Stan Van Gundy led the team to the NBA Finals as head coach and might have won if Pat Riley hadn’t been promoted to that role with the Heat in 2005.
Van Gundy is currently an analyst for TNT and will be covering Game 1 and 2 of the Knicks vs. Pacers. The matchup rekindles a rivalry dating back to the late 1990s, and there are plenty of strategic questions that Van Gundy helped answer in an interview with the Post.
Van Gundy discusses the most pressing issues.
Jalen Brunson vs. Tyrese Haliburton?
“First of all, we’ve got two really elite point guards playing against each other. Sure, there’s different types of players. But two of the absolute best. … Two of Indiana’s three games. We didn’t put much effort into that in the regular season. I don’t think any of that matters. But Jalen scored 40 points against Indiana. Haliburton was a great guard. I think I’m waiting to play.”
Who will protect Halliburton?
“I think [Donte] Di Vincenzo. He guarded him all season. And did a pretty good job.I think it will be about the same as what we saw at the end of the Philadelphia series [against Tyrese Maxey] — DiVincenzo and McBride.I think Anunoby will start. [Pascal] Siakam, and Hart will protect him as well.I wouldn’t be surprised at some point in the series – due to pick and pop [Myles] Turner — for Tom [Thibodeau] They put Anunoby on Turner and center on Siakam, taking away Siakam’s post-up game. And then they switch pick-and-rolls with Turner, and when Turner rolls DiVincenzo down, they get him out of there and move the center over him on the roll. ”
Who will stop Branson?
“Obviously, Brunson is a big challenge in everything. How do you play his pick-and-roll? How do you play his isolation? They doubled him in a big way. And the problem is, if you’re going for Brunson’s doubles a lot, you’re in the rotation when New York’s shot goes up, which makes it even harder to block out, and it’s hard to block out anyway. I mean, we’re not a team that’s good at rebounding. And we don’t have any bodies right now. There’s a lot of really interesting things to look at and I think a lot of challenges for both coaches.”
What about pacing preferences?
“New York is going to run more than people give them credit for. But Indiana really wants to pick up the pace. And New York is going to want to go a little slower mainly because of depth. That’s Indiana. I think it’s a big advantage for the state. [Bennedict] Maturin out [for the Pacers]I think Indiana has a depth advantage. [Julius] with Randall [Bojan Bogdanovic] outside [for the Knicks]. So I think Indiana wants to play faster than New York anyway. But certainly that depth gives them an added advantage. To me, it’s a fine line because New York is great in transition and they want to run. But they have to choose their location. They want to run on rebounds and certainly on turnovers. But they don’t want an up-down, run-and-shoot type game against Indiana. Therefore, they must choose their location. ”
Want more information about the Myles Turner conundrum?
“A shooting center that can stretch the floor will give the Knicks problems in the pick-and-pop game. Pop also hurt New York. New York usually likes to be in drop coverage. They’re going to get up a little bit. But either way, Turner’s ability to get to the 3-point line is a problem. … Tom seriously didn’t want to switch. [center] many.he will do it when he does it [Precious] There are Achiuwa, but not that many [Isaiah] Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson. So it was tough for them. ”
So where is the Knicks’ advantage?
“New York does that to everyone, but they completely drained Indiana during the season. And Indiana isn’t a great defensive rebounding team anyway. And New York is a great offensive rebounding team. I think that’s probably New York’s biggest advantage heading into the series.”
What is another advantage of New York?
“They’re one of those teams that finds a way to win. They won the first two games against the Sixers, but Brunson honestly played poorly. And he’ll be the best player in the world to close out the series. They can’t rely on any area of their game to win, except maybe rebounding. They’ll just compete and they’ll never disappear. They’re going to go down, and you know they’re going to come back. They’re comfortable in those types of games.”
