ECF Preview - Jalen Brunson vs Tyrese Halliburton: Who Controls the Chessboard?

all right, it's tuesday, you know what time it is. Frontrunner podcast collective is back on the air. I am your humble host, vince, and today we are here to preview the Eastern Conference Finals. New York stand the hell up, your ass is in the Eastern Conference Finals against the heartland of America. Man, you can't get more American than the Indianapolis 500,. Man, you can't get more American than the Indianapolis 500. Indiana Basketball that old dude that used to talk a lot of crap. Hoosierland Rise Up. The Pacers Pat McAfee is super excited about the Pacers being in the Eastern Conference Finals. And we are here to break it all down the Bronson, the Tyrese, halliburton, the feud, the WWE influence on those two players, how this series will all play out. I am excited to be here. I have Soraya, I have the FRPC crew with me, they have theerea, I have the frpc crew with me, they have the stats, they have the little notes that they are going to provide for me and we got to get this cooking. So, without further ado, let's get into the eastern conference finals.

What if I told you the Knicks finals run didn't start with a game-winning shot, but it started with a sprained ankle? I want to take you back mid-season, february, jalen Brunson goes down ankle. It looks terrible. People in new york city are depressed. Morose, our star, has fallen. Olympus has fallen nearly 20 games without the leader of the Knicks and at the time it felt like a collapse.

But what happened next might be the most important pivot in their season. We talked about it as soon as it happened. We said, hey, mikael Bridges went in Brooklyn first year when he was there on ball facilitator, was off the chain, and then cam thomas came in and messed all that up. We also talked about og and no green. How he wanted in toronto, to be more of an on ball creator. He just never got that opportunity. Well, boys, in february you got your chance and boy has it paid off in spades. Let's get to it. Mikhail bridges wasn't just facing, he was initiating og, and novi wasn't just closing out, he was creating.

The Knicks didn't just survive without their engine, they discovered other gears and now, heading into a chess match against the fastest thinkers in the East Indiana, those gears will absolutely matter. Those gears will absolutely matter. This is a story of how losing your lead horse gave you a team that can win the whole damn race. Knicks fans, it is time Blue and orange skies. Put your Timberlands in the air. It is Eastern Conference finals time. We are here, ladies and gentlemen. It is warm in New York City, is warming Gotham, but it is also humid in the heartland of America.

And now, heading into this, they are going to play the Indiana Blazers and let's talk about them for a second, talk about Indiana for one second, because both these teams, both of them Deserve our praise. They deserve our attention, because these weren't the teams expected to be here, and we'll talk about their journeys as we go through. But I want you to know, everybody laughed. Everybody laughed. Oh, knicks, nah, yeah, this is a year where they have to take their licks. Boston and Clevelandveland they're so good. I don't. I don't see them being able to hold up against those two teams.

Indiana it was like oh, nice little story. Can they avoid the sacramento curse? That was kind of what we were hearing early on in the season about the indiana pacers. Where were they? The sacramento kings of this year? Remember the kings a couple years ago? They were really, really good. They got into the playoffs, right. We were thinking, hey, this is the beginning of something.

And then it obviously you know what it turned out to be not great. Not great, bob. But indiana said we are not a flash in the pan and tyrese halliburton, who was voted the most overrated player in the nba. But when we talk about like voting and we talk about all-star voting and people talk about how they don't like the media, they don't like us when we vote for like awards and stuff like that, because we don't play the game and everything. The most overrated player in the nba is tyrese halliburton. What special design of crack were the n NBA players smoking when they were talking about Tyrese Halliburton being overrated?

You know, I'm saying now I will. I will sit here and grant you that when we first saw Jalen Brunson and we were like man, he got paid a lot of money. I hope he's worth that contract. Well, obviously he's getting way worth that contract and also he's gonna be way worth the contract that he's about to extend. That he extended into that I think kicks in this year, right. But you sit here and you talk about tyree taliburton like he's like this, just a guy, eastern Conference Finals two years in a row. He's not just a guy, he's not overrated, he is the heart, he is what propels the Indiana Pacers and I just wanted to give him some love. We need to go back to the New York situation, but I need to that that whole overrated thing. Really that was tough for me because I am a Tyrese Halliburton guy. I liked him coming out the draft. I thought that Sacramento made a monumental mistake when they traded him to Indiana. But Indiana, indiana, said thank you, thank you, sir, thank you, we love tyrese. We hope that you love demantis sabonis, but we love tyrese a lot. And we got younger. It's kind of like the lucca thing, but smaller, you know, like lower stakes, but you get. You get the deal. Now let's get back to new york and what happened. Remember brunson goes out with the ankle injury. We're like shit, this is over wrap, we're done.

