One down, one to go. The OKC Thunder await their next opponent – and by the looks of it, the Pacers seem to be the most likely. All they need is one more Tyrese Haliburton masterclass to put them into dreamland. And they have the Knicks to thank for that. The series has been all Pacers for sure, but for Draymond Green, that’s been down to Knicks HC Tom Thibodeau not utilizing his players properly. Specifically, OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges.

Bridges might be a small forward by position. But the man’s a defensive Swiss army knife. An elite on-ball stopper who can chase ball-handlers around screens and switch onto smaller guards without giving up blow-by drives. He thrives in transition and as a spot-up three-point threat. As for the OG, his two-way play helps Thibs to a tee. He combines his strength, length, and quick feet to usually guard the toughest one of the lot, which for the Pacers, should be either Hali or Pascal Siakam. And at the same time, his mid-range pull-up off a handoff or cutter makes him more than just a 3-and-D piece.

But that’s not how Thibodeau has been using them, necessarily. Bridges has been cycling onto Tyrese Haliburton, who torched New York for a 32-15-12 triple-double in Game 4. Anunoby has spent long stints on the strongest Pacers, often Myles Turner in the post and on switches. And Draymond Green’s not a fan.

“So as the coach, then I have to run some things to get him closer to the basket. touches, meaning, right, like maybe it’s an old school guard big cross green and he, you know, he getting a better catch there. Right? Like as the coach, that’s on me to figure out how to get him closer to the basket,” said Green on The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis.

So that has to improve. Thibs using his players to their strengths might change things for the Knicks. But for Green, that isn’t even the tell-all. There’s some off-court factors that might play a part, and that’s something the Knicks would never have expected.

Draymond Green plays down Madison Square Garden’s atmosphere

Every single player speaks of the Garden. The Theater of Dreams. The arena they should fear. Why? The Knickerbockers. The New Yorkers show up like it’s their last day on Earth. But Green has firsthand experience of playing there. And for him, the atmosphere is a tad bit overrated. So for the Knicks, their home-court advantage plays less of a factor than most others. And the reasons will astound you.

“The fans the Knicks fans are dying for success. So of course it gets loud. But I personally just don’t think there’s much of a home court at the Garden… The Garden is like one of a couple arenas where you can’t see the crowd. Like, if you look out into the crowd, it’s dark. The spotlight is on the court. And you feel that and you’re going to put on the show and you know the celebrities are there. So I don’t think they get much of a boost by going, but just going back to the Garden,” said Green on the pod.

This makes a lot of sense though. The Pacers went 2-0 at MSG in the series, right from the get-go. And now they play the next two games there as well. Playing at the big stage is what gets Tyrese Haliburton and Co. going. So it’ll be interesting to see how much of a factor the Big Apple fanbase plays in Game 5.

All eyes are on Game 5 now. Draymond Green‘s hopes are for Thibs to use Anunoby and Bridges to their full potential. And why not-? We already got the WCF to be a 4-1 blowout. Why would anyone want a repeat in the ECF too?