What I like about this:
- Pacers clearly want this to be a rivalry. Look at how hard they played vs NYK last year in a “tank” year.
- Players can still be friends and yet also “hate” a team they play.
- IND still can claim they are only team to eliminate NYK in last 3 years.
Tyrese Haliburton says he had mixed feelings seeing New York Knicks win the championship:
“The Knicks are they like our rival? Yes. But like are those guys like, I like those guys and like their friends? Yeah. At the same time, you know, like I usually watch like a finals celebration when like I have before in my life like I watch because that’s like a special thing and like an emotional thing to watch guys win a championship and then celebrate with their families like, I’m always like man that’s fire but when the Knicks won I thought to myself I got to turn this sh*t off.”
That definitely has to be a weird thing playing against your friends that is on a team that is your rival, and see them win a championship in a year you couldn’t play had to be tough.