MIAMI – “Reggie wanted us, so here we come.”
Those were the departing words of Game 7 hero Chris Childs. He probably was speaking for the Knicks as a whole.
For the second straight year, the Knicks will face Reggie Miller and the Pacers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Game 1 is tomorrow night at the Conseco Fieldhouse, giving the Knicks just over 48 hours to enjoy winning their war against the Heat.
“It’s going to be good,” Knicks point guard Charlie Ward said. “They’re a very tough team and we know what they’re going to bring: toughness and good outside shooting. We just have to be ready and prepare for it.”
As intense a rivalry as the Knicks-Heat is, Knicks-Pacers is just as volatile. This will be the third time in the last five years they have met in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Knicks beat the Pacers, four games to three in ’94 and in six games last year. The Pacers beat the Knicks in seven games in the 1995 conference semifinals and in five games in the ’98 semis.
“There’s definitely a rivalry there and there’s some hatred between the two teams, no question about that,” Knicks assistant coach Don Chaney said.
The Knicks no doubt began the preparation for the Pacers during the flight home from Miami and will start to build their gameplan in earnest today. The two teams split their four-game series this year, with each team winning both their home games.
“We’re playing a team that we know,” Chaney said. “We know what their strengths and weaknesses are. Adjustments shouldn’t be that difficult for us.
“They’re a different type team. They post a lot of their guards where Miami posts [Alonzo] Mourning, so we have to make an adjustment there. But, basically both teams know each other.”
That familiarity has bred contempt, particularly for the antics of Miller, who publicly dissed Patrick Ewing after the Pacers won Game 2 last year. It would be Ewing’s final game after tearing his Achilles tendon.
“Reggie’s going to be Reggie,” Allan Houston said. “We expect him to play well and we’re going to prepare for it.”
Chaney doesn’t expect the Knicks to be worn out from the Heat series.
“The only thing that hurts us on a consistent basis is back-to-back games,” Chaney said. “When our guys have that day in between they usually recuperate pretty well.”
