If there’s one thing I know about America, it’s this:
This country is obsessed with the NIT.
A couple weeks ago, we addressed the question of which NBA enterprise best emulates the National Invitation Tournament. Our answer was that this year, the NBA’s NIT is two unrelated postseason series: Knicks vs. Pistons and Pacers vs. Bucks. Having given these would-be NIT’s four games apiece to prove their worth, this morning’s a good time to check in. How has each answered its own hype?
So far, the edge lies with Knicks/Pistons. One team entered the season with high hopes that now seem like they were always unwarranted. The other is young and growing, happy to be here and unashamed of however their postseason will end. The basketball itself has been physical and chaotic. Game 4 featured a nearly scoreless final minute, a collaborative attack on basketball which left the referees themselves criticizing the officiating. This week, the series returns to Madison Square Garden, where the Knicks hope to secure a victory that means a lot to them but won’t be remembered by anyone else five years from now.
Don’t sleep on Pacers/Bucks, though. There is sadness there: Damian Lillard’s feared to have torn his Achilles last night. All hope is muted: Does anyone really think the Pacers could make the Finals? The identity is NIT to a T: Even setting aside the current location of the NIT Final Four, it’s hard to find more NIT-embodying cities than Indianapolis and Milwaukee. Believe me. We once started building competing 68 and 32-team brackets of American cities before clicking pause on the project until we make it to Alaska.
What we have, then, is this: Knicks/Pistons has best embodied the NIT identity so far. Pacers/Bucks has the potential to be an NIT all-timer. As is so often the case in the NIT world, everything hinges on the fifth game.
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