Charles Barkley and Shaq say the Indiana Pacers will beat this team in the playoffs

The Indiana Pacers need just a single win to clinch a spot in the playoffs and avoid the play-in. They should be able to accomplish that as they play the Cavs and the Hawks in their remaining games. They have all but clinched that spot. The question now is up to seeding.

Indiana could realistically finish anywhere from fourth to sixth in the Eastern Conference standings. The seeding is still too complicated to lay out all of the scenarios, but the Pacers should like where they sit right now. They are a dangerous team with how good their offense is.

They are so dangerous of a team that two prominent NBA analysts are calling for the Pacers to have a first-round upset. Both Charles Barley and Shaq, who are on TNT, believe that a certain team does not want to see Indiana in the first round of the playoffs.

Charles Barley and Shaq think the Pacers will beat the Knicks in the playoffs

Both analysts think that the Pacers will take down the Knicks in the first round if they meet in a 3/6 matchup. The Knicks have not quite clinched the 3-seed yet, but they are more than likely going to be there. If Indiana wins on Friday night against the Cavs, they very well could be the 5-seed and they would avoid the Knicks.

As you can see, both of them think that the Pacers are a bad matchup for New York. If those two do play, it would be the renewal of a storied rivalry. These two franchises had a bunch of battles in the 90s and that's when Reggie Miller became a household name.

These two haven't faced off in the playoffs since 2013 when the Pacers beat the Knicks to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. That was the last time that Knicks fans had hopes that their team might actually be a true contender. Indiana was a contender the following year and hasn't been since.

Personally, I think the Pacers would be better off facing the Cavs in the first round. But the Knicks could be on the docket too. I like Indiana's chances against either.