Turner presents problems for the Knicks. Size that can shoot. If he avoids found trouble he should go over

McBride played only 9 min last time out. He played no less than 21 minutes in every other playoff game. If he hits 20 min we should cash comfortably in a high paced environment

Siakam will draw OG Anunoby, who I grade as a plus defender. Plus, Siakam’s median v Milwaukee was 27. With slower pace 28.5 is too high

Indiana won two out of three games in the regular season. Donte Divincenzo averaged 24 points per game in those three games, shooting 36.1% from beyond the arc. Besides, Jalen Brunson, the Knicks have struggled offensively, at times. If Indiana doubles Brunson, others will be required to step up. Divincenzo had two solid shooting games in the six games against the Sixers and should see some positive regression in his scoring this series.

This spread in game one is a bit high in my opinion. We have the Knicks coming off a physical series against Philadelphia, to now facing a team that plays with tempo in Indiana. Indiana has the better overall depth that could test the Knicks, and they won two of the three regular season matchups. The lone loss was by just four points. Take the Pacers on a generous second round spread.

Expect Myles Turner to be a key for the Pacers in game one right off the bat. In the final two games of their prior series against the Bucks he scored just thirteen and five points. Indiana needs Turner’s offense and was a catalyst in the regular season in two wins over the Knicks. One performance he scored 28 and the other he had his only flawless game from the field, going 9 for 9. Take his over

Obi Toppin had a very good opening round series and was certainly a bright spot for the Indiana. Toppin came off the bench and scored 12 PPG in the series on 50% shooting. He is likely to have a much more difficult experience facing his former team the New York Knicks who pair an elite defense with the slowest pace of play in the NBA. Toppin averaged 1.2 made threes in the regular season, so this line would certainly qualify as lofty. The Knicks will try and make this ugly and they thrive in low scoring environments with minimal possessions.

Have things really changed that much from the regular season for the Knicks and Pacers? After all, their three previous matchups this term all featured "totals" of 237.5 or higher...and tonight the oddsmakers have set that bar more than 20 points lower. Playoff hoops are different, we know, but the Pacers were the highest-scoring team in NBA annals at 123 pg this season, and hit for 120 or more in four of the games in the recently-completed 4-2 series win over the Bucks. Meanwhile, the Knicks start this series having gone 15-3 "over" their last eighteen games. Play Pacers-Knicks "Over"

Tyrese Haliburton averaged 19.7 points against the Knicks in the regular season. After three full days off, I like him to score at least 18 in Game 1. With all-world Knicks defender OG Anunoby expected to guard Pascal Siakam, Haliburton will need to be as much of a scorer as he is a distributor.

Indiana scored plenty on the Knicks this season and they did a lot of damage from behind the arc. They shot nearly 48% from the floor in winning two of the three meetings. They showed again in the first round they will hoist up shots from all over and sprint up and down the court to create scoring opportunities and different guys are hot at different times. Haliburton was a handful vs NYK, leading IND at +11.7 and he averaged a whopping 13.3 asst/G in as well. He's been more facilitator than scorer in second half of the season and had 36 helpers in the final 3 games of the MIL series and averaged 11/G in the regular season.

I'm probably going to hold off on the O/U for the game here - but will be very likely going over on the games at IND - but this feels too light to me for the Pacers. They were scoring 120+ with ease vs the Bucks, IND shot 49% from three vs the Knicks in 3 regular season games and scored 140, 125 and 105 against them. NYK were only 17th defending the 3-ball in the regular season and Pacers get off a ton of outside shots. I know the Knicks want to slow the pace (30th in NBA), while IND was 2nd in pace and if they grab an early lead could force the Knicks to play their game.