Series Preview
The Boston Celtics will take on the New York Knicks in round 2 of the NBA playoffs. The Celtics faced the Knicks 4 times in the regular season, winning all 4, 3 of them in blowout fashion. The final time the teams faced was Aprile 8th, when the game was tightly contested, even going to overtime. This was by far the best the Knicks had played against Boston this year, and they are going to have to play how they did on this night to even have a chance.
The Celtics owned the Knicks this season, but in particular, Jayson Tatum owned the Knicks. JT averaged 33/7/7 on 53/47/80 splits in the 4 meetings. For all the additions the Knicks made in the off season to slow down the Celtics perimeter players, so far it hasn't worked out. In fact, only 2 of the Celtics main 8 rotation players averaged under 50% against the Knicks. The Knicks defense against Boston overall was horrific, allowing 125 points a game. Simply put, the Celtics have to stick to what worked, and it is the same formula that worked all season, which is to drive the ball to the hoop and force the defense in rotation for an easy layup or open three.
Here are some statistics displaying where each team ranks in the most important areas.
Knicks Stats
Celtics stats
In totality, the Celtics have the advantage in most of the key areas. They shoot better, they defend the three better, they guard better overall, they have a deeper bench, they block more shots, shoot better from the line, and have the better coach. The Knicks cannot approach the series the same way they did in the regular season, and Boston knows that. There will be adjustments to the adjustments. One way the Knicks can make an impact is with Mitchell Robinson. In his 17 games during the regular season, he averaged 3 offensive rebounds a game and had 4 in his one game against the Celtics. While Boston is not a small team, they are not a huge team either, and this is an area the Knicks will certainly look to exploit.
Keys to victory
One way the Knicks can make an impact is with Mitchell Robinson. In his 17 games during the regular season, he averaged 3 offensive rebounds a game and had 4 in his one game against the Celtics. While Boston is not a small team, they are not a huge team either, and this is an area the Knicks will certainly look to exploit.
KAT and Brunson are the Knicks best players and will primarily be guarded by Porzingis Holiday and White. They will have to do what the Celtics do best, mismatch hunt. This is what makes the Celtics starting unit so strong, there are no mismatches. But the Celtics bench does. The three players on the bench in Hauser, Pritchard and Kornet all are not strong defenders, and that is what the Knicks will look to take advantage of when the Celtics starters are on the bench. Mazzulla will have to adapt to this. There must be at least 3 starters on the floor at all times, to avoid any mismatch hunting.
The Celtics need to stick to what worked in the regular season. Make them defend the whole court and attack the mismatches. The Knicks are not a great defensive team, especially guarding the three, so the Celtics will have to put up more attempts than they did against Orlando. The biggest key in my opinion, however, is starting fast. Nearly every game of the first round, Boston started slowly before adjusting at halftime. The Knicks are better than the Magic offensively and will capitalize if the Celtics start every game sloppy.
A big problem that has plagued every Tom Thibodeau lead team is that he plays his starters too many minutes. If the Knicks fall behind big to start games, there is little reason to believe Thibs won't run his starters the entire game, causing them to be extra fatigued. This can play right into the Celtics hands and is why faster starts are so important.
Overall, this should go no more than 6 games, with the Celtics winning. They are better nearly everywhere and that was proven all season. Winning this series will likely mean a Celtics vs Cavaliers ECF, which will be when the drama will truly unfold.