Knicks Center Due for Another Big Series

Everyone besides the Knicks seemed to understand the importance of putting away their Eastern Conference Finals rival, a team that's consistently survived as un-killable cockroaches. They've ridden their deep bench of unselfish passers and shooters into numerous shocking wins, but not much about last night's lineups made much sense.

The Pacers, known for their ability to insert all-new rotations of starter-caliber players when the starters come off of the floor, but few of their most trusted bench contributors notched their standard positive marks in the +/- column of the box score.

The Knicks, on the other hand, who are as reliant on their starting five as any playoff team, got surprisingly inspiring production out of their thin pile of reserves. Cameron Payne made his valiant return back into the rotation with several possession-saving 3-pointers, and so did Miles McBride. But no one looked more poised to have another big series as Mitchell Robinson, who looks to maintain the momentum he built up in the second round with his rebounding, defense and overall effort.

He collected three offensive rebounds in the final five minutes of the first quarter alone, consistently rising above the ankle biters Indiana surrounded the backup center with in the paint. They didn't run with the same chaotic speed as the Pacers or shoot with the same blistering efficiency, but Robinson helped create more possessions with his timing and strength down low.

Robinsin has been a rough watch at the free throw line all playoffs, shooting a low enough clip at 37.5% to inspire some opposing teams to try a "Hack-a-Mitch" strategy of intentional fouling to keep him from creating more scoring opportunities.

TNT commentators Stan Van Gundy and Reggie Miller made the case against such a maneuver since that continual game stoppage would take away from the frenetic pace at which Indiana likes to operate. This could keep him away from the humiliation routine at the line, freeing him up to change the game in the way he prefers.

That's especially important to note when the potential reserves standing between Robinson and offensive boards are Thomas Bryant, Obi Toppin and Jarace Walker, each of which he can handle.

Karl-Anthony Towns, too, had a return to form last night in a 35-point performance, negating the need for the team to have to ride on Robinson more than they have to. He and his Knicks may have stumbled out of the gate like the Celtics before them, but that doesn't mean Robinson's done contributing his unique skillset to what promises to be a high-octane third round series.