Tyrese Haliburton-Jalen Brunson among positional matchups to watch in Pacers-Knicks series

INDIANAPOLIS — The Pacers faced the Knicks three times in the regular season and beat them twice, but enter the Eastern Conference semifinals knowing they're going to be dealing with a significantly different team.

They have seen the Knicks All-Star Jalen Brunson three times and had problems with him, but a number of the Knicks’ other most important pieces missed the matchups in late December, late January and mid-February with injuries.

"We haven't played them at full strength at all," Pacers All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton said. "The first time they just made the trade. The second game, O.G. (Anunoby) didn't play. The third game, O.G. and (Isaiah) Hartenstein didn't play, and (Mitchell) Robinson didn't play any of those games either. It will be different. What we've learned from this last playoff series is the regular season doesn't matter at all."

So the Pacers have to be ready for a much different matchup situation. Here's a look at how the Pacers and Knicks line up position-by-position, though both teams will certainly be cross-matching on defense.

Point Guard

Jalen Brunson vs. Tyrese Haliburton

Brunson and Haliburton became close friends on Team USA last summer during the FIBA World Cup when Brunson was the team's starting point guard and Haliburton his backup. Haliburton won an Eastern Conference starting job in the All-Star Game while Brunson was selected as a reserve and Haliburton was selected for a position Team USA for this summer's Olympics in Paris, while Brunson was left off. However, Brunson seems to be the more certain bet to make an All-NBA team while Haliburton is sweating it out with more than $50 million on the line in his contract.

Brunson and Haliburton are the engines that drive their respective teams, but they operate in very different ways which is partly why they were effective as a 1-2 punch with Team USA.

The Knicks need Brunson to score as well as create, and he can get his own shot in virtually any scenario. He's a three-level scorer who can get to the rim at will, get buckets in the mid-range and knock down 3-pointers. He averaged 28.7 points per game in the regular season which put him fourth in the NBA, and in the first round of the playoffs his 35.6 points per game was the highest figure of anyone in the tournament. He's scored at least 39 points in each of his last four games and at least 40 in each of his last three. He's averaging 29.2 field goal attempts per game, by far the most of anyone in the playoffs, but he's also averaging 9.0 assists per game, which puts him fourth in the playoffs.

Haliburton has always been more focused on creating for others, and after his early-season scoring outbursts drew him more defensive attention, he's struggled to make shots. He’s become more satisfied with moving the ball first and letting the ball get back to him. He was admittedly overly passive in Game 1 against the Bucks when he scored just nine points on seven field goal attempts, but he averaged 17.4 points per game in the last five. After leading the NBA in assists with 10.9 per game in the regular season, he had three double-figure assist games against the Bucks and 9.3 per game put him only behind Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic in the playoffs.

There's a very low chance Haliburton and Brunson guard each other. Andrew Nembhard and Aaron Nesmith will likely take the assignment of guarding Brunson for the Pacers. Haliburton could see Josh Hart and O.G. Anunoby, among others.

Shooting Guard

Donte DiVincenzo vs. Andrew Nembhard

Partnering with former Villanova teammates Brunson and Josh Hart has allowed Donte DiVincenzo to rejuvenate his career at age 27. With Brunson taking so much attention as a volume scorer, DiVincenzo has taken advantage of collapsing defenses to turn into one of the NBA's most prolific outside shooters.

DiVincenzo averaged a career high 15.5 points per game this season, his previous high being 10.4 per game for the NBA champion Bucks in 2020-21. His 283 3-pointers put him third in the NBA behind Stephen Curry and Luka Doncic, and he knocked those down at a 40.1% clip. More than 70% of his total field goal attempts were 3-pointers, but he also showed he could attack closeouts and finish at the rim, making 60.7% of his field goals within 3 feet of the basket.

Nembhard, a point guard by trade, isn't nearly as prolific of a scorer or an outside shooter, but he's growing into a defensive ace and his resilience in his matchup against Damian Lillard was a big reason the Pacers were able to pull out the series against the Bucks. Lillard scored 69 points in the first two games and he averaged 31.3 points per game for the series, but in the last two games, he made just 13 of 36 field goals (36.1%) with Nembhard making him work. Nembhard generally gets one of the toughest matchups on the floor and that matchup showed a lot of growth.

