In Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Tyrese Haliburton dominated the Knicks. He was far and away the best player on the court, dictating every aspect of the game and scoring at will. In Game 5, however, he was a no-show. One of the main reasons for the dramatic decrease in production was the way that the Knicks guarded him, a defensive wrinkle that won the Knicks the game and could flip the entire series.
The Pacers took a commanding 3-1 lead over the Knicks in Game 4, with Haliburton scoring 32 points and dishing out 15 assists, all while having zero turnovers. Not only was it a historically great performance for the Pacers guard, it seemed to be the knockout blow in the series. Indiana looked like the better team, and Haliburton looked like the best player in the series.
Then, in Game 5, Haliburton had just eight points and six assists. He only took seven shots from the field in the entire game. He looked like a completely different player. In fact, it was almost impossible to believe that he had just scored 32 points in the prior game.
So what changed? How were the Knicks able to suffocate Haliburton when they absolutely needed to? It started with ball pressure.
No room to breath for Haliburton
Over the first four games of the series, the Knicks picked up Haliburton an average of 40.9 feet from the basket on possessions where he was the ball-handler bringing the ball up the floor. In Game 5, the Knicks picked Haliburton up 50.5 feet from the basket, a dramatic increase.
The increased ball pressure worked, as Haliburton had nowhere close to the impact he had in the first four games of the series. While Bridges was the primary defender on Haliburton again, it was a full team effort. The average pick-up distance for all defenders on Haliburton was 50 feet in Game 5.
With Game 6 looming, the Knicks will need to bring even more intensity and effort guarding Haliburton if they are to extend the series to a Game 7. It won't be easy for the Knicks, who don't have the same depth that Indiana does. It will also be interesting if the extra energy exerted by the Knicks on defense has an impact on their offensive game.
Tom Thibodeau will likely have to turn to Landry Shamet and Delon Wright again to give their starting guards some much-needed rest.