wrong playoff matchup.

New York had way too many costly losses during the season to teams 20 games under 500 – eight losses to be specific fit under this category.

The Knicks started the season off 2-4, with three of those losses coming to Charlotte (worst winning percentage in NBA history), Toronto (a team that has losy any hope of being a playoff team since becoming Bosh-less) and Golden State (a team that has had no defense, since let me think about this – ever).  So already the Knicks are off to bad start.

Then, down the road in the season there are losses to Cleveland (21-45), New Orleans (21-45), New Jersey(22-44) and Toronto again (by a whopping 17 points).

This brings me to the end of the season which the Knicks finished strong under Mike Woodson (13-5)  but suffered two of their costliest losses of the season.

The first was against Indiana, one of the most disappointing losses I have seen, where they were up 15 points going into the fourth quarter and the Knicks got too cocky.  J.R. Smith was chucking up shots. Baron Davis was doing absolutely nothing, and the defense was transparent.

Then comes the most annoying loss of all year.  It comes down to last five games when I’m calculating how we can get that No.6 spot from the Orlando Magic and play Indiana instead of having to face the Chicago Bulls or the Heat in the first round.

All the Knicks needed to do was win their last five games, which was very manageable since we played the Nets, Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, the Chris Paul-less Los Angeles Clippers and the Bobcats.

At the same time, the Magic needed to lose four out of their five last games, which was also very likely to happen since they were without Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu and they were playing very tough teams down the stretch.

Everything worked out well as the Magic lost four out of the five.

But the whole plan was foiled by the Knicks losing one game – not to the to the Clippers or Hawks but to the Cavlaiers.

They decided to rest Tyson Chandler and Carmelo Anthony for the fourth quarter and lost by eight.

I do not what was going through the mind of Woodson – did he know that this game actually mattered and could have been the deicing factor for which team the Knicks would play in the playoffs?

Instead of playing the Pacers in the first round, which they could have done if had they won, and instead of playing the Bulls, the Knicks drew the Heat, the one team you do not want to play in the first round.

When it comes to wins and losses, if the Knicks just win one out of these eight games to teams 20 games under .500, the Knicks would have had the No. 6 seed and played Indiana.  If we did lose all these games and not let Indiana come back from down 15 in the fourth quarter, making it one of the most embarrassing losses of the season, the Knicks also would have drawn the Pacers.

But I guess that basketball and it just goes to show that every game during the season matters.

Mar. 14, 2012; New York, NY, USA; New York Knicks celebrate on the bench during the first half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

However, now it’s a matter of exactly what seed the Knicks will clinch.

Currently, the Knicks are sitting pretty comfortably in the seventh spot, one full game ahead of eight place Philadelphia, and three games behind sixth place Orlando. Ideally, the Knicks would like to catch the Magic for that sixth seed, and it’s not entirely impossible.

Yesterday, it was announced that Dwight Howard will miss the remainder of the season by undergoing back surgery. The Magic are also missing Hedo Turkoglu, so their cupboard is a little bare these days. Furthermore, the Magic have a fairly tough schedule ahead of them. Here’s a comparison of the Knicks’ and Magic’s remaining games.

For New York: Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Los Angeles Clippers, Charlotee Bobcats.

For Orlando: Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets, Charlotte Bobcats, Memphis Grizzlies.

However, the Knicks may need some help from old Lady Luck in order to snag that sixth seed. Orlando will either have to lose three of four or all four games, while the Knicks win all four of their games. With the Hawks and Clippers on the horizon, that may not be an easy feat. If that series of events does take place, though, it would send the Knicks and Magic into a tie, but since New York owns the tie-breaker (they won the season series 2-1), the Knicks would take the sixth seed.

All of this is, of course, to try and avoid the Miami Heat or Chicago Bulls in the first round – teams largely considered the top dogs in the Eastern Conference. With all due respect to the Indiana Pacers (who have had a scorching April), the Knicks feel that they would have a better chance to advance in the playoffs if they could face Indiana in the first round. Besides the obvious bonuses of advancing a round in the playoffs, it also would supposedly bring a healthy Jeremy Lin back to the team, which would fruther help the Knicks’ chances of making a deep playoff run.

But all of the above may be wishful thinking. If the Knicks’ dream scenario of the Magic tanking and the Knicks prevailing doesn’t come true, then in almost all likelihood, the Knicks may begin the playoffs facing either the Bulls or Heat. Some people prefer to see the Bulls with a rusty Derrick Rose, especially considering three of the four matchups with the Bulls were tight games (the Knicks winning one of them). Others would prefer to play the Heat, hoping for a redux of lockout luck.

