Do you hear that?

The groan of an ankle, once fossilized in place, enjoying its full range of mobility. The creak of a gas pedal, long depressed, coming up for air. The squeal of virgin brakes, touched for the very first time.

That's right folks. Tom Thibodeau, for the first time in the history of Tom Thibodeau, is taking his foot off the gas and resting his players. With their playoff positioning all but set, the Knicks coach has ruled out Jalen Brunson and Julius Randle, while RJ Barrett is questionable.

Lest I be accused of waxing poetic, I'll point out that this may not be shutting players down as much as allowing them to recover from legitimate injuries. Randle has been ruled out for the remainder of the regular season with a sprained ankle and Brunson has missed 7 of the last 15. Barrett missed the Knicks' last game with a non-covid illness, but we all know in Thibodeau's mind, that means he's healthy as a horse. So if Barrett indeed rests tonight, I suggest you treat yourself to something special and remember where you were the night Thibs shut 'em down.

For the Pacers, it's business as usual. Haliburton and Duarte are out. Turner is questionable for legal reasons, I'm assuming, because there's a snowball's chance in Florida he plays tonight. We can expect heavy minutes for the young guys and maybe even a little Gabe York for posterity. Hopefully more than posterity, because last night we fell a full game behind Portland in the reverse standings and Washington and Orlando tied us. If we want to finish top six, a healthy dose of Gabe York would go a long way.

This ain't Pacers-Knicks of yore but I still can't bring myself to root for a loss against those loud mouthed, big city, SOBs. Please join me in the comment section where I'll be working through that inner turmoil.

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