May 31, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner (33) raises the trophy after game six of the eastern conference finals against the New York Knicks for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Analyst Undermines Knicks in Belittling Pacers

Originally posted on New York Knicks on SI
By Henry Brown | Last updated Jun 7, 2025 7:00 AM ET

The Indiana Pacers aren't the most conventional of NBA Finals participants.

Unlike the Oklahoma City Thunder, who they're currently duking it out against for the right to raise the Larry O'Brien trophy, the Pacers weren't led by the MVP, nor did they lead the league in wins in the tougher conference, but that doesn't mean they're an illegitimate representative of the Eastern Conference.

New York analyst Craig Carton certainly doesn't agree, completely discrediting the Pacers' road to the Finals and the teams they mounted in continually advancing.

“You beat a hurt Cavs team. You did not play the Celtics. And you played a flawed Knicks team…You got here going through the easiest path an Eastern Conference Finals team has ever had.”

- @craigcartonlive goes off on the Pacers

(@BrkfstBallOnFS1)

pic.twitter.com/cyTgCPTg5v
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) June 5, 2025

Disregarding the Knicks as "flawed" is sort of simplifying the matter, given that every team who's ever been eliminated from the playoffs was eventually exposed for their broad flaws. And as imperfect as they were with their half-dozen players listed in The Ringer's Top 100 players, they had no problem handing the regularly-staffed Boston Celtics a 3-1 lead before closing the second round out in six.

And these Pacers aren't nobodies. They were last season's runners-up in the east after losing in the 2024 Eastern Conference Finals, coming all the way back to avenge last season with five series wins in their last six playoff matchups.

The narrative of one of the Finals participants benefitting from the easiest path through the playoffs ever is brought up every year, when luck will always play a part in matchups drawn. The Pacers have sawed through their conference with a 12-4 record, the exact same success rate that the Thunder have had in coming on top out west, providing the NBA with a Finals that's properly representative of who's had the most recent success.

This article first appeared on New York Knicks on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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