Mikhail bridges went, went from orbiting the offense to actually piloting the offense. Og Ananobi got one thing he never fully earned in Toronto Trust with the rock. Let's go, mikael Bridges, running high pick and roll, dishing to the corner, that second side pick and roll before the injury not happening after he's averaging nearly two pick and roll possessions a game and scoring 1.09 points per, that's real offense, that's real reps for our guy mikhhail Bridges. Now, og Ananovi, different situation Pushing in transition Euro, stepping his way To just brilliance. Og Was always a fine finisher and now he's initiating transition, creating close out pressure, even taking secondary actions off movement.

Not heliocentric, but helpful. This was the one thing that in toronto he could not get. He wanted it. He said he kept on asking to be on the ball. I want to be on the ball, I want to be able to help diversify the offense. They never let him do it and we didn't think he was going to get that opportunity with the Knicks at all. And lo and behold, we get an injury. Fates have intervened, serendipity has entered the building and OG Ananobi now has the ball in his hands.

This is from Soraya. We're not saying that Bronson wasn't needed. We're saying, when he stepped away, we got to see what the others could do without waiting for his permission. That's some like jedi arc energy that she she's portraying right there. I see what she's doing right there. Okay.

So let's call mikhail bridges asuka from star wars lore. Okay, let's call og and anobi young obi-wan and tibido, the reluctant jedi council. Okay. So you got this. So mikhail bridges is asuka, og and anobi young obi-wan, young obi-wan, right. And then tibido, jedi council. Everybody got it so far.

By the way, listen, go to youtube. Y'all can get caught up on the storyline. Listen, I'm a nerd. I love star wars. If you don't like the analogy, go find something else. But you're gonna get that here to be indiana. They can't be one gear brunson ball. They need to have guys that can get out and do other things, that have that scar tissue reps. Those weeks without Jalen, that was training camp. This is for this exact matchup In game six versus Boston. When brunson got trapped near half court, who broke the pressure wasn't him, it was bridges curling into a jumper, it was og and anovie attacking baseline.

That's not just depth, that's development. This is what we're talking about. You don't just develop the first three years and then you're a finished product. So when you tell me that somebody is trash three years into their career, you're not doing the work. You're not doing the work. Stop being lazy with your predictions. If, if you know anything about Frontrunner Podcast Collective, we tell you all the time it is thoughts over takes. We don't like takes. That's for the others. Okay, that's for the lower brow people. We, we are connoisseurs of the nba connoisseurs, and when you are a connoisseur, you think higher level we have development all through now.

The knicks didn't want this identity shift. They earned it by accident and and in the playoffs, where the Pacers weaponized uncertainty, it might be the only thing that saves them. You can't talk about the Knicks run Without talking about Tom Thibodeau. And not just the defense, not just the culture. I'm talking about the control, because here's the thing.

One thing about tibbs he has been known for his entire coaching life. It's running the offense like a defensive drill set, rotation, set, reads, set outcomes. For years that's been the knock, great baseline, floor, low ceiling when things break down. But this season, specifically During the Brunson injury stretch, something changed, something snapped. What happened? That's not a default set, that's a read. And this is when we're talking about the empty corner action with OG and Inovi initiating OG gets a ball. They now have a set where there's an empty corner. Right they clean an empty corner. That's the kind of second-size creativity you usually see in Sacramento or Indiana, not Madison Square Garden. So the question becomes did Tibbs finally loosen the grip or did the roster force his hand?

Tibido has always been a system-first coach. Like a chef, he only trusts his recipes. And even when the ingredients start to evolve. What happens when you have a cook, when you have to cook differently or risk getting cooked yourself? And that's what Thibodeau was up against. So we had to try throw some stuff up against the wall was up against. So we had to try throw some stuff up against the wall when Jalen Brunson was out. This is where we drop the dramatics and we just talk about basketball IQ.

