4* Rotation #555: NBA Monday 4* Indiana Pacers +6 @ New York Knicks @ 7:30 ET - This is too many points. The Knicks just faced a weak Sixers team that had a hobbled Embiid, had traded away their grit players that are tougher defensively, and - as per usual - Philly folded and went away meekly into the night like they always do come playoff time. That Philly team is never going to win anything. Now things get much tougher for the Knicks as they face a healthier team that also looks playoff-ready. The Pacers allowed 109 ppg to the Bucks in round one - not including OT points of course - and the Pacers are one of the top teams offensively in the league. Yes the Knicks are a strong team and solid defensively but they averaged only 104.6 ppg - not including OT points - in their final 5 games of that series with the weak Sixers. The Pacers are going to be a whole other level of challenge. Also, New York is 6-2 L8 games but 5 of those 6 wins were by 5 lor less points! That means that only ONE time in last EIGHT games have the Knicks managed to win a game by more than 5 points! By the way, that win was by just 7 points! As you can see, the Pacers catching a half-dozen points here is a great value. The Knicks sure could have used Julius Randle in this series! Also, even the loss of Bojan Bogdanovic to season-ending surgery hurts New York as well. He had played in the Philly series before he got hurt and he averaged 10 points per game after coming to the Knicks from the Pistons. As for the Pacers, Tyrese Haliburton is listed as questionable due to back spasms but he had that same designation in the Bucks series and kept playing and I expect him out there again tonight to open up this series. Either way I love the underdog value here and am grabbing the points! 4* INDIANA +6