Obi Toppin is doing his best not to make more out of facing his former team on the big stage.
Yes, it will be exciting returning home to play the Knicks in the Eastern Conference semifinals, but the team’s former first-round pick isn’t looking at it as a personal battle.
“I feel like I’m preparing myself just like I did for Milwaukee,” Toppin said Saturday, referring to the first-round series the Pacers won in six games. “Just locking into everything the coaches are telling us to do offensively and defensively, and playing my role.”
The Knicks traded Toppin, who attended Ossining High School in Westchester and starred at Dayton, last summer for a pair of future second-round picks.
He responded with a solid season in Indiana. The athletic, high-flying 6-foot-9 Toppin averaged career highs in points (10.3), rebounds (3.9), assists (1.6) and minutes (21.1). He also shot a personal best 40.3 percent from 3-point range and is coming off of a stellar 21-point, eight-rebound performance in the closeout victory over the Bucks. Toppin started 28 games for the Pacers, but has become a key part of their second unit, which was his role with the Knicks for three years.
“We always thought he was a good player,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “I don’t think anything has changed. Very athletic, runs the floor great, shoots the ball, can score the ball. He’s always been able to score. Like I said, we loved having him. He was in a situation here where he’s playing behind Julius [Randle]. So that was the story behind that.”
Randle, out for the season following shoulder surgery, will be a bystander for the series.
This will also be a family affair of sorts for Toppin. His younger brother, Jacob, is on the Knicks, although he doesn’t get on the court much, if at all. Jacob appeared in nine games with the Knicks this year. So that should make it an easy decision for his parents, Roni and Obadiah, when it comes to who to root for.
“Jacob’s not playing, so probably me,” Obi said with a smile.
