There are many interesting stories in this classic second-round playoff series between the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers, starting on Monday, May 6.
One of them is the comeback of Knicks’ former top draft pick Obi Toppin to Madison Square Garden, where Knicks fans used to cheer for him. However, now that he’s playing for one of the Knicks’ biggest rivals back in the 90s, Toppin is not anticipating a warm reception.
“We know what kind of crowd will be there,” Toppin informed reporters after the Pacers’ Saturday practice. “Famous people will be there, so we just need to focus on our main priorities and play our style of basketball.”
The Knicks will be trying to slow down the Pacers, who averaged 113.0 points (which is 2nd in the playoffs) during their six-game victory over the injury-hit Milwaukee Bucks. This sets the stage for the classic battle of offense versus defense. The Knicks had the second-best defense, only behind the surging Minnesota Timberwolves in the West, holding the Philadelphia 76ers to just 108.2 points per game.
Toppin stated that the MSG crowd no longer excites him.
“I’m from New York,” said the Brooklyn-born Toppin. “You play in Dyckman, you play in the Rucker Park. You see that every single day so it’s like being from New York, that doesn’t really excite me anymore.”
From Top Draft Pick to Role Player
Toppin was the first pick in the draft by current Knicks president Leon Rose. As a consensus national player of the year in college, being chosen by his hometown team was a dream come true for him.
But things took a turn for the worse as he ended up on the bench behind three-time All-Star forward Julius Randle. Now, with Randle sidelined for the season due to a shoulder injury, the Knicks have been forced to play Josh Hart for almost the entire game (46.8 minutes) in their playoff campaign, leaving Toppin, the former backup power forward, out of the picture.
“We always thought [Toppin] was a good player,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau told New York Post. “I don’t think anything has changed. Very athletic, runs the floor great, shoots the ball, can score the ball. He’s always been able to score. Like I said, we loved having him. He was in a situation here where he’s playing behind Julius [Randle]. So that was the story behind that.”
After three disappointing seasons with the Knicks — winning a Slam Dunk title was the only highlight of his Knicks career — he was traded to the Pacers last summer for a couple of second-round picks.
Toppin initially started in 28 games for the Pacers before coach Rick Carlisle moved him to the second unit, where he excelled and contributed to the Pacers' first playoff series triumph since 2014.
The former No. 8 pick recently achieved a playoff career-high of 21 points and 8 rebounds in the Pacers’ 120-98 series-clinching victory over the Bucks in Game 6.
Obi Toppin’s Mindset Against Former Team
Toppin has not explicitly mentioned seeking revenge against the Knicks. However, he acknowledges that the situation he is in now adds to the rivalry between his former and current teams, both of which had intense and thrilling playoff showdowns in the 90s.
Toppin said that the rivalry between the teams is intense, but at the end of the day, they all made it to New York and will be going into battle. He mentioned that their opponents are known for being very physical, and they need to match that physicality and play their own style of basketball in order to succeed.
Toppin used to be known for his finesse and crowd-energizing dunks, but this time his dunks won't impress the Garden crowd as much.
The once promising lottery pick is now satisfied with playing his role.
Toppin feels that he's preparing for the game against the Knicks in the same way he did for Milwaukee – by focusing on the coaches' instructions both offensively and defensively, and playing his part.
