Surging Pacers Role Player Proving Knicks Wrong

These entertaining playoffs have been noted for the presence that the New York Knicks have maintained over the sport's biggest stage.

This goes well beyond the attention their ongoing coaching search has commanded during the ongoing NBA Finals, which currently sits at a 2-2 tie in one of the most entertaining series we've had in years. The Knicks themselves inched close to the final matchup in making it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals, and plenty of familiar faces have similarly clawed deep into the postseason.

Julius Randle made the All-Star team three times during his stint in New York while Isaiah Hartenstein elevated into a fan-favorite role player, and they both quickly found favorable destinations in their first seasons since leaving the Knicks with the Western Conference Finalist Minnesota Timberwolves and the Finals-contending Oklahoma City Thunder, respectively.

But arguably no recent Knicks alumnus has made the Knicks look worse than Obi Toppin, who's spent the last two months helping the Indiana Pacers beat every opponent they've seen as a pivotal role player.

He and his team sit two wins away from one of the most improbable championship wins in league history, and he's been there every step of the way as an athletic play-finisher who succeeds in Indiana's high-octane system. He hits big 3-pointers, dunks to capitalize on big runs and refuses to shrink in the clutch, where the Pacers seem to end up in every game they play.