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The situation is nothing short of a nightmare for the Indiana Pacers’ playoff hopes. They tried getting at least one win against the Knicks on their court and came close with a valiant effort in Game 2. However, Jalen Brunson and company proved too much for the Pacers even with the guard fighting through pain to get the Knicks the W.
Knicks fans are already excited about potentially facing the Boston Celtics that Charles Barkley had to go on an epic rant against them. With the way things are going, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Pacers get eliminated in five games.
However, Rick Carlisle thinks that there’s something fishy with how the past two games were officiated. He and the rest of the Pacers coaching staff believe that the games may be rigged to set up a high-stakes match between two of the biggest NBA markets in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Rick Carlisle thinks the referees were against the Indiana Pacers in Games 1 & 2
Carlisle addressed the media after his team’s Game 2 loss and directly challenged the calls made against his team. He called out the officiating done on the two games and promised to submit plays from the two games to ask for an assessment.
Per The Spun’s Chris Rosvoglou:
“I can promise you that we’re going to submit these tonight,” Carlisle said, via ESPN. “New York can get ready. They’ll see ’em too. I’m always talking to our guys about not making it about the officials, but we deserve a fair shot.”
If the allegations are correct, then it’s obvious that external forces want two of the largest basketball markets in America to square off in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Carlisle argued that while Indiana is not as big of a pro basketball market as the other two, they still deserve a fair shot at the Larry O’Brien trophy:
“Small-market teams deserve an equal shot,” Carlisle said. “They deserve a fair shot no matter where they’re playing.”
While the league will investigate the claims made by the Pacers, it’s still up to the team to take down the New York Knicks. They still haven’t found the winning formula to stop Jalen Brunson, but hopefully the home crowd will allow them to even up the score with consecutive wins.
More must-reads:
- Knicks expected to be 'aggressive' in upgrading their roster
- Bettors are buying Bronny James hype before the 2024 NBA Draft
- The 'Most triple-doubles in the postseason' quiz
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