Knicks Join contenders, advance in NBA playoffs

Transcript

00:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]

00:02 The Golden State Warriors have been there, but not this time around.

00:06 The San Antonio Spurs, it's been a while, and with Wembley, they have a future.

00:10 They're gonna get there, but not this time around.

00:12 Right now in the spotlight, among other teams advancing in the NBA playoffs,

00:17 the Mavericks, the Thunder, the Knicks, and the Pacers.

00:21 I'm Mike Fisher reporting on the NBA.

00:23 Let's go to New York, where Madison Square Garden is going to be the home site for

00:29 the second seeded Knicks.

00:32 The Knicks are favored in this series.

00:34 Now, both Shaq and Charles Barkley on TNT are picking the Pacers.

00:38 And as a Rick Carlisle guy, I get it.

00:43 And obviously what the Pacers have done in rebuilding so quickly and

00:47 becoming a contender and then battling through a Bucks team in the first round,

00:51 impressive enough.

00:52 But Jalen Brunson and the Knicks, there's every reason to favor them.

00:56 As it relates to the Mavericks and the Thunder, the Thunder a slight favorite

01:02 here, this is not a bitter rivalry the way if you look back to the 90s,

01:09 the Knicks and the Pacers are, the Reggie and the Spike Lee and the Patrick Ewing.

01:13 But these two franchises do have a history and

01:15 of course there's a regional conflict.

01:17 So this could become a rivalry of sorts.

01:20 One thing that OKC does have, they have perimeter defenders.

01:25 And that might be the one thing that can give Luka Doncic trouble,

01:28 the one thing that can give Kyrie Irving trouble.

01:31 And so Oklahoma City, again, not unlike the Pacers,

01:35 building a competitive team very quickly.

01:38 And credit to them, in Dallas of course,

01:41 the belief is that Luka is virtually unguardable when he's on and

01:46 he's usually on and Kyrie Irving in these playoffs and much, much more.

01:50 Has been much the same.

01:51 So a real thrill ride now for a surprising Pacers team, for

01:56 a resurgent Knicks franchise, and for a Mavericks team that hopes it can ride

02:02 two superstars over the Thunder in round two of the NBA playoffs.

02:06 In Dallas on the NBA, Fish out.