Orange and Blue Skies Meets Celtics Green
- Playoff Burner
- 2 minutes ago
- 4 min read
By Playoff Burner
Madison Square Garden. TD Garden. Two of the most iconic arenas in sports, home to two franchises with a rich, intertwined history. Whether it was New York overcoming a 0–2 deficit enroute to a Game 7 win over Boston in 1973, Larry Bird scoring 39 points at home to secure a spot in the 1984 Eastern Conference Finals, or Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Garnett butting heads in front of 20,000 New Yorkers, the Boston–New York rivalry never disappoints. But this year’s second-round matchup is different. The Knicks haven't reached a conference final since the 1999 playoffs, while the Celtics have made 10 appearances since then. Moreover, Boston enters the series as the reigning NBA champions, fresh off a historic season that saw them claim a league-leading 18th banner. Could this be the year New York finally sees orange and blue skies again, or will Boston make history by repeating as champions?
In Chase of Boston
To say that the New York Knicks have not matched up well against the Boston Celtics this season would be an understatement. Not only have the C’s won all four regular-season matchups, but they have won them by an average of over 16 points per game. How much can you trust a sample size of only four games, though? In this case, it’s a bit hard to tell. As most basketball fans know, the Knicks are coming off an offseason full of surprising moves. They traded five first-round draft picks to the cross-town Nets in exchange for Mikal Bridges and traded Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle for the elite shooting big man in Karl-Anthony Towns. While their offensive needs to try and compete with the Celtics were addressed, their defensive tenacity dropped. This new version of the Knicks has dropped in defensive metrics in almost every category spanning from rebounding to defensive rating. Considering that the Celtics are the 4th best offensive team according to offensive rating, the Knicks will need to step it up if they want to have a chance at going to the Eastern Conference finals.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
As I’ve stated above, the numbers speak for themselves. In the 4 matchups with the Knicks this season, Jayson Tatum is averaging 33.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 7 assists. This includes hitting an astounding 22 three-pointers combined in those games as well. Considering that Tatum is 3rd in points per game in the playoffs so far, the Knicks will need to step up defensively if they want to have a chance at stopping the Boston Celtics. As you all know, their offense runs through Tatum. In these 4 games, Tatum has accumulated 28 assists as well, which shows how dynamic his playmaking ability has become. On the flip side, the Knicks star, Jalen Brunson, is averaging over 31 points per game this postseason. This might seem like it can somewhat dilute the stellar performance of Tatum and company, but the results will lie in their bench production. The Celtics bench includes the 6th man of the year, Payton Pritchard, a sharpshooter in Sam Hauser, and a formidable big man in Luke Kornet who can get things rolling for the team. On the other side, the Knicks do not have a bench player who averages over 10 points per game. During the playoffs so far, their bench players’ highest points per game is only 3.8 points per game. Considering that the Celtics lead the entire league in bench scoring per game at just over 30 points, this could end up being the deciding factor in a series that should be full of starters scoring the ball.
My Series Prediction
Madison Square Garden. The mecca of basketball as most people say. At least the Knicks should be able to defend their city, right? Wrong. The Boston Celtics have the 3rd best record on the road in the history of the NBA. That’s right, the history of the league. At 33-8, the Celtics have been a dominant force away from TD Garden. With a net rating of 9.8 on the road, the C’s have continuously traveled to opposing arenas and have gotten the win with ease. Personally, I see this series going 5 games but would not be surprised if the Knicks ended up stealing one to force it to 6. This is mostly because of the prior history of this season’s matchups as well as the current momentum that the Celtics are carrying into this series. Jrue Holiday, who has missed the last 3 games with a hamstring injury, has been upgraded to day-to-day which in my opinion, will shut the door on any hope for New York. Jaylen Brown, who has been dealing with a knee injury, recently was quoted saying, “I think I’m starting to turn the curve. Structurally, everything is fine. I’ve had some other stuff going on, but I think I’m trending in the right direction” (Via: @RealBobManning on X). If Boston is near or in perfect health, I believe that their offensive power as well as defensive prowess will be too much for New York to handle. Even a team with offensive juggernauts such as Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns will most likely fall short of its hopes of competing for a spot in the NBA finals.
Playoff Burner
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