Reggie Miller is Criminally Overrated

Miller was called a "Knicks Killer" and one of the best clutch players in league history. Was that reputation deserved? No.

We have some time to kill before Game 2 tips off tonight; let's cleanse our palate, shall we?

With Reggie Miller broadcasting the Eastern Conference Finals for TNT and his infamous choke gesture being shown repeatedly on a loop courtesy of Tyrese Haliburton's histrionics Wednesday night, I thought I'd take a few minutes to debunk the fabricated myth of Miller as a feared "boogeyman" in NYC.

Before Game 2 of the Knicks-Pacers series last year, Miller was asked what kind of reception he expected from Knicks fans inside Madison Square Garden. "I'm looking forward to the atmosphere. People ask me, 'Aren't you worried going back to New York City?" he said on TNT's pregame show before Game 2. "I owned this city, so why would I be worried?"

So Miller "owned" NYC, huh? Do the facts back up that claim? Miller was called a "Knicks Killer" and one of the best clutch players in league history. Was that reputation deserved?

Although Reggie certainly knocked down some huge buckets in his storied career, Miller's outsized reputation isn't wholly warranted, considering his actual production in big spots.

Let's acknowledge this right off the bat: Miller is one of the best shooters ever. With 2,560 made three-pointers, he ended his career as the NBA's all-time leader. Reggie also led the NBA in free-throw percentage multiple times, finishing with a stellar 88.8% mark for his career. He was named to the All-Star team five times.

And here's how NBA.com described him in 2004: "The name Reggie Miller is synonymous with clutch… Reggie thrives in crunch time, and he knows that it's different from the rest of the game."

Well, let's fact-check those claims, shall we? We'll start in the spring of 1994.

With Michael Jordan's abrupt retirement before the start of the 1993-94 campaign, the Eastern Conference was up for grabs. The Pacers and the Knicks were two teams that felt they could claim the East's crown with MJ out of the picture. That season, Miller's Pacers advanced past the first round of the playoffs for the first time in his career. They'd eventually meet up with the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals. Miller, at age 28, was in the heart of his prime.

Reggie was on fire in Game 5 of that series, torching the Knicks for 39 points and carrying his club to victory. Late in the fourth quarter of that contest, Reggie was yapping with Spike Lee, and Miller infamously wrapped his hands around his neck to indicate the Knicks were choking. That win gave Indiana a commanding 3-2 lead, sending the series back to Indiana.

Game 6 of the 1994 ECF was undoubtedly the most important game of Miller's career up to that point. At home, with a reeling Knicks team on the ropes, the Pacers were 48 minutes from advancing to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history.

Almost all basketball fans remember the "choke" sign in Game 5, but do they remember that John Starks badly outplayed Miller two nights later in Game 6? Miller shot just 8-for-21 (38%) from the floor in that bitter defeat and had nearly as many turnovers (3) as assists (4). On the other hand, Starks was 8-of-11 from the field and 5-of-6 from 3-point territory en route to 26 points. He also dished out six assists (vs. just one turnover) to spark New York to a crucial victory.

Miller and the Pacers still had a chance to redeem themselves in a winner-take-all Game 7 at Madison Square Garden. Yet, the Knicks once again came out victorious thanks to Patrick Ewing authoring one of the best Game 7 performances in league history. The Big Fella finished with a whopping 24 points, 22 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks. (The only other player to ever tally more than 20 points, 20 boards and five dimes in a Game 7 was Wilt Chamberlain.) Meanwhile, Miller was 7-of-17 from the floor in the loss, with two rebounds, zero assists and two turnovers. And Reggie missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer from the right elbow in the final seconds.

The following postseason featured the legendary "8 points in 8.9 seconds" performance at MSG; however, the Pacers again lost Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, this time to the Magic. In that final deciding contest in Orlando, Miller shot just 5-of-13 from the floor for 12 points and zero assists in his 38 minutes.