Nembhard averaged a modest 9.2 points per game to go with 4.1 assists in the regular season, but the Pacers pushed him to be aggressive in the first round of the playoffs, knowing he'd get an advantageous matchup. As the series wore on he made more of a point to drive the ball and backcut as well as take open 3-pointers and he scored in double figures each of the last five games. He averaged 13.8 points per game for the series, shot 59.6% from the floor and 45.0% from 3-point range while also dishing out 4.7 assists per game.

Nembhard will likely start on Brunson on defense but he could also be guarded by Brunson. The Pacers could put Haliburton or Nesmith on DiVincenzo.

Small Forward

Josh Hart vs. Aaron Nesmith

The Knicks and Pacers start their selfless, glue guy wings at the 3. Both are tough, tenacious defenders who can play above their size and shoot and score when it’s called for.

The 6-4, 215-pound Hart is the more experienced of the two players in his seventh season with his fourth franchise. He averaged 9.4 points per game on a shaky 43.4% shooting including 31.0% from the 3-point arc, but he grabbed a career high 8.3 rebounds per game and dished out 4.1 assists per game while always taking on a tough defensive assignment. In the first round against the 76ers, he caught fire from outside in the first three games, hitting four 3-pointers and scoring over 20 points in each of them. He finished the series averaging 16.8 points per game and shooting 42.3% from 3-point range in the series and also grabbed 12.3 rebounds per game and dished out 4.5 assists per game.

Aaron Nesmith had to take on Khris Middleton, a hero of his in childhood and a mentor in adolescence when he grew up in Charleston, S.C. Middleton ultimately won that matchup, but Nesmith battled him as he has so many other top-line forwards this season and Nesmith hit some key shots of his own. He scored in double figures in four of the six games and he hit 12 3-pointers in the series, third behind only Myles Turner and Tyrese Haliburton.

Hart could guard either Haliburton or All-Star forward Pascal Siakam and could end up taking on both. Nesmith could handle Hart, Brunson, DiVincenzo or O.G. Anunoby depending on how the Pacers decide to match up.

Power Forward

O.G. Anunoby vs. Pascal Siakam

Anunoby and Siakam came up together with the Raptors, with Siakam being taken with their first round pick in the 2016 draft and Anunoby being taken in the first round in 2017. They were key parts of Toronto's 2018-19 NBA championship team and they stayed to become pillars of the franchise after 2019 NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard and others moved on. They were traded away this season within a month of each other, both dramatically altering the fortunes of the teams that acquired them, and their matchup could be the most important of this series.

Anunoby, who helped IU win a Big Ten title and earn a Sweet 16 berth in 2016, has become one of the NBA's best perimeter defenders. He led the NBA in steals last year, earning a spot on the All-Defensive second team. He's averaged at least 1.4 steals per game in each of the last four seasons, and his 6-7, 232-pound frame allows him to guard any position 1-4. He's steadily improved offensively, averaging 14.7 points per game this season on 48.9% shooting from the field and 38.2% from 3-point range. He averaged 15.0 points per game on 51.3% shooting in the first round, grabbing 6.8 rebounds per game. Anunoby had surgery to repair an elbow injury shortly after he was acquired in late December which cost him extensive time, but the Knicks were 20-3 in the games he appeared in in the regular season.

Siakam became the focal point of the Raptors' offense when Leonard left, earning two All-Star nods and two All-NBA selections in his last four years there. After earning Most Improved Player honors in 2018-19, he's averaged at least 20 points per game in each season since.

The Pacers determined quickly that Siakam could be a go-to scoring option with the range to score at all three levels. He's 6-8 with a 7-3 wingspan and has remarkably good ball-handling skills for that size, so he can create space off the dribble and shoot over people. He's excellent in transition which fits with how the Pacers want to play, but he can also score in isolation when teams force them to slow down. In 41 regular season games with the Pacers after the trade, he led them with 21.3 points per game on 54.9% shooting.

Siakam had 73 points combined in the Pacers' first two games against Milwaukee. The Bucks adjusted with more double teams and different matchups and he didn't score more than 19 points in any game the rest of the series, but he still led the Pacers with 22.3 points per game on 54.7% shooting and also grabbed 8.8 rebounds and dished out 4.2 assists per game.

