INDIANA @ NEW YORK (NYK -5.5, 217)
NBA ODDS, NBA PREDICTIONS, NBA PREVIEWS
JA CAVALIER REVIEWS
PACERS VS. KNICKS 5/6/24
As the NBA's top scorer in the postseason, Jalen Brunson may still hold a grudge against Indiana coach Rick Carlisle because of their time spent together with the Dallas Mavericks. As he leads the New York Knicks into Monday night's first game of their Eastern Conference second-round playoff series against the visiting Pacers, it's hard to believe Brunson needs any additional inspiration.
The second-seeded Knicks defeated the seventh-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in their first-round series, while No. 6 Indiana defeated the No. 3 Milwaukee Bucks. Each series went six games.
Brunson scored 39, 47, 40, and 41 points during the last four games of the series to lead the Knicks in scoring with an average of 35.5 points per game. During his second season in New York, Brunson has become a true star. That was not the case when he was a player for the Mavericks, who played the Los Angeles Clippers in the opening round of the 2021 playoffs.
After Dallas blew a 3-2 series lead, Brunson watched from the bench as things fell apart in Game 7. In a 126-111 loss, the fiercely competitive guard played just 10 minutes and scored just two points. Carlisle's final game in Dallas was that Game 7 loss. He is currently in his third season with the Pacers. Brunson played one more season in Dallas and then became a free agent.
Despite the Pacers' 2-1 regular-season record against New York, Brunson had an impact with his 35.7 point average per game. In the last two head-to-head meetings, Brunson had 40 and 39.
Indiana leads the Pacers 4-3 going into their eighth postseason meeting against the Knicks. Six of those eight came during the eight seasons (1993–2000) that Reggie Miller was with the Pacers. Those were some of the NBA’s more memorable recent playoff moments.
In this series, Indiana will rely on its highly effective offense (123.3 points per game during the regular season), while the Knicks will rely on defense. New York ranks second in scoring defense (108.1) in the NBA. Tyrese Haliburton, Pascal Siakam, and Myles Turner are the keys for the Pacers. It was Indiana’s backups, Obi Toppin (21) and TJ McConnell (20) that came through in the deciding 120-98 Game 6 win over Milwaukee last Thursday.
This is Indiana’s first playoff appearance since the COVID season. It’s the first time the Pacers have advanced past the first round since the 2013-14 season. New York has won 9 of its last 11 games. The Under has cashed in 13 of the last 18 times that the Knicks have hosted the Pacers.
Get free NBA Picks and NBA Predictions for the top games on the weekly 2023-24 NBA schedule from JA Cavalier, one of the industry's premier expert NBA handicappers. J.A. Cavalier has been bringing the NBA betting community the best NBA free picks and predictions for nearly three decades. Visit daily for the best NBA moneyline and point spread odds and game totals.
NBA PLAYOFFS JUST $100
YOU GET IT ALL STRAIGHT THROUGH THE FINALS. EVERY NBA POST SEASON SELECTION 1-100* from J.A. Cavalier straight through the NBA Finals (including every MAX BET, PRIVATE PLAY AND ALL 20-DIME “NO DOUBT ROUTES” All for just $100. You get every game, every total, every parlay J.A. Cavalier has to offer for every NBA playoff game. Click the link and purchase now don’t miss a single NBA PLAYOFF winner from J.A. Cavalier, straight through the NBA Finals! ELITE BASKETBALL SEASON $100
---
FREE PICK: JALEN BRUNSON OVER 47.5 PRA
Brunson has cleared this prop in four straight games and 9 of his last 15. He is also extra motivated to beat his former coach Rick Carlisle, now the Pacers head coach. The pace should be a bit higher than that of the series with the Sixers and Brunson will have plenty of opportunities to score as well as create. That’s exactly what he did in his last two games against the Pacers in the regular season. He had 40 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 assist on Feb. 1 and followed that up with 39, 3, and 4 on Feb. 10.
---
