TNT Drops Pacers/Knicks Game to Televise a Better Matchup

Jan 16, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) scrambles for a loose ball against Indiana Pacers forward David West (21) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana defeats New York 117- 89. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 16, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) scrambles for a loose ball against Indiana Pacers forward David West (21) at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Indiana defeats New York 117- 89. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports /
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Every game between the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks used to be an event. But now a matchup between the two terrible teams is so unappealing that the NBA broadcast network TNT has opted to not air the teams’ meeting on January 29, according to the Indiana Pacers.

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The game, which will be played in Indiana, will tip off at 7:00 p.m. (as opposed to 8 p.m.) and air on Fox Sports Indiana. Fans of both teams that I theoretically could have interviewed for this article expect the game to be awful and are marginally relieved that sports fans will not be subjected to the originally scheduled optical vandalism. “Good,” said one make believe Pacers fan. “It’s bad enough that people in Indiana and New York have to watch this trash. We shouldn’t make anyone else suffer along with us.”

As of press time, we don’t know what game will replace the Pacers/Knicks matchup. “Hopefully they show Damian Lillard,” said Mr. Make Believe. “Nobody knows how good he is, and he’s way better than Carmelo or whoever the Pacers’ best healthy player is these days. C.J. Miles? Is it really C.J. Miles? I think it’s probably C.J. Miles.”

A fictional man from Carmelo Anthony’s hometown of Baltimore shared a similar sentiment.

This will be the third time the Knicks have been “flexed” off of national TV this year.

TNT was able to select a new game to air as part of the flex scheduling initiative that broadcast partners reached with the NBA in recent negotiations. This way, instead of broadcasting games of large market teams that prove to be wretched after the initial schedule is drafted in the preseason, the networks can pick more palatable match ups that real, live human beings might care to watch.

This will be the third time the Knicks have been “flexed” off of national TV this year. ESPN first opted out of showing a game between New York and the Brooklyn Nets, and announced it won’t show at least four of the other five Knicks games it had planned to broadcast.

The Downfall of the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks

This marks a far fall for the two teams, the Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks, that played an entertaining second-round playoff series in 2013 that saw Paul George and Roy Hibbert raise their standing to star status in the NBA. Though it may seem like forever ago for the two beleaguered franchises, that was just 20 months ago.

You may remember it as the series that featured the block heard round the world.

The demotion of the broadcast also speaks to the fleeting opportunity to contend in such a competitive league. Two years ago, the Pacers and Knicks were seen as the only viable contenders that could challenge the Miami Heat to win the Eastern Conference.

Now the Pacers are praying to make the playoffs while sitting on a four-game losing streak that includes defeats to the Philadelphia 76ers and Minnesota Timberwolves. And the might New York Knicks? Well, they might be the worst team in the NBA.

Windows can close quickly in this here Association — and some slam shut.