Keys to the Knicks defeating Indiana in the sixth game

The New York Knicks lead their semifinals series 3-2 and are one win away from their first Eastern Conference finals appearance since 2000. On Friday, the Indiana Pacers will try to extend the series in Game Six at home, where they are 5-0 this postseason. That tally includes three wins over the Milwaukee Bucks and two over the Knicks. The odds won’t be in the visitors’ favor tomorrow night, but the Knicks thrive in the underdog role. [Insert obligatory sentence about excessive injuries, grit, next man up, etc.] Whoever wins this series will face the Boston Celtics in the next round. The longer this series persists, the longer the Celts will rest. It behooves our heroes to wrap up these semis post haste. Here are some keys to making that happen.

In a stroke of luck beneficial to the banged-up Knicks, Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever got them an extra day of rest. New York’s Game Six would have been played on Thursday in Indianapolis, but the WNBA’s Fever share the Gainbridge Fieldhouse with the Pacers, and the much ballyhooed rookie Clark will make her homecourt debut there on May 16.

Hence, the Knicks will square off with the Hoosiers on Friday, which gives them their longest break between games in the semis. That means an extra day of preparation and rest—the latter being especially important for the health of Jalen Brunson’s foot and Isaiah Hartenstein’s Achilles.

In Game Two, a sore right foot kept Brunson out of the second quarter, but he played through pain in the second half to deliver a 130-121 victory at Madison Square Garden. Given how flat his jumper was in Games Three and Four, it appeared that the foot was a lingering issue. By Tuesday, he was well enough to score 44 points in 43 minutes, his fifth 40-point game in the playoffs. He scored at will from all over the floor, but especially in the paint.

Nevertheless, an extra day of recovery can’t hurt the presumably tender hoof. As for Hartenstein, he has not complained about his Achilles tendinopathy, but it was an ongoing issue heading into the postseason. After Isaiah’s monster Game Five, in which we almost felt embarrassed for Big Hick Myles Turner, let’s assume that an extra day will help him to repeat his authoritative performance (more on that below).