BOSTON — What first three video games? What common season?
Coming into their second-round playoff sequence in opposition to a Celtics group that has had their quantity all season, the Knicks are tuning it out like white noise.
“Honestly, regular season doesn’t matter at all. Tonight’s the start of something new,” sixth man Miles McBride stated after shootaround at TD Backyard on Monday. “We’re gonna bring our best and see what happens.”
The Celtics enter Spherical 2 brimming with confidence after sweeping the Knicks 4-0 within the common season. Two of these wins got here by 20 or extra. One other was a double-digit margin regardless of a late Knicks push.
But it surely’s the fourth assembly that lingers for New York — an additional time loss at Madison Sq. Backyard the place the Knicks led for many of the first half and battled wire to wire. They imagine that recreation instructed a distinct story.
“They played better than us, for sure, for the first three games. Game 4 we played a lot better, and made it a game,” group captain Jalen Brunson stated after Monday-morning shootaround. “So I think that’s growth, but we still lost all four games.”
Brunson stated the group reviewed the movie. The errors had been clear. The progress was, too.
“Just take it one possession, one game at a time at this point,” stated Brunson. “You can’t really focus on the past and think it’s gonna be the same. We can’t have that mindset at all. We’ve gotta be different. We’ve gotta be ready to go and we’ve gotta go out there and compete from the jump.”
20 THREES AND ME
The Celtics’ greatest weapon? The three-point line.
Boston hit 84 threes on 193 makes an attempt in 4 regular-season conferences with New York — a blistering 43.5 % clip. The Knicks, in contrast, went 45-of-128 (35.2%) from deep in those self same video games, falling behind in each quantity and effectivity.
Guarding the arc has been a season-long weak spot for the Knicks — and a series-defining concern in opposition to a group that weaponizes the three.
But seven members of New York’s rotation boast particular person seasons taking pictures 40 % or higher from downtown over the course of their careers. With Karl-Anthony Cities stretching the ground on the 5, the Knicks have the personnel to commerce threes — however Brunson warned in opposition to falling into that entice.
“While we’re on the court, we can’t be thinking about the math game. That’s more like a pregame or a postgame type of thing, maybe even at halftime. We’ve gotta generate good 3s and good shots,” he stated after shootaround on Monday. “So sure they’re excellent at what they do, which is creating 3s and benefits for one another on the offensive facet of the ball.
Brunson emphasised the main focus must be defensive stops that gas transition offense.
“For us, we’ve gotta create good shots, play our best on the other side of the ball, get stops, create open 3s,” he stated. “If we get a lot of good open 3s, that’s good for us. We don’t want to take a lot of bad 3s. Because that leads to long rebounds, gets them out in transition to do what they do best. So for us, we just have to play the other side of the basketball.”
GETTING STOPS TO GET STARTED
The opposite facet of the ball will be the greatest key.
Boston’s protection is a chessboard of switchability — with Derrick White, Jrue Vacation, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum all able to sliding up or down. Brunson, the offensive engine for New York, is aware of cracking that wall begins with tempo.
“[The plan to attack Boston’s switching defense is me] getting in the paint and making plays, seeing who’s going to over-help, over-react,” he stated. “But I think the best course of action for us is getting stops, getting out in transition and playing fast.”
The Knicks imagine the blueprint from their finest moments nonetheless holds: gritty protection, quick breaks, and trusting the playmakers to create when the sport slows down.
The Celtics change every part. However New York’s finest counter won’t be a halfcourt tactic — it’s turning protection into offense earlier than Boston units its wall.
“They’re a great defensive team,” stated Brunson. “They have plenty of ways they can play defense: switching and all that stuff, but our offense is gonna have to come from our defense. We’re gonna have to get stops.”