The shift was tangible more early offense, og and Bridges with initiation reps. Increase out, spacing, cat at the top, rj, relocation you know what I'm saying? Og. Sorry, why I say RJ? Og. Relocation, cut patterns, few paint. Clogging drives, emphasis on second action options. Clogging drives, emphasis on second action options. Oh, tibs coach, to survive games, this version of tibs coaching, to discover who can win in them side by side, 23 versus 25. Next atos, we have to just trust the next guy over. You know I'm saying now when seeing the knicks. Now the offense, it doesn't just run plays, it runs principles.

And yeah, that's with brunson, obviously, because he's just such a maestro with the basketball in his hands he can get and manipulate into good looks for a lot of people. He's really, really good at what he does. He can control the pace, he can control the tempo and when he needs to. The one thing that I love about brunson is that you know everybody drink now because it's coming. Percocet paint touches he gets it. He gets percocet paint intentionality he gets in there. You can't stop him. The moves, the footwork beautiful, just like sga. He's balletic with his move, his movesets and his feet beautiful, motion. Tears may not ever be a motion offense guy, but for the first time in his career he's letting guys breathe inside the possession.

This is critical to what they are about to face. In the pace of series where indiana is going to force constant defensive decision trees, that's the only way to survive. This segment isn't about hating on tips. It's about the acknowledgement of how hard it is emotionally and strategically for control-oriented coaches to evolve. Most don't, but the ones who do. They win rounds. They're not supposed to. By the way, they just beat the reigning defending NBA champions.

Now, albeit, we can talk about the Jason Tatum injury, but do not get it twisted before game four was decided. Yes, I understand, that's where the injury happened. They were already up nine before that dude got hurt. The Knicks were up nine and controlling that game and, yeah, you can say that Tatum if he's in the game, that is a different, whole, different animal or whatever. But I don't think they win game four, even if Tatum is there. I think they were dominating that game. They, they had the pace that they want. Brunson was controlling the ball, og was doing his thing, mikael Bridges was initiating offense. It was brilliant. So I don't want to hear how they, indiana, paced their way To the Eastern Conference Finals.

And listen, indiana, that is not a shot against you. Trust me, we are going to give you love All throughout this podcast. But you know how people talking about y'all Last year and you know how people talking about y'all this year Again Get to it in a second. The NL Pacers aren't just playing fast, they're playing with intention, precision and purpose. Rick carlisle's team leads the playoff in one metric that tells the whole story pass to assist ratio, transition translation. They don't just move the ball, they move with clarity. Pace alone doesn't win playoffs.

What Indiana has mastered is a temple with discipline, top 10 in true shooting percentage, lowest turnover rate, best assist to turnover ratio. This isn't improvisation, this is orchestration, and it's beautifully done by one, tyrese Halliburton, who the NBA players have said is overrated he's in the Eastern Conference Finals again and, by the way, donovan Mitchell, who we praised on this podcast a whole year. We will talk on Friday about what Cleveland. Everybody talks about how brilliant Cleveland was this year and they don't want to give any credit to what Indiana has done. That's sad to me.

Halliburton hitting trailers, then he resets Into a pick and roll Corner swing. They're really reading defenses. Coverage is two passes ahead. They're not just attacking it. It's not Anthony Edwards blunt force trauma To the defenses that he's facing. This is like we have a Chemistry or a synthesized Like whatever Antiserum to whatever your defense is and we can just go ahead and apply that at any point in time.

And that is the indiana pacers in a nutshell. This is a serea note. Playoff seed doesn't mean uh, sprinting, it means thinking quickly and cleanly. Indiana's brilliance is an energy, it's efficiency at full speed. Well said, this isn't just fun offense, it's system intelligence on the move. You're watching a team run real-time scan of a floor and adjust before the defenses react. That's ridiculous. Kyle doesn't install rigid system. He he wants a more free-flowing game. He builds around reads his players can make and then the reads they force defenders into because they're trying to put you in peril. The Pacers are looking to put you in a really adverse situation and this is where I want to talk about this right now.