The Knicks will probably have to use Anunoby to start on Siakam simply because they don't have a better option, but Anunoby could also be used to harass Haliburton. Siakam's best defensive fit is probably Anunoby, but he could also be asked to guard Hart.

Center

Isaiah Hartenstein vs. Myles Turner

Hartenstein's and Turner's approaches to the center position are vastly different, but the player who wins the clash of styles could have a lot to say about which team wins the series.

The 7-foot, 250-pound Hartenstein has an old school post player's body and Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau has deployed him that way. After Hartenstein took 37 3-pointers last year and 30 the year before, he attempted just three this season and almost all of his offense came around the basket. He shot 64.4% from the field in large part because 63.6% of his shots came from within 3 feet and another 25.2% came from between 3 and 10 feet. He was also a force on the boards, grabbing a career high 8.3 per game.

Turner, meanwhile, views versatility as the strength of his offensive game. He's an excellent partner with Haliburton in the ball screen game because he can roll to the basket and score, hit mid-range jumpers or pass out of short-rolls, or pop out for 3-point shots and spread the floor. He made 76.0% of his field goal attempts within 3 feet this year, but just 24.8% of his shots came from that close. He hit a career high 116 3-pointers at a 35.8% clip but also made 56.2% of his shots from between 10-16 feet and shot 62.3% on attempts between 16 feet and the 3-point line. He averaged 17.1 points per game in the regular season and he was trouble for the Bucks in the playoffs, averaging 19.2 per game.

Turner's games against Hartenstein and the Knicks were among the best and worst of his season. He scored 28 points in a win on Dec. 30 but was held to just five in a loss on Feb. 1 when Hartenstein had 12 points and 19 rebounds. Turner scored 23, however, on 9 of 9 shooting in the Pacers' Feb. 10 win. If he can drag Hartenstein away from the rim and keep him off the offensive glass, Turner could make a huge impact.

Bench

Bojan Bogdanovic did excellent work as the Knicks sixth man before season-ending foot surgery during the 76ers series, averaging 10.4 points per game during the regular season. The Knicks stuck with a short bench — playing Brunson, Hart and Anunoby over 40 minutes per game each against the 76ers — but got excellent production from guard Miles McBride. He scored 21 points in Game 1, 13 in Game 4 and 14 in Game 5. The 6-2, 200-pounder scored in double figures 26 times in the regular season and shot 41.0% from 3-point range so he can be a very tough cover.

Center Mitchell Robinson dealt with injuries for much of the regular season, but he gives the Knicks size and athleticism beyond Hartenstein. The 7-foot, 240-pound Robinson averaged just 3.0 points, but 7.8 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game in the 76ers series. Precious Achuwa, acquired with Anunoby from the Raptors, averaged 7.6 points and 7.2 rebounds in the regular season and gives the Knicks another forward option off the bench.

The Pacers, who played at the second-fastest pace in the NBA and had the highest scoring bench in the regular season, view their depth as a strength and relied more on subs in the first round, though Pacers coach Rick Carlisle did trim his rotation down to effectively eight players.

Point guard T.J. McConnell struggled in the Bucks series after the best regular season of his NBA career, but he finished strong with 20 points on 7 of 9 shooting, nine assists and four steals in Game 6. Former Knicks forward Obi Toppin averaged 12.3 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in the series, scoring in transition and from outside as he had all year and proving he could handle the 5 in small lineups so that he and Siakam could play together on the front line. Rookie guard Ben Sheppard held his own on defense and shot 50% from the floor and 50% from 3-point range on limited attempts, giving the Pacers a trustworthy wing defender off the bench.

The size of Hartenstein and Robinson might inspire Carlisle to use backup centers Jalen Smith and Isaiah Jackson more than he did in the first series. Smith averaged 9.9 points per game on 59.2% shooting and 5.5 rebounds but appeared in just two games against the Bucks. Jackson appeared in four and had some struggles, but Carlisle likes his energy as a lob finisher and shot blocker. Veteran wing Doug McDermott played in four games, but hit two of the five 3-pointers he attempted and could be used in short spurts to spread the floor.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: How the Pacers and Knicks match up position-by-position