Knicks vs. Pacers Changing NBA Landscape

The New York Knicks are in the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 25 years.

The Knicks were a contender for the title, but they were always behind the top tier of teams in the Eastern Conference.

ESPN insider Brian Windhorst believes the series against the Indiana Pacers is marking a massive shift in the NBA.

"This is the second consecutive postseason in which the Pacers have faced the Knicks, with last season's second-round battle won by the Pacers in a lopsided Game 7 at Madison Square Garden, where the Knicks essentially ran out of players. Now, as the teams face off in the 2025 Eastern Conference finals, signs point toward this being the dawn of yet another epoch in the rivalry," Windhorst wrote.

"The Pacers and Knicks — with neither team having been, at any point in the season, the bookmakers' favorite to get this far — are both constructed for the medium term."

"And with the Boston Celtics and the Cleveland Cavaliers, the two prohibitive favorites who were wiped out by the current Eastern Conference finalists in this year's second round, facing potentially significant challenges in keeping their rosters intact, the window for the Knicks and Pacers is suddenly very open — and perhaps will be for a while."

The Pacers were the No. 6 seed in the Conference Finals last year. This season, they are a No. 4 seed. The Minnesota Timberwolves are a No. 6 seed in the Western Conference Finals this year, and two seasons ago, the Miami Heat made it all the way to the NBA Finals as a No. 8 seed.

These trends show that all it takes is getting into the playoffs. Once that happens, it comes down to who shows up when it matters most.