New York, I'm gonna let you know right now Knicks fans the first game ain't gonna be pretty, I don't think, because you guys have not seen the ball movement that the indiana pacers are going to bring to you now in your video sessions, in your uh film sessions and your um, what am I trying to say? Your scouting sessions On what you are going to face. I'm sure you saw a lot Of cut up clips Of the ball movement and how much it moves, but it's a different story Until you're actually experiencing it. Oh, ask the Cleveland Cavaliers how they felt about it, because they just got their ass whooped by it.

The Turner Halliburton ghost screens to me are absolutely vicious. Turner's ability to slip, pop or relocate forces, rim protectors into space, which they're not comfortable with. See Carl Anthony towns. See Mitchell Robinson, halliburton shooting off those slips nearly 45%. So that's threes. By the way, it isn't. We said it in the first, in the first preview, in the Western Conference final. It's a pick, your poison, spacing, not a set play. Now here's where it gets real spicy and you'll. You'll love the alliteration in a second pascal siakam's secondary timing is what makes this thing hump.

Most teams operate with primarily ball screens, then react. Siakam waits, watches, helps shift, then slashes in behind. It makes all the difference in the world when you have somebody who is looking at the defense and going. It's almost like he's playing his own version of double dutch in a basketball game. He's like I'm not gonna jump in right now. Nope, not gonna jump in right now. Oh, the rhythm has hit me. It's time for me to jump in and show off my skills. Let's get it.

If we hadn't thrown enough praise on to the indiana pacers, let's get to the ends. To the ends, and people are like what's the ends? What the hell are you talking about? Vince? I'm gonna tell you exactly what I'm talking about that law office of Nembhard and Neesmith. The law offices of Nembhard and Neesmith, they're not park shooters, they're active cutters, screeners, timers. It's layered actions that forces defense to track more than one decision maker and hence the confusion and why people look incredibly stupid or ill-prepared when you play the indiana pacers.

By the way, pat mcafee, if you are listening to this podcast, I hope you hear just the intensity of how I'm talking about the indiana pacers and I hope that you enjoy it. Shouts out to you and all of the hours of entertainment that you bring to me, not just on your highly rated show on espn, but the added bonus entertainment that you provide for me every week on wwe. On WWE television. Shouts out to Pat McAfee, a Indiana guy through and through, also a yinzer. I got you my dog. My mom is a yinzer, so you and I are a kindred spirit. Shouts out to you Now Sierra Note, soraya Note. Why did I say Sierra? I'm thinking of the singer and I'm thinking about Russell Wilson being in New York City playing for the Giants. Okay, let's not talk about bad juju right now. Let's talk about good juju. Soraya's notes.

Everything has a purpose when Turner stands, where Neesmith curls, where Siakam delays. This is playoff intelligence in motion. Most benches try to hold leads. Indiana's bench tries to extend them without changing the. The key to this is a gentleman by the name of TJ McConnell. Tj McConnell has been around the league for a long period of time. He's not flashy, but he's the pulse that keeps the flow alive.

Nearly 13% assist rate, under 20 minutes per game that's constant activity and that's an incredible number, by the way Benedict Matherin and Obi Tauchman. Matherin scores off curls. Tauchman stretches vertically their minutes. Don't slow the game down, it stretches it wider. Stupid, stupid. It's like yo, we're gonna bring in more offense like the offense we got. We got more of it on the bench. We're gonna bring it in. So when those dudes get tired, we're gonna bring in this new offense and they're gonna do all kinds of other crazy stuff.

Very challenging for a new york knicks defense. But if anybody has a counter, it is coach tom thibodeau. It means that thibodeau's defense has to be connected, not just physical matchup. Have to Rotations, have to be precise. You can't fall asleep on the back line. I am talking to you, carl Anthony Towns. This is a Carl Anthony Towns referendum tour.

If I have not seen it before, you can't assume help is coming, because the movement of the Pacersers, it just doesn't stop. They need you to be a step late, that's it. Just one step late, one false movement, one hesitation and you are going to get clowned. You are going to look bad. Once you're in the Pacers blender. You can't get out, you can't. That's just how it is.

