Twenty-five years! That’s how much time the New York Knicks faithful have had to wait to see their beloved franchise back to where it belongs. Of course, the Eastern Conference Finals. To put this heroic feat into perspective, Jalen Brunson was just 3 years old the last time the Knicks were in the Conference Finals. Sounds made up, right? It isn’t.

It has been a long time coming for New York; they’ve seen failure after failure, but now they are here. Nonetheless, just reaching the Conference Finals isn’t enough. Jalen Brunson and Co. have had to defeat the defending champions, the Boston Celtics, to reach this point. While they emphatically did that, they cannot get carried away.

That’s because their opponents are the Indiana Pacers. Not many tipped Tyrese Haliburton to lead the Pacers to yet another Conference Finals, but they’ve done so against all odds. You might think that the Knicks are a much better team on paper, but unfortunately, basketball isn’t played on paper. This is something that Sixers star Paul George pointed out recently. The Philly forward, while on his podcast, sent out a stern warning to the Knicks, especially their head coach, Tom Thibodeau.

“I think Indy probably is going to get out of the East. I just think they’re a little fast-paced for the Knicks, which is a team that plays their starters 40-plus minutes, man. The way that Indy plays, they’re going to wear them out.” The former Pacers legend said on Podcast P with Paul George.

PG pointed out that Indiana might be the ones to clinch the East, because they are too fast for New York. The Pacers like to play fast, as they don’t turn the ball over at all. One way to force turnovers is to force them to miss, but they haven’t missed a lot in the postseason. Meanwhile, New York’s defense has been locked in and can defend as well as any other team.

Will they be able to handle the Pacers? Only time will. Even if they are able to handle them in the early stages of the game, another problem may arise late. This one isn’t a lack of quality; it’s because of their head coach’s unusual tactics. We are all aware of how much Tom Thibodeau loves to stick to his starters.

Moreover, he’s notoriously known for not making a lot of changes. To give you an idea, the Knicks averaged 179 minutes played by starters in the regular season. This is the highest in the league and, that too, by a long shot. The second team on the list is the Kings, who averaged 171.6 minutes per game. Not just this, three of New York’s starters rank among the top five highest averaged minutes in the entire league. This includes Josh Hart, the league leader with 37.6 minutes per game, Mikal Bridges, and OG Anunoby. According to Paul George, this might be something that could trouble New York, as their starters will get exhausted, leading to errors.

But will this force Tom Thibodeau to tweak his tactics?

The Knicks believe they’re not done as they gear up for the Conference Finals

The most-awaited Eastern Conference Finals are here. Oh, wait. Is this 2000? Many tipped that they’d see a Boston-Cleveland finals. Instead, the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers decided to change the script, as they now look to add another page to their longtime rivalry. Former Pacers star Paul George thinks that Tom Thibodeau’s tactics will wear New York down. However, that might not line up with how the Knicks see this best-of-seven game series. Yes, the Knicks’ HC is stubborn with his pick of players and likes to back them no matter what.

But let’s not forget, this is what has brought them here. Moreover, against Boston, he showed that he’s capable of adapting his play style according to needs. Thibodeau deserves credit, too. The veteran coach revamped his team’s defensive identity to contain the Cs. He adapted according to the situation, engineering a defense that switched far more than they did all season. This confused the Celts as they gave up 20-point leads in Games 1 and 2. It goes without saying that he can do something similar to surprise the Pacers.

However, even if he doesn’t, the team’s locked in. In fact, the Knicks have not looked much better as far as we can recall. “It’s nothing to celebrate,” these were Jalen Brunson’s words as New York took a 3-1 lead against the defending champions. Mikal Bridges also echoed a similar thought, saying, “We’re not done.” This shows the team’s mentality.

So, even if Thibodeau decides to stick to his starters, the Knicks won’t be easy to defeat. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how the they approach this series as we wait for Game 1.