May 11, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton (0) dribbles the ball during game four of the second round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Magic Johnson Makes His Pick for Pacers vs Knicks ECF Showdown

Originally posted on Indianapolis Pacers on SI
By Ryan Stano | Last updated May 20, 2025 1:00 PM ET

The Indiana Pacers are looking to advance to the NBA Finals for just the second time in franchise history. The only other time they have made it was in 2000.

In that 2000 season, the Pacers beat the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals. That's who they will face this season in order to get back to the Finals.

The Knicks last made the NBA Finals in 1999, so neither team has been to the Finals in quite a while. New York beat the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals that season to advance.

Indiana is starting to finally get a little more respect from the national media for this series against the Knicks. That doesn't mean that everyone is picking the Pacers to win.

NBA legend and former Lakers point guard Magic Johnson is one of the Pacers' remaining doubters. He thinks New York will beat Indiana and advance to the NBA Finals.

I have the New Knicks beating the Indiana Pacers and the Minnesota Timberwolves beating the Oklahoma City Thunder to advance to the NBA Finals!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 20, 2025

It's not surprising that someone who played their entire career for a big-market team thinks that a big-market team will beat the smaller market team. He doesn't believe what the Pacers do will be good enough to beat the Knicks.

Indiana has shown throughout this entire postseason run that they are good enough to beat anyone that they face. They haven't been slowed down by any defense they've seen, though.

The Pacers have proven that they aren't just a great offensive team. They can get stops when they need to, as well.

More Indiana Pacers news: Tyrese Haliburton Bringing Pacers Fan to ECF After Incident With Knicks Fans

Indiana is going to keep doing what they do best. They aren't going to back down from the Knicks, especially since they beat this same team a year ago in the playoffs.

The Pacers are going to have to deal with rust. Because they took care of the Cavaliers so quickly, they have been waiting around for a while.

Perhaps that's one of the reasons why Johnson is picking the Knicks to win the series. Perhaps that rust will manifest itself in the form of a slow start in the beginning of the series.

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Pacers Will Have Major Advantage Against Knicks in Series

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This article first appeared on Indianapolis Pacers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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