Five things to look for in the Eastern Conference Finals: Knicks vs. Pacers

 

                                            (Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski/Imagn Images) 

The Eastern Conference Finals begins this week between the 3rd seeded New York Knicks and 4th seeded Indiana Pacers. Game one will be on Wednesday at 5:00 PM PT on TNT/TruTV. Below are five things to look for in the series. 

#1. Can the Pacers slow down Jalen Brunson? Jalen Brunson is coming into the series averaging a ridiculous 28.8 points and 7.7 assists per game during the playoffs. He's really in the zone right now. Something to look for is whether or not the Pacers will be able to do a better job defending him than the Pistons and Celtics did. If not, the Knicks are going to be extremely tough to stop. 

#2. Can the Pacers' ball movement make the difference? The Pacers averaged 29.2 assists per game during the regular season, which is 3rd in the NBA while the Knicks averaged 27.5 points per game, which ranks 11th in the NBA. During the playoffs, the Pacers have taken it up a notch with 29.7 assists per game as Tyrese Haliburton's 9.3 assists per game during the playoffs leads the NBA. If the Pacers are going to win the series, their ball movement is going to have play a major role. 

#3. Will the Pacers' rest help them out at all? The Pacers come into this series with more rest having taken out the top-seeded Cavaliers in five games while the Knicks had to play a game six to dispatch of the Celtics. Getting a couple extra days to rest should certainly help the Pacers, but will it make any meaningful difference? Game one should tell us a lot. 

#4. Can the Knicks close the gap on the 3-ball? The Knicks are shooting 35.8% from 3-point range in the playoffs while the Pacers are shooting 40.6%. If the Knicks want to win the series, it would help them a lot if they could get more threes to fall while defending the Pacers from the perimeter. The Pacers are coming in with a lot of confidence in their 3-point shooting, so slowing them down in that department will be no easy task. 

#5. Will the rivalry feel rekindled? The Knicks and Pacers had a lot of battles in the 1990s and have formed one of the more iconic NBA rivalries. This series certainly has a chance to add an exciting chapter to it. The fans should be fired up on both sides. It certainly would be good for the NBA to have this be a competitive series given the history between these two teams. 

Prediction: The Pacers seem to have really taken things up a notch during the playoffs. I got them winning this series in six games. 

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Eastern Conference Finals Preview: Atlanta Hawks vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

Eastern Conference Finals Preview: #1. Atlanta Hawks (60-22) vs. #2. Cleveland Cavaliers (53-29) 

     The Atlanta Hawks come into the Eastern Conference Finals having dispatched of the Washington Wizards in six games. As for the Cleveland Cavaliers, they took care of the Chicago Bulls in six games as well. In regards to the regular season series between these two teams, the Hawks won three out of the four games they played against each other.

     What makes this series so interesting is it features the best player in the NBA (LeBron James) going up against the best all around "team" in the NBA. The success of the Cavaliers, especially during the playoffs, is largely due to the play of LeBron James. This isn't to say that Kyrie Irving, J.R. Smith, and others haven't contributed. Those guys have played their roles well, but at the end of the day the reason this team is where they are is because of LeBron James and his phenomenal all-around play.

     As for the Hawks, one cannot point to one player as the main reason for their success. The Hawks are in the Eastern Conference Finals with home court advantage because they have played as a team all season and have had to equally depend on various players. This team has had to rely on the point guard play of Jeff Teague, the long-range shooting of Kyle Korver, the post play of Paul Millsap and Al Horford, and the all around hustle and energy provided by DeMarre Carroll.

     The Hawks are only as good as the sum of their parts and if you take any one of those parts away, they really struggle. As for the Cavaliers, it doesn't seem to matter who gets suspended or who gets injured so long as LeBron James is ok. The danger for the Hawks is that they can't afford to have any one of their parts really struggle, but the good news for them is that nobody has to play out of their minds. So long as everybody is solid, they do just fine. As for the Cavaliers, the danger lies in knowing that if LeBron James doesn't have a great performance, they are in serious trouble. However, the good news for the Cavaliers is that they have LeBron James.

     If the Atlanta Hawks are going to win this series, they are going to have to find ways take advantage of their more balanced scoring attack by moving the ball to find open shooters. They have a system in place that is very similar to what the San Antonio Spurs run largely due to their player personnel and head coach Mike Budenholzer, who previously spent time as an assistant coach on the Spurs. We saw what the Spurs were able to do to LeBron James' Heat last season in the NBA Finals, killing them with their ball movement, scoring balance, and efficiency. The Hawks have the ability to do the same thing.

     In addition, the Hawks have to remain confident in who they are and not lose their identity. They won 60 games for a reason and they need to treat themselves as the favorites to win this series. If they let LeBron James and all his star power get in their heads, they could wind up beating themselves. If on the other hand they stick to their game plan and do what they do best, they'll give themselves a great chance to win the series.

     As for the Cavaliers, they need to take advantage of the fact that they have the best player in the world in LeBron James and an elite point guard in Kyrie Irving who is the #2 player in the series. I haven't talked enough about Kyrie Irving, but as LeBron James' sidekick, he plays a crucial role in this series. If he is able to do what he does best with success, which is score the basketball from anywhere on the floor and penetrate the lane to find open shooters like J.R. Smith, the Cavaliers may just have too much talent on the floor for the Hawks to handle.

   One of the key advantages the Hawks have in this series is coaching. Coaching cannot be underestimated in the NBA playoffs and while the Cavaliers have the best player in the world in LeBron James, they have a jester for a coach. The Hawks on the other hand have a fantastic coach in Mike Budenholzer who has won an NBA title as an assistant coach with San Antonio.

      Budenholzer knows what it takes to be a coach on an NBA championship team and his coaching is the main reason the Hawks have had all the success that they have enjoyed up to this point. All the ball movement, balance, and efficiency that this team has exhibited is due to Mike Budenholzer figuring out how to maximize the talents and abilities of all his players. As for the Cavaliers, they seem to have gotten this far in spite of their head coach David Blatt. This sounds harsh, but it's the truth. The Atlanta Hawks have the benefit of being coached by a real NBA coach who knows what he is doing and the Cleveland Cavaliers have the challenge of having their head coach as an obstacle who they must hurdle.

     At the end of the day, I'm picking the Hawks to win this series in seven games. They have been the best team in the Eastern Conference all season and have the superior coaching. If they play up to their maximum potential and play like they have all season, they will win this series.

---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord