The New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers have a storied rivalry, dating back to the early 1990s. They will meet in the Eastern Conference Finals for the fourth time, with a ticket to the NBA finals on the line. The teams match up fairly well on paper, and ultimately, which team takes better care of the ball could be the deciding factor in who gets one step closer to their goal.
The offenses of both the Knicks and the Pacers are powered by their All-Star point guards, Jalen Brunson and Tyrese Haliburton. Brunson is known for his scoring prowess and impeccable footwork, while Haliburton is known as a world-class passer and for his patented step-back. What both players have in common is their ball security.
The Knicks know all too well from their series with Boston how playoff games can come down to the wire and be decided by single possessions. If you can't trust your primary ball handler to hold onto the ball in the biggest moments, your team is destined to falter.
Winning the turnover battle matters
So far in the 2025 playoffs, the team that has won the turnover battle has won the game over 70 percent of the time. That is a massive incentive to hold onto the ball. Looking back at the Knicks series against the Celtics, two games were won with steals from the Knicks and turnovers from the Celtics in the final plays of the game.
While all turnovers are costly, they are not all created equally. For example, turning the ball over after a shot clock violation is bad offense; it is a waste of a possession where your team didn't even give itself a chance to put points on the board. That said, turning the ball over in the course of gameplay is far worse.
The reason is, not only does that hinder your team on offense, but it also gives the defense a chance to attack before you get a chance to set your own defense to defend. So far in the playoffs, teams have averaged about 1.1 points per possession, per league tracking data. That number shoots up to 1.3 when it is a transition possession. It goes up all the way to 1.4 points per possession when it is a transition possession off of a live-ball turnover.
Brunson vs. Haliburton
I mentioned Brunson and Haliburton at the start of this article for a reason. They are the straw that stirs the offensive drink for both of their teams. They also have the ball in their hands a ton. Brunson averages 9.5 minutes of possession per game, while Haliburton averages slightly less, at 6.1 minutes of possession per game.
However, both players do an exceptional job of keeping their turnovers, specifically costly turnovers, down, despite having the ball so often. Brunson has only committed 19 live-ball turnovers all playoffs, while Haliburton is at 17.
This series is looking like it could be a log, competitive one, and whoever can limit their mistakes may have the best chance to come out on top.