Knicks head coach Mike Brown nonetheless sees the Boston Celtics as a risk within the Jap Convention.
Positive, these Celtics are a far cry from the group that gained the 2023 NBA title — Jayson Tatum’s Achilles harm triggered an offseason reset that shipped Kristaps Porziņģis to Atlanta and Jrue Vacation to Portland.
However Boston nonetheless has an All-Star in Jaylen Brown. Derrick White stays one of many league’s premier 3-and-D wings. And the backcourt pairing of Anfernee Simons and Payton Pritchard can gentle it up in bunches. It’s sufficient for head coach Joe Mazzulla to maintain the Celtics afloat whereas Tatum continues an accelerated restoration many across the league nonetheless name miraculous.
“They’re still a really good team,” Brown mentioned forward of tipoff Friday. “They’ve got guys who’ve experienced winning a championship, a coach who knows how to get it done. They’ve played without key pieces before. They’re going to play hard, they’re gonna share the ball, they’re gonna shoot a lot of threes. It’s still a really good team that’s extremely well-coached.”
By evening’s finish, the Knicks made that reward appear like lip service.
Episode 2 of the Mike Brown venture went principally based on plan. New York moved to 2-0 with a convincing 105-95 win over Boston, shaking off a sloppy begin to construct a lead that ballooned to 24 factors halfway via the third quarter. The efficiency supplied one other early glimpse of the potential ceiling for a workforce many anticipate to contend for a title this season.
THREES COMPANY
Final yr, the Knicks ranked bottom-five in three-point makes an attempt at simply 34 per recreation. On Friday, they hoisted 33 via three quarters alone.
That’s by design. It’s the trademark of Brown’s new offense — what he calls sprays: drives into the paint adopted by kick-outs to open shooters on the perimeter. The aim is a minimum of 25 sprays an evening, and Brown has 11 rotation gamers able to cashing in from past the arc.
It’s a welcome shift for a roster that had comparable taking pictures expertise final season however too usually defaulted to isolation units underneath Tom Thibodeau.
Even in crunch time, the identification held. With Boston clawing again late, Jalen Brunson break up two defenders and zipped a move underneath the rim to Miles McBride, who drilled a contested nook three to push the Knicks’ lead again into double digits.
Two video games in, New York already sits atop the league in three-point makes an attempt — and that’s unlikely to alter anytime quickly in Brown’s offense.
FAST-BREAK POINTS
Halfway via the primary half, two numbers instructed the story: Knicks 4, Celtics 0 in steals. Knicks 18, Celtics 0 in fast-break factors.
The connection was apparent. Brown’s Knicks aren’t simply pushing tempo on offense — they’re bringing that aggression to the defensive finish, extending stress the total size of the ground.
On one sequence, McBride hounded Simons from baseline to baseline, ultimately forcing him to dribble the ball out of bounds — a hustle play that despatched Madison Sq. Backyard right into a frenzy.
“You just want your opponent to know, ‘Hey, I’m going to be here all night. You’re going to have to work a little bit harder for what you’re trying to do than what you’d hope for,’” Brown mentioned pregame. “Typically you do it to alter the tempo, to hurry the sport up.
“If you’re going to be out there four or six minutes, empty your gas tank. Then come sit, catch your breath, and go back out there when your number’s called.”
GLASS CRASHERS
One other decisive issue: the offensive glass.
New York bullied Boston 21-8 in offensive rebounds and scored 17 second-chance factors via the third quarter alone regardless of taking pictures simply 4-for-12 on these further appears to be like.
It’s a part of a rising league-wide development that Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla acknowledged pregame — groups searching further possessions to offset the fashionable recreation’s offensive firepower.
Six of Karl-Anthony Cities’ 13 rebounds got here on the offensive finish. Josh Hart, in his return from lumbar spasms, matched him with six of his team-high 14 on that facet of the ground.
“It’s happening because teams are having success with it,” Brown mentioned. “They perceive this recreation is about possessions — everyone seems to be so gifted offensively, you’ve simply bought to search out methods to create extra.
“Plus the spacing now — everybody’s further out. When the shot goes up, there’s more room to crash.”
NEXT UP
The Knicks will look to remain unbeaten as they head out on a three-game street journey with stops in Miami, Milwaukee, and Chicago — an early measuring stick stretch for a workforce shortly discovering its stride underneath its new coach.
