Twenty-five years! That’s how much time it has been since the New York Knicks made their last trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. Coincidentally, they will meet the same team in this year’s Conference Finals as they did in 2000, the Indiana Pacers. The two teams have had some journey this season. Tyrese Haliburton and Co. took care of the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, while the Knicks knocked out the defending champions in six games. Let’s be honest, not many imagined both teams to come through to the Conference Finals, but it has been a long time coming.

The Knicks and the Pacers have a lot of history behind them, especially in the playoffs. It’s the same rivalry that stirred up one of the league’s most heated rivalries, and one man had been at the center of it all: Reggie Miller. This rematch will hold a lot of weight because of the nostalgia it holds. The old heads would remember Miller’s 25-point fourth quarter performance back in 1994. Not to mention, the infamous 8 points in 9 seconds the following year. It sure adds that extra layer of excitement to the series. More so, because there’s huge news for the Indiana fans ahead of this high-stakes best-of-seven series.

Well, that’s because the former Indiana superstar will be calling out all the games of the Eastern Conference Finals. “It’s the final TNT.. Reggie Miller is going to be calling all of the games. That’s right. I’m sure he’ll be getting into it with Spike Lee. It’s the last series for TNT. It’s the last series for TNT. You’re going to have Charles Barkley and those guys here. You’re going to have, I’m sure, Stephen A. will be getting into it with Reggie Miller. I’m sure Spike Lee will be getting into a Reggie Miller. And you’ve got Haliburton and Brunson at WWE last summer. Like, they’ve got the history of last year’s playoffs. There are a lot of fascinating matchups across the board.” ESPN’s Tim Bontemps stated on the ‘Brian Windhorst & The Hoops Collective‘ podcast.

The ESPN Insider pointed out the history between the two teams, especially from the point of view of a ’90s kid. Indeed, it will be entertaining to watch Reggie Miller on the sidelines for the series, going at New York Knicks die-hard fan Spike Lee, or even Stephen A. Smith. Well, Lee and Miller go way back; the Knicks’ super fan flashed a now-iconic “choke” gesture in Miller’s direction. After which, the then-Indiana star erupted and led his team to a 3-2 lead, famously scoring 25 points in the fourth quarter. Well, this wasn’t all that Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst pointed out; they also advised the Pacers to complete one simple task.

Indiana Receives Important Advice From Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst

This is going to be a fiery series both on and off the court, there’s no doubt about it. That’s because of the history surrounding this fixture and, more importantly, the style of play. The two teams will be meeting each other for the record ninth time in the postseason, with the Indiana Pacers holding the edge, winning five of the eight series. However, that doesn’t mean the Knicks are no competition for them. In fact, in the Conference Finals, the Knicks hold the edge, leading 2-1. They also met last season when Tyrese Haliburton and Co. got the better of a banged-up New York team in seven games.

This included a historic shooting performance in the last game to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, as the Pacers scored 67.1 percent of their field goals on the night. Keeping that in mind, ESPN analysts Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst have some advice for Indiana this time around. “I would say this. The Pacers’ game plan is really the same game plan that they had a year ago, which is that they will try to wear the Knicks down in the individual games.” Windhorst stated. “They will start doing things in the first quarter with the intent to wear them down on the fourth, which, by the way, the Knicks are killers. They’ve been killers in clutch time in the playoffs. And the Pacers will operate thinking about wearing them down by game six and seven.”

The ESPN Insider pointed out that the Pacers will stick to their plan from last season, when they wore down the Knicks. Indeed, it worked out pretty well, you’ll have to agree. However, this time around, they’ll have to keep in mind that the Knicks are not injury-riddled. Moreover, New York has been clutch this season. We’ve seen them do that against Boston, where they come back from double-digit deficits to grab the win. So, the Pacers will have to be wary of that, they’ll especially have to contain Jalen Brunson, who’s been in charge of these late comebacks. Will they be able to do so? Only time will tell.