“It seems Mr. is a fake Wannabe All-Star.”
This quote was provided by MSG Networks analyst Wally Szczerbiak about Tyrese Haliburton in December 2022, and today’s important context is that Jalen Brunson is a prominent That means he was a person.
At the time, point guards were competing for All-Star spots in 2023.
It was one or the other.
Szczerbiak clearly felt Brunson deserved it, and Haliburton agreed.
That summer, Brunson and Haliburton were competing for Team USA’s starting spot at the FIBA World Cup.
Again, it’s one or the other.
Although Brunson was a starter, Haliburton trailed him by a large margin during the tournament, likely contributing to Brunson’s omission and Haliburton’s selection to the Olympic team.
If the Paris Olympics weren’t one or the other, it was pretty close.
When the question was asked who the best guards in the Eastern Conference were this season, the answer was usually Haliburton in the first half and Brunson in the second (with a little Donovan Mitchell sprinkled in between).
There’s no evidence of any personal animosity (Branson and Halliburton seem to like each other quite a bit), and the two may have been rivals to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallon in the 1980s. They are waging a war of status in the same way that they do.
Brunson and Haliburton will meet in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
This is the biggest storyline of the Pacers vs. Knicks series, and the intrigue is multi-layered.
Although they play the same position, they are completely different players, each with a style that fits and defines their team’s identity.
Haliburton is lanky at 6-foot-5, but he is a distributor, a master of transition, and the NBA leader in assists per game.
Follow The Post’s coverage of the Knicks in the NBA playoffs
At 6-foot-1, Brunson is more methodical in the half court and in isolation, combining underrated strength with elite footwork to create the bit of space needed to get a shot off.
It’s no exaggeration to suggest that better point guard play will determine the winner of the Knicks vs. Pacers series. But like Brunson vs. Tyrese Maxey in Round 1, they probably won’t guard each other too much.
In three games against the Pacers this season, Brunson was often guarded by Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith.
It didn’t work out well in Indiana.
Brunson averaged 35.7 points and shot over 49 percent in three games.
Halliburton? He averaged 19.7 points and 13.3 assists per game against New York and dominated Szczerbiak in a win over the Knicks in late December.
Five months later, Brunson and Halliburton will go a long way toward resolving their dispute.
Here are four other Pacers vs. Knicks stories to watch.
Rushing vs Relaxing
This series is a clash of extreme styles.
Indiana lives up to its nickname, holding the second-fastest pace in the NBA in the regular season with 102.2 possessions per game.
The Knicks were slowest at 95.95 possessions.
This equates to a league-high 123.3 points per game for the Pacers compared to the Knicks’ 112.8 points.
Here’s why it’s advantageous for New York. The pace slows down dramatically in the playoffs (the Pacers averaged 92.89 possessions in the first round against the Bucks), and the Knicks become more comfortable winning possessions in the half court.
Former Raptors showdown
OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam were teammates in Toronto for more than six seasons.
They made it through the playoffs together.
they won the championship.
Now, they will meet in the second round, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Siakam and Anunoby go head-to-head as opposing forwards.
Siakam was one of the few players and probably Indiana’s best player in the first-round win over Milwaukee.
Anunoby is New York’s most versatile defender.
Obi reunion
Leon Rose, the highest draft pick, was traded to the Pacers before last season and is coming off the best playoff game of his career, dropping 21 points against the Bucks in Game 6 on Thursday.
Toppin had some good moments in New York, but the stint was underwhelming and he got into a heated argument with coach Tom Thibodeau during the Heat series a year ago.
Toppin and Thisbus didn’t have much chemistry at the time, so let’s see how they fare as opponents.
history of hatred
This series features Reggie Miller’s choke sign and Spike Lee antagonism, Patrick Ewing’s finger roll, and Rick Smits and Roy Hibbert blocking Carmelo Anthony, and our favorite nickname for this rivalry. We are planning to liven up the story of “Hicks vs. Knicks”.