Either way, whether the Knicks win out for the rest of the season, or find themselves playing the conquerers of the East in the opening round of the playoffs, the road won’t be easy.

Knicks vs Pacers at the Garden.

Many are probably saying it is not 1994 so why in the world would I be looking forward to a Knicks/Pacers game. The reason why is the Pacers are a team on the rise. (more…)

Oddly, since teams often start sluggishly in afternoon games (with the Knicks particularly egregious in this regard at home), they both came out firing.  Even odder, one would think that would favor the Knicks (the Pacers are ranked 24th in offensive efficiency), yet the first stanza ended with us down 30-32.  It wasn’t because they shot lights-out, but rather because in a Zydrunas-Ilgauskas-esque nightmarish way they outrebounded us by five boards in that quarter alone.

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Don't jump to conclusions about the Heat, a team that's only had two weeks to play together, because they lost twice to the Celtics, the best defensive team in the league and a crew who've played together for three years. Come April, the Heat will be much more polished. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

The media and fans (particularly in New York) are always quick, way too quick, to jump to conclusions and predict downfalls based on small sample sizes.  For the media, it’s ‘cuz they’re looking for stories.  When Amar’e Stoudemire was asked earlier in the week if he thought that the reason Andrew Bogut elbowed him extra hard was due to him being slightly involved in Bogut’s injury the previous year.  Stat’s reasonable response of “It’s possible” turned into a story of him claiming Bogut was purposefully out for payback.  Likewise, with the Knicks at 2-5 and the Heat at 5-4, suddenly people are roaring that neither team is anywhere near as good as people had expected.  Don’t buy it.  Yet.  It’s too early to know these things.  And just like how we don’t have enough information to know what’s real and what’s memorex yet, you also need to take the Golden State Warrior’s marvelous .667 winning record and the Indiana Pacers being at .500 with a skeptical eye.  Heck, I wouldn’t fault you for having two skeptical eyes either.  Let’s look at each team to better understand what’s going on:

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Kobe bites his shirt! Does that mean he's worried the Lakers won't be on top this year? Nah, probably he just forgot to eat dinner. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

With the season beginning tonight, it’s time to rank how strong all the teams are at this point.  This isn’t who will be strongest at the end of the season or who will have the best regular season.  This measures how strong each team is right NOW.  If a team engaged in a seven game series today with any of the teams listed below them, I’m saying they’d win.  So yeah, injuries count big time.  And chemistry.  And like, how good they are.  It’s basically a highly complex formula that you mere mortals wouldn’t understand.  Either that or it’s all based on pure opinion.

1. Los Angeles Lakers — Even with the recovering Kobe shooting 28% this pre-season they’d still beat everyone.  Hell, he only shot 24% in Game 7 of Finals.

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Read the phenomenal story of Lance Allred (left, playing for the Idaho Stampede in the D-League). (Source: Yardbarker.com)

The little known story of basketball player Lance Allred is far more amazing and improbable and than even the saga of the sporting world’s most famous Lance A.(which is pretty impressive since that dude won a kajillion Tours De France, including once after surviving testicular cancer).  His journey is so unusual that I feared if I fully described who he is in my post’s title, everyone would think I was making up a story or attempting some dumb joke.  Believe it or not, Allred is a seven-foot deaf Mormon who suffers from obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), grew up in a polygamist community, is a published author, two-time D-League basketball All-Star, and the grandson of a fundamentalist sect’s prophet.  And there’s more.

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When discussing coaches on the hot seat, consider Don Nelson's butt on fire. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

In the first part, we looked at the coaches in good positions, but today we look at the ones in bad and ugly situations.  We went over those who were Bulletproof, 95% Bulletproof (aka Impervious), Pretty Safe and Fairly Safe.  Note that this is NOT about which coaches are good or bad, simply what the chances are that they get fired during the season.

Maybe Safe… Um, Maybe Not:

Jim O’Brien – Pacers: They’ve been mediocre for several years now and Bird hasn’t fired O’Brien yet.  Although the addition of new exciting young point guard Darren Collison gives hope for the future, there’s no reason to expect this team to be any better this season without a halfway decent power forward, so unless the team’s significantly worse than last year, O’Brien should make it through the season.

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With the Cavs having lost the unstoppable Delonte West (plus I think some other guy?), how bad will they be? You might be surprised by our take. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

We already examined how much teams improved/regressed during the off-season, but now we’ll talk about how they stack up against each other.  Meaning, we gave Orlando a zero for their summer and the Wizards a +2, but now we’re here to tell you that yes, of course Orlando is still gonna be far better.  For those who haven’t seen those posts on off-season grades, click the following links to see what we had to say about the Northwest, Atlantic, Central, Southeast, Pacific and Southwest Divisions.  Also, we’re only gonna be talking about the regular season here.  So even though we don’t think the Celts will be a top two team record-wise, it doesn’t mean we think they’re incapable of making it through the gauntlet again.  Lastly, some teams will be put in clusters ‘cuz they’ll likely end up with similar records and what does a victory or two here and there matter?