The Pacers aren't just unpredictable, they're unreadable until it's too late. They win with iq halliburton damn hard. The boys with rhythm, with possession to possession, clarity, that's what makes them dangerous, not because they play fast, but because they make you think too slow. You're like wait a wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. I saw that. I saw that. I saw that I don't see it anymore. Where is it? Boom, he's at the bucket. Where'd he go? Oh, he's scoring. He's going down the other side of the court because now he's on defense and they just scored on you.

We watch both teams, but here's the question we really discord on you. We watch both teams, but here's the question we really need an answer heading into the eastern conference finals who controls the matchup, the knicks or the indiana pacers? Because this isn't about star power. This series will be Whichever team can bend the pace, the structure and the psychology of the game To fit their rhythm. Because I'm going to tell you right now, the Pacers are going to press Brunson. It is going to be imperative that Bridges and OG Ananobi bring up the ball. It is absolutely imperative, because if you don't, if you just allow Brunson to bring up the ball against Nembhard, against DeSmith, against whomever else they put in TJ McConnell, jairus Walker, shit, you might get a little Pascal Siakam on you.

You know, little benedict matherin barnes is gonna see a array of folks. It's almost like he's gonna be the president of the united states and, like you know, he's going in for his you know his to to take over the country. As far as that's concerned, and you know, you have the line when you meet the people who kind of helped you get there. Right, you're shaking hands. Welcome to your life. Jalen Brunson, I hope you watched a lot of Trump film Over the last you know Couple days or whatever. Because you're going to see a lot of Trump film Over the last you know Couple days or whatever. Because you're going to see a lot of faces Of my guy, a lot of faces, and you're not going to like it.

Indiana doesn't just run, they run with logic, they move the ball. Then the defense, the scoreboard, this possession, number one in pass to assist ratio we talked about this the lowest turnover percentage, all those type of things. Why is this all important? Because it's continuing to lead you down a path. Why are the knicks a team that should give the cases some problems? Well, first of all, carl anthony towns is seven feet tall. Mitchell robinson is seven feet tall, jamie brunson is the best clutch performer that we have that the NBA has to offer this year and Josh Hart pun absolutely intended is the heartbeat of this team. They reset the floor, they keep possessions alive until you crack because they get rebounds. They're leading the playoffs in second chance points because of Mitchell Robertson and Josh Hart.

It's not about style, it's about persistence. It's about perseverance. It's about will. Do you want this ball or not? Because if you don't, josh Hart does. And Josh Hart will take it from you. And hart will take it from you and he doesn't care about you. He doesn't care about your lifestyle. He doesn't care about how much money you make. He doesn't care about your status. He damn sure doesn't care about your social media presence or your tiktok videos. What he cares about is he's gonna get the ball, he's gonna take your will and he's gonna eat your lunch while he is having his hand in your face, holding you off, while he eats your delicious sandwich and tells you how good it is.

In over seven, seven games. That wears you down and pisses you off. If your first defensive rotation slips, even slightly, they're back On the glass and you're starting all over and they got the ball again. Rinse and repeat, baby Rinse and repeat. You say, well, how do the ball again? Rinse and repeat, baby Rinse and repeat. You say, well, how do the Pacers deal with that? Well, here's the real problem. New York Indiana makes you guard multiple things at once. Eye candy for sure.

This is the Philadelphia Eagles in NBA form Miles Turner popping to the arc, siakam delaying his cutting, neesmith just running around, nimhar flying off screens. It's crazy. Every possession is a test of your communication. If you don't have backline communication against the Indiana Pacers, you're screwed. It is over. You may as well just end this series right now, before we even start.

Indiana doesn't wait for you to talk it out. Tibbs can lock in on one star, but what happens when there isn't one to lock in on? We will have to find out what tips is all about. So keep in mind Halliburton. Halliburton hasn't had like this explosion of offense. He's not scoring like 38. This is not Anthony Edwards and Shea Gildas. Alexander, this is hey man. I can do just enough damage Scoring 22 points, as I could score 35 points, because I'm going to drop 12 assists and everybody is going to be involved and everybody has confidence. But here's the thing that I will say, and this is where the Knicks, this is where the Knicks Are there going well, we'll see when the game slows down and it will, because this is playoff basketball.