Miller only appeared in one playoff game over the following two seasons. Indiana returned to the Eastern Conference Finals in 1998. In Game 4 vs. Chicago, Reggie drilled a game-winner over Jordan. Yet, the Pacers couldn't seal the deal. They would lose to MJ's Bulls in seven games. In the series, Miller averaged 17.4 points (on 41.6% shooting), 1.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists.

After capturing his sixth championship, Jordan retired for the second time that summer. Once again, the East was ripe for the picking. And once again, the Pacers would have to get through the Knicks in the ECF to reach the mountaintop. This time, they had the advantage of taking on a Knicks squad that was forced to play without their captain, as Ewing tore his left Achilles in Game 2.

With Ewing unavailable for Game 3 and the series tied at one game apiece, the Pacers had a prime opportunity to dispatch the wounded Knicks and finally punch their ticket to the NBA Finals. However, Miller disappeared in the second half of that pivotal Game 3 at the Garden. He was held scoreless over the final 19 minutes, attempting only three shots and missing them all. The Knicks would squeak out a much-needed victory courtesy of Larry Johnson's infamous 4-point play. New York would end up closing out Indiana in six games. In the series finale, Miller was atrocious, converting just three of his 18 field-goal attempts, finishing with a mere eight points. (Knicks starting shooting guard Allan Houston scored 32 points on 12-of-17 shooting in that close-out contest.) Over the final five games of that 1999 ECF matchup, Reggie averaged 15.6 points and 2.0 assists while shooting below 33% from the field.

Miller's Pacers ran into the Knicks five times in the playoffs in the 1990s and lost three of those five series. Yet Reggie Miller was a "Knick Killer." We sure about that?

To his credit, Reggie remained durable and effective late into his career. He turned 34 in 2000 and was still the Pacers' second-leading scorer. That season, Indy was finally able to outlast New York in the ECF and advance to the NBA Finals, where they took on the Lakers. Reggie played well, for the most part, averaging 24.3 points (on 41% shooting) and 3.7 assists, but Indiana had no answer for Shaquille O'Neal. Shaq would average a mind-boggling 38.0 points, 16.7 rebounds and 2.7 blocks per game. A 21-year-old Kobe Bryant chipped in 15/4/4.

In 2001, Miller hit a game-winner with three seconds left in Game 1 of the Pacers' best-of-five first-round series vs. Philadelphia, but Indiana lost each of the following three contests to Allen Iverson and the Sixers. In a first-round matchup against the Nets the following year, Reggie banked in a 39-foot three-pointer at the buzzer to force overtime in Game 5. Still, the Nets outscored the Pacers 13-2 in the subsequent overtime period to eliminate Indiana. Miller eventually began to wear down in 2002-03, his age-37 season. He averaged 9.2 points on 28.3% shooting in the Pacers' first-round loss to the Celtics that season.

NBA.com tracks data on "clutch time" performance dating back to the 1996-97 campaign. They define clutch as the last five minutes of a game in which the point differential is five or less. Over the nine postseasons in which Miller was active during that timeframe, he attempted 102 shots in clutch situations and made 39 of them (38.2%).

For his career, he was less efficient in the playoffs (.601 True Shooting percentage) than during the regular season (.614 TS%).

Reggie played in five Game 7s in his career and averaged 18.6 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists in those five contests.

For some context, Patrick Ewing appeared in seven Game 7s in his career and averaged 23.9 points, 14.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists in those seven contests. Is Patrick praised as a "Pacer Killer" or more often mocked for a missed finger roll?

Again, no one denies Reggie Miller is an all-time great shooter, worthy of his spot in the Hall of Fame. He has undeniably made a handful of iconic buzzer-beaters.

However, that's partly a byproduct of the fact that he's taken a large number of such shots.

In 2010, Netflix released a 30-for-30 documentary entitled "Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks." Yet Netflix failed to note that Miller lost far more games to New York than he won. Reggie was 44-58 in the 102 games he played against the Knicks in his career.