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1. Rather than a standard A through F grade or going for a scale of 1-10, we shall use a system that my friend Noriko loves: -5 through +5.  It helps differentiate things a bit more, ‘cuz like if a team gets a C-, it’s better than an F, but is it good?  With this scale, you can instead give the team a +1, which shows that they improved the team, but only marginally.  Or maybe they get a zero ‘cuz they didn’t hurt the team or help it.

2. These grades are not, I repeat, NOT, about how good teams will be.  It’s purely about how good their summer moves were.  For instance, the Sacramento Kings may get a higher grade than say the Orlando Magic, but that doesn’t mean I’m insane and think the Kings will be better than the Magic.  It simply means I like the Kings’ draft of DeMarcus Cousins more than the Magic’s signings of Quentin Richardson and Chris Duhon (although I haven’t fully examined those teams yet, so I dunno what grades they’ll get).

3. The grades are not just based on how good the players are, but also their contracts.  Joe Johnson is definitely a top 30 player, but with Atlanta giving him $120 million/6 yrs, the largest contract of anyone this summer, his signing turns into a negative.

4. Grades will be scaled based on what each team could have done.  Meaning the Lakers, a team over the salary cap, get major kudos for snagging Steve Blake, Matt Barnes, Theo Ratliff and bringing back Shannon Brown with their limited financial flexibility, but if say the Knicks, with all their cap space, had only made those moves, I’d pan ‘em.

5. Fit matters.  I like Kirk Hinrich a ton, and had he gone to the Pacers (a team that desperately need a point guard before yesterday’s Collison trade), I would’ve raved about the move.  However, Washington acquiring him is a bit odd considering they already have PGs in John Wall and Gilbert Arenas.

And now…

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After playing alongside James Posey and Peja Stojakovic, Chris Paul will be happy to have a forward in Trevor Ariza who can actually still dunk. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

In a four-team, five-player trade, the New Orleans Hornets will be acquiring Trevor Ariza from the Houston Rockets in an attempt to prove to their star Chris Paul that they’re committed to winning.  In return, they’re giving away last year’s promising rookie point guard, Darren Collison, who will land with the Desperately-Seeking-Point-Guard Indiana Pacers.  The Pacers also will have to take on the contract of James Posey.  Indiana in turn will send Troy Murphy and his expiring $12 million contract to the New Jersey Nets.  Finally, the Nets pass along second year shooting guard Courtney Lee to the Rockets.  How did each team fare?  Well…

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Evaluating players before the draft is not easy, but at least you know who you are talking about. Predicting who is going to get picked when is harder. Everyone has their own ranking system, but the big question is whether a team is going to pick the best player available or pick the player who best addresses the team’s needs.

The other question is, what on earth was that GM thinking? The most recent “what was he thinking” award goes to the Minnesota Timberwolves, for using the 5th and 6th draft picks on point guards (Jonny Flynn and Ricky Rubio), followed by having one of them (Rubio) make noises that he would never play for the Wolves, and creating a situation where the other, Flynn, felt unsure of the team’s commitment to him, and for good reason.

So for me to say who will make which pick is guesswork, because every year there are inexplicable decisions made, and there are players drafted in the top 20 whose name you hear when he is selected, but then never again. Comparing mock drafts, I have seen players’ names move twenty spots or more.

Mostly, I’m seeing mocks that describe players, not why they will be picked or what the team is thinking. I already wrote about the players likely to be drafted in the first round, so instead, lets’ discuss what the team should do, not what they will do, because many teams have a weird tendency to pick the same type of player over and over regardless of the results. (Lakers trying to find a point guard, Bulls drafting post players, Houston drafting 3’s, Warriors drafting skilled bigs, etc.) Redundancy makes sense for some teams, but for others it’s stupid. I’ll take those case by case.
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Note Bender's proper defensive form while attempting a block: 1. Swing up and from behind, not down and from above. 2. Aim for the wrist instead of the ball. Lastly, most importantly: 3. Try not to look directly at the play as the ugliness of it could hurt your eyes. (source: Yardbarker.com)

Jonathan Bender, a phenom drafted by Indiana straight outta high school, initially retired at a young age due to injuries.  This year, still only 29, the seven-footer decided to make a comeback on the Knicks for GM Donnie Walsh who had drafted him for the Pacers.  With our team mired in mediocrity, it seemed an intriguing possibility.