The Knicks have one thing that Indiana doesn't have a Mariano Rivera closer in the name of Jalen Brunson, who controls tempo just by holding the rock, and if you try to speed him up, he finds angles. If you trap him, he'll hit bridges or OG in rhythm, and if you stay home with his big ass and I mean his big derriere he will walk you down into a foul or into a floater. He's not running offense, he is the offense. So when james harden says I don't run a system, I am the, this literally applies to Jalen Brunson. Jalen Brunson is the system, hopefully with a little like help from his friends in McKell Bridges and OG Ananobi. But we will see.

This is where things get interesting, because we've already seen a preview of this matchup in the boston series. The knicks were guarding isolation jalen brown, jason tatum, one-on-one offense, straight line matchups that played into Tibbs hands. He wants you to pick a side and go one on one so he can help load and help clean up off the glass. But when Tatum hurt his Achilles and the Celtics had to move the ball, they had to share the sugar and get everybody involved. That's when had to move the ball, they had to share the sugar and get everybody involved. That's when the Knicks defense cracked and the Celtics stole the game.

And what Does Indiana do? Naturally, move the ball. Every possession Is not plan b for them, it's identity. So tibbs has his uh, his work cut out for him. So now this becomes less of matchups and about philosophies. Tibbadoe builds defensive walls, carlisle creates offensive questions.

This isn't a game of who's tougher, it's a game of who thinks quicker, who adapts first, who gives up control at the right time. And that's the kind of series series that doesn't come down to talent, it comes down to moments. And we got two. We got two moment relishers, two moment makers, two moment just events coming together all at once Jalen Bronson for the New York Knicks, tyrese Halliburton for the Indiana Pacers. Hey, we said it in the last preview, just like in Highlander, my wife will love this. Shots out to Belinda. There can only be one. So now, if it's about depth, pace and distribution, indiana's blueprint wins. If it's about isolation, rebounding and execution under pressure, then the Knicks grind this out. We all know by game two which style is setting the tone. But I will say this whoever controls the first five seconds of the possession probably controls the next two weeks.

Now I have a prediction. I want to hear yours. You're gonna get mine soon. Be a friend, tell a friend about the podcast. If you do, you might change somebody's life. They're like yo, I need a really good NBA basketball podcast. Do you have any suggestions? It's like well, vince did tell me to be a friend, tell a friend about the podcast, and that's when you would tell them about Frontrunner Podcast Collective Tuesday and Friday, right, tuesday and Friday.

Now, while you're telling your friend, I want you to tell us who's going to win this matchup. Is it the heartland of America? Is it where Bobby Knight used to storm the sidelines for the Indiana Hoosiers? Is it about the legend of French Lick Indiana, larry Bird? You talking about a great white American basketball player, larry Bird. Or is it about bright lights, big city, manhattan, gotham, basically the hub of people? Who wins out?

You hit us up at frontrunnerpc on x or at raya underscore, fudge frpc. Also, we have blue sky account. Blue sky, I am very simple at frontrunnerpcblueskysocial serea super fancy frpc-reabskysocial we want to hear from you. We want to know your thoughts on this series. You've heard us wax poetically about this series. We will give you our predictions in one moment. But I need to hear from you. I need to hear the stank, I need to hear the ruckus, I need to hear all of the trash talk. Indiana be heard. Hashtag, boom, baby, hashtag. Yes, sirs, hashtag, new York forever. I need to hear y'all Hit us up, let us know. Now I want to say one thing before we go any further, because I want to give a little more shine to Wando for Indiana, because I want to make this declaration right now I want to be on wax. So when this happens next year, don't come looking for me going. Oh oh, no, no, no, no. We told you this year that this was coming.

Next year, andrew Namhart will be an all-defensive player next year. You mark my words. Andrew Namhart is that dude right, he is a absolute demon on defense. He doesn't care, he's six foot three. I don't even know if he's 185 pounds, but that dude does not give a shit about his body and he will make sure you don't give a shit about yours because it is a war for him. It is personal and he doesn't like you. He doesn't like you, he doesn't want to like you, he doesn't want your mama to like you and he's going to play basketball that way and he's going to be all defensive. He's going to be an all defensive player next year, guaranteed he will make an all defensive NBA team. I guarantee it. And if he doesn't, it's because he got hurt.

