Burning questions: The Camby man
ESPN.com
We've definitely seen this before. The Knicks and Pacers met in last year's Eastern Conference finals, and Indiana has played for the East title in four of the last six seasons.
As this series turns to Game 2, we're reminded that a key player in last year's playoffs for New York has not performed well this year. In the second installment of our Q&A series with ESPN's NBA experts, we asked about Marcus Camby and his role:
Marcus Camby was a huge factor in last year's East final when Patrick Ewing was out, but Camby has done very little in the playoffs so far. How key is the presence of Camby and Ewing in this series?
Bucher |
ESPN The Magazine's Ric Bucher
I think Camby is particularly key. I wouldn't go by what Camby has done to date as an indicator of what he will do against Indiana. He struggled in last year's playoffs until the Knicks got to Indiana, and then he was an enormous factor in that series with his shot-blocking and offensive rebounding. He hasn't been that much of a factor, but Miami had his number last year, and the Heat did the same thing this year. They were very physical with him and took him out of his game. He is also supposedly playing with a nagging knee injury, which is probably limiting his mobility to a certain extent. I wouldn't be surprised to see him have another resurgence in this series -- much the same way he did last year. The question will be the matchup between him and Austin Croshere, the one Pacer who might be able to keep him off the boards. The Camby-Croshere matchup is pivotal. As for Ewing, I think he and Rik Smits will cancel each other out in their matchup.
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Aldridge |
NBA reporter David Aldridge
Camby was the best player on the floor last year, and he was the reason why the Knicks won the series. The Pacers had nobody who could guard him. He killed Indiana on both ends of the floor on the glass. He was active in transition and on putbacks and blocking shots. He is a very important player for the Knicks winning the series.
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Ramsay |
NBA analyst Dr. Jack Ramsay
Ewing is critical, and he's playing well. In Games 6 and 7 of the Miami series, he was dynamite against the Heat. I see no reason for his game to falter. He doesn't have anybody who can defend him other than Dale Davis. Camby has to be a producer for the Knicks because they have a thin bench.
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Carter |
NBA analyst Fred Carter
Camby will be a major factor in this series. Keep in mind the Pacers are a slow-footed, slow-jumping, low-jumping team. They don't really play the game above the rim. A player like Camby, who is quick, athletic and has tremendous spring and cat-like quickness, will beat the Pacers to a lot of balls, especially on the offensive boards. Last year, the Pacers didn't get a body on him as Miami did. Because Indiana doesn't have a physical mentality, I expect Camby to have a similar type of series to the one he had last year. For Ewing, it's a battle between him and Rik Smits, two of the older centers in the league. Smits is always capable of coming up with one or two big games in a seven-game series. Smits has size and weight on Ewing, and Patrick's legs aren't as strong as they used to be to stand his ground. But Ewing has been surrendering himself to the rest of the team. He's no longer the focal point, but he's doing all the little things to help his team win. He knows that the window of opportunity is slowly closing and this is a big year for him and the Knicks.
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Jackson |
NBA 2Night's Jason Jackson
I think both Camby and Ewing will be huge. Even though they formerly had Antonio Davis with Dale Davis and Rik Smits in the frontcourt, the Pacers have always been a horrible rebounding team. Camby provides for the Knicks some of that junk rebounding. He always seems to be in the right place at the right time when it comes to blocks, rebounds and offensive tip-ins. He could be key in the series because of the Pacers' inability to seize opportunities on the board. That goes the same for Ewing, and his game seems to be elevating. Around the glass, he and Camby will be invaluable.
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