The last two seasons of New York Knicks basketball ended in the same way: defeat at the hands of the Indiana Pacers, their biggest rival of the century thus far.
Tyrese Haliburton's unfortunate injury kept the Pacers out of the playoff race entirely, ensuring that the Knicks won't meet the same fate for a third consecutive season. But their losses to those Pacers teams will have been meaningless if they don't take a key lesson away from them.
Indiana beat New York with speed, incredibly fitting given both their branding and personnel. The Cleveland Cavaliers have a deep room of guards, from James Harden and Donovan Mitchell to Dennis Schröder, that can keep up the tempo with swift drives to the basket.
The Knicks will have to prove that they've learned their lesson: something Mike Brown has unequivocally prepared them for.
Cavaliers present a specific ECF threat that has hurt these Knicks before
While both of New York's losses to Indiana didn't occur in the Eastern Conference Finals, the pain fans felt was just as real both times. The Knicks have a chance to correct all of those mistakes with an NBA Finals appearance, despite both WCF teams looking like they'll be tough to beat.
The Cavs' depth at guard, though, will allow them to push the pace with fresh-legged ball handlers. It'll be a legitimate roadblock for the Knicks to overcome on their quest to their first Finals trip in over a quarter of a century.
Their pair of All-Star creators in the starting lineup are the engines behind their own ECF run; and guards like Keon Ellis are sitting right in Kenny Atkinson's back pocket in the case that they need to shake things up.
The last time the Thunder lost a playoff series, the Dallas Mavericks overcame them in large part because they forced everyone except for Shai Gilgeous-Alexander to beat them. The San Antonio Spurs replicated that same dilemma in Monday night's Game 1 upset on the road in Oklahoma City.
The Cavaliers have certainly watched the two recent series between the Pacers and Knicks. The result of both, as fans know well, was Indiana sending New York home for the summer.
The expectations surrounding this Knicks squad are skyscraper-high, and they look primed to capitalize on their opportunity to meet their end of the bargain with regard to exceeding last year's results.
But they'll have to prove that they learned their lesson, ironically enough, from a team that's not in the playoffs at all.
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