So I have said what I needed to say. That is my Andrew Nembhard referendum. That's my declaration from my guy. Shout out to Andrew Nembhard bro, I've been watching you since Gonzaga. You, my guy, you my dude. Congratulations on all your success. And when you start going downhill in this Eastern Conference Finals like a bowling ball with knives attached to it, the Knicks will know what they're up against.

So we spend a lot of time talking about the stars. We spend a lot of time talking about defense and future, all defensive players and all that sort of thing. But you know what you need now. You know what you need. You need a absolute, definitive winner in this playoff series and I am the man to give it to you. So this is what I think. If indiana steals a road win in this series. I bet ninhard will have his fingerprints all over it, and if indiana wins, it's because of this. They turn the series into a blur. It's not a reckless pace, it's smart tempo speed, the kind of ball movement that makes even good defensive.

Second guess on closeouts, halliburton doesn't need to score 30. It is not required for him to score 30. But is it, though? Because here's the thing, here's the thing that I always want to let people know Role players are really good when there's no pressure on them. Role players are terrible when we are looking for you To do something. That's what makes them role players.

Stars Do it every game. That's why we call them stars, because stars are constant. They're always in the damn sky. Bro, look up right now. That big, that big yellow ball, or big white ball, that kind of looks yellow, or whatever the case may be, that's a star, it's a sun. Right, that's a star. And I'm gonna tell you right now, indiana, if you don't share the sugar the way you've been sharing the sugar, if you don't make crisp, concise cuts, if pascal siakam is una is just unsure for a split second, it's all over. Baby, the dream dies. Here can go home. You can go ahead and make your trips to Cancun or Ibiza or wherever the hell you're going to go.

Indiana wins. It's because the Knicks couldn't dictate the floor spacing or the rhythm, and the moment they let the game go, east west carlisle wins the chess match. Now, if the knicks are gonna win, baby, you know what this is about. This is about jalen brunson and the coronation that is jalen brunson. We, I'm going to tell you right now, if Jalen Brunson leads the Knicks to the NBA Finals, he will become the most well-loved Knick of all time. That is not hyperbole. He has already given them a financial discount just to play for the Knicks in Madison Square Garden and he said I am so confident in who I am that I am going to go to not just Madison Square Garden, but I am going to make all that money back off the court, trust me. Now, why do the Knicks win?

The game stays closed and Mr Clutch shouts out to um, somebody who I truly, truly love and is no longer with us, the original Mr Clutch, jerry West. Jalen is starting to really remind me of a guy who I, uh, have a lot of respect for. It's Mitchell Robinson too. Because we talked about this we say, hey, we don't know. I mean cat, he's seven feet tall but he's not a defender. We, we know this right. But mitchell robertson showing up and showing out against boston, let us know, yo, we was right. That dude does make a difference and he owns the glass and he's gonna own glass. And heart is going to be heart, okay. And what I mean by heart being heart? Um, in the suicide squad, okay.

In the suicide squad, there was a moment where harley said, hey, man, this looks like this is fucked up. We're probably going to lose and we're all going to die, but we're going to have a good damn time doing it. That is Josh Hart in a nutshell. And Josh Hart plays with zero fear. Cero Mera Okay, he plays with no fear. Sh shots out to my guy, penta.

Smackdown is beautiful with Penta in it, right, but if Josh Hart is going to be a wild man, and New York, because Indiana ran out of comfort zones, you can't flow your way out of a game when you're getting bodied every possession and, trust me, the physicality from the Knicks is coming. If you are not either prepared or you didn't believe that the physicality was coming, you clearly had didn't watch film. These dudes are gonna push you, they are gonna hold you, they're gonna grab your jersey. You're probably gonna get stepped on once or twice. You're probably gonna get a forearm where you don't want it. There's gonna be an elbow or two.

Welcome. Welcome to new york, baby. It's never easy. It's never easy here. Traffic is bad, rent and owning shit is super expensive. Buying stuff is so expensive. It is hard to be in new york, but like they say, if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere. So here's the deal Execution Pacers by Sliver Talent, composite Knicks by Knows, health and coaching.