Bender came out in his first couple of games with energy, looking like a potential find.  It soon became clear though that he could not bring it consistently, nor was he willing to do Big Man work.  Tellingly, despite being the height of a center, ESPN lists him as a Small Forward.  His career rebounding high is 3.1.  Sure, that season he only played slightly over 21 minutes, but still double that to an outrageous 42 minutes and we’re still talking only 6.2 boards.  Meaning if he did get decent 30+ minutes, even in his prime he would’ve given you like 5+ boards.  For comparison sake, the 5’8″ Nate Robinson has averaged nearly 3 boards in 24 minutes during his career.  Hmmm…

Okay, okay, but this is the Knicks, where we don’t care about defense and rebounding, we care about offense, right?   (more…)

It doesn't matter if you hate Chicago's Derrick Rose. As a Knicks' fan you should root for him to expose Cleveland's Mo Williams so that a certain King will get frustrated and wanna leave the Cavs. (Source: Yardbarker.com)

It’s Fan Appreciation 101 to root for your team to win, but as anyone who’s taken higher classes in Team Supportation knows, that’s just the tip o’ the iceberg.  Sometimes you gotta see the larger picture, which may require you to hope your team actually loses for say a better draft position.  The Indiana Pacers finished the season playing some of their best ball, but that annoyed many true-blooded Indy fans since it destroyed their lottery chances.  Other times, you may root for your team to lose so that the owner finally wises up and sees it has to fire that crappy coach or GM (or both — hello Isiah Thomas and Mike Dunleavy Sr.).

Frequently, as a member of the faithful, you may even have to root for outcomes in games featuring other teams.  Say you’re battling for the 8th seed in the playoffs, then you gotta watch the games involving the other teams in the battle so you can root against them.  Or maybe you’re assured of being in the playoffs, but you know you match up against one team better than another.  Now you gotta cheer for the right teams to win and the wrong ones to lose all so that everything falls perfectly for your one true team.

However, with the Knicks’ eliminated from the playoffs long-ago, what’s a Knick fan to root for?  Things that will help us out in free agency.  I spent the last month of the regular season caring less about the Knicks’ wins/loss total than about the outcome of the Raptors/Bulls’ battle for the final playoff spot.  I figured that if the Raptors don’t make the playoffs, then surely Chris Bosh’s chances of remaining in Toronto drop rapidly.  Does this mean he’s a sure-fire Knick, or even that he’s my top choice?  No, but I like to improve my odds as much as possible.  Had the Pacers finished with the fifth worst record instead of the tenth, they still might not have won the lottery, but it wouldn’t have hurt.

Thus, for a true Knick fan, here are the things for which we should be rooting in order to increase our chances during the free agency period:

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Pacers' coach, Jim O'Brien, watches, appalled that the Knicks made him seem competent by forcing his team to look like an offensive juggernaut (source: Yardbarker.com)

We all love an epic battle between an unstoppable force and an immovable object.  The Knicks’ game last night against the Pacers was the opposite.  Indiana, the third worst shooting team in the league, is far from an unstoppable force on offense.  And us, New York, tied for second in allowing their opponents to shoot the highest percentage, is no one’s idea of an immovable object on D.  They like to shoot only .442, but we like to give up .482.  In backwards world it meant: could we force them to score more than they normally do, or would they make our defense look better than it is?  Turns out we decided to go 50/50.

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(source: ESPN's "30 On 30")

Last night, ESPN premiered it’s most recent installation in their “30 on 30″ documentary series (inspired & led by Bill Simmons, it’s a look at 30 lesser-known stories from these past 30 years that ESPN has been in existence).  Even for a Knick fan, the Reggie Miller-centric documentary was funny, nostalgic, informative, and moving.  There’s something intriguing and different about a doc that looks back at something you lived through as opposed to introducing you to a new world you knew nothing about (although obviously for many people the doc will fall into the latter category).

First, at the time, New Yorkers (and probably most NBA fans in general) thought of Reggie Miller as the ultimate villain.  Michael Jordan was the guy who you wanted to defeat, but Reggie was the guy who you wanted to see get in an “unfortunate” car accident.  It wasn’t about what he did to the Knicks, it was about who he was and how he played.  He talked smack non-stop, played dirty, and would fake & flop to try to get non-existent calls.  And by dirty, I don’t mean physical, ‘cuz you were allowed to play darn physical at the time.  By dirty, I mean doing things when the refs weren’t looking.  Swingin’ them pointy elbows for sneak attacks whenever possible (by the way, there is no truth to the rumor that he rubbed his elbows with sandpaper to get them particularly sharp).  Read what his own sister, Cheryl, says about him in the doc:

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