Delta. Slight edge To the Indiana Pacers, matchup leverage dead. Even that means throw out the trends. You look at playoff weight, playoff scars and the guys who proven, who can close games While dragging a tired offense uphill. So you want my prediction Gotham, get ready. You're going to the finals. The Knicks in seven. I got the Knicks Blue and orange skies forever. Timberland boots in the sky. Let's go. New York in the final. Stephen a Smith crying on TV, larry Johnson grandmama freaking out, bernard King just being Bernard King and Spike Lee losing his shit. The Knicks haven't been to the finals since 1999. And this year ends that drought. The Knicks beat the Pacers in an electrifying seven games, thrilling series.

I will say this the Pacers, I respect you, I respect everything about you. I think you play a beautiful brand of basketball. But this is where New York earns its scars the right way, and it moves on. You have to be a little more dirty, you have to be a little more bloody, you have to be a little more gr. You have to be a little more bloody, you have to be a little more gritty to win in these atmospheres. And I'm telling you right now, indiana, as much as I love you, as much as I think highly of you, when josh hart takes your will, you're gonna know what I'm talking about. So, nixon seven. I know there's a lot of people who disagree with me. That's cool, I get it. I understand.

We don't make predictions just to be making them. We put a lot of thought into this. There's models, all kinds of stuff that goes into it shouts out to my team FRPC is real big. We love it. Y'all should love it too. So, with that being said, this has been our Eastern Conference Finals preview.

I hope you enjoyed it. I hope you enjoyed the energy. I hope you enjoyed the pageantry. I hope you enjoyed the stats, just all the looks, the nooks and crannies about the pageantry. I hope you enjoyed the stats, just all the looks, the nooks and crannies about the damn podcast. And if you did, be a friend and tell a friend about this podcast. Frontrunner Podcast Collective takes care of all your NBA needs. Tuesday, friday, feel friday, coming to you soon, right, coming to you soon, baby. So be a friend to tell a friend about this podcast. Also, be a friend, tell a friend, tell a mailman, tell a amazon worker. You know I'm saying tell your, uh, your your barber. You know I'm saying tell everybody about this podcast because we coming, just like the knicks are coming, all right, they coming for you.

This series kicks off tomorrow, which is hump day, wednesday. We will be back on Friday and we will have games to break down and we will also have draft stuff to give you. We will also have news about the offseason, because the Giannis watch the KD watch starts now. Start the clock, start the damn clock. Watch the KD watch starts now. Start the clock, start the damn clock. Because Giannis Antetokounmpo exit of the Milwaukee Bucks starts in earnest now. The exit for Kevin Durant out of Phoenix starts now and we are here to cover all of it and we're happy to do so.

So, for my team, soraya and everybody else in the cut in the crew, I thank you for all of your help. Secondly, to our new audience members, thank you so much. It is an absolute privilege to do this. I do not take it lightly, I take it very seriously, but I hope I hope that I provide you with a bunch of entertainment and a couple laughs here and there and hopefully, some good, good information here and there. With that being said, the best part of you is you, but how we get you is all those others that are behind the scenes supporting you, all your loved ones who are saying, hey, man, pick up your head. Or hey, hey, girl, it's going to be alright, you don't need him anyway.

For all those who pick up the pieces when we fall apart, we want to thank you For all those who just listen to us ramble about stupid shit. We thank you for that as well. For all those who are just there to be a shoulder, we salute you and if you got people like that in your life, appreciate those. Those are real ones. Those are the ones that don't care about the money, your status, where you can get them into or out of. They just care about you.

And those are the ones that you want to appreciate. Those are the ones that you want to literally alliterate and say, hey, I appreciate you, I, I see you and I appreciate what you have done for me. It has made me a better person. Thank you so much. Give that person a hug. Send that person a text, facetime them shit, send them a card. I know that's old school, people appreciate that shit. But if you're doing that and you got people in your life like that, that means you are well adjusted. Individual and we would be glad to always hold a chair for you here at frontrunner podcast. Collective, because support is different when love is behind it. And with that, we are out. We'll see you on friday enjoy the eastern conference and western conference uh, finals. And we'll see you back on this feed on Friday Deuce.