Eight hundred and twenty {dollars}.
That’s how a lot you’d need to guess on the Boston Celtics to win their second-round playoff sequence towards the Knicks simply to make 100 bucks again. Las Vegas isn’t delicate. Neither are the numbers. The Knicks aren’t simply underdogs within the Japanese Convention Semifinals — they’re the longest shot left on the board.
And by each measure, they need to be. The Celtics swept the regular-season sequence, 4-0. Three of these wins had been by double digits. Two had been by 20 or extra. In Boston’s most dominant moments, it regarded just like the Knicks had been taking part in uphill on ice.
However not all blowouts are constructed the identical — and never each loss tells the total story.
The ultimate assembly between these groups was totally different. An April 8 sport at Madison Sq. Backyard that wanted 5 further minutes to settle. An time beyond regulation loss, sure — however one which noticed the Knicks punch again, maintain tempo, and practically steal it. That sport, they consider, revealed one thing: not a victory, however a blueprint.
“I feel like we played better in that game,” mentioned Jalen Brunson. “We adjusted from the first three times we played them — obviously still not getting it done, but definitely played better and competed better than the first three games. So that’s something we can look at and build off of.”
The chances are lengthy, however they’re not zero. This Knicks staff was constructed for a sequence like this.
OG Anunoby re-signed for $212 million to protect stars like Jayson Tatum. The Knicks paid the steep price of 5 first-round draft picks for Mikal Bridges to matchup towards the likes of a Jaylen Brown. Karl-Anthony Cities provides the sort of five-out offensive pop that makes the reigning champs particular. And the captain simply earned Clutch Participant of the 12 months. Brunson is prepared for regardless of the Celtics protection will throw at him.
If the Knicks are going to shock the basketball world, it begins with Brunson — the pinnacle of a New York snake decided to strike when the second issues most. The Celtics gained each assembly within the common season, however come Monday, the file resets. The scoreboard goes again to zero. And for all of the lopsided outcomes earlier this 12 months, the Knicks consider there’s a clearer path now — one rooted in changes, rhythm, and the defensive edge that outlined their first-round grit.
And if the sport is shut late? The Knicks have the one factor you may’t train: a better. Brunson doesn’t want a lot — only a sliver of house and some ticks on the clock to do what he does greatest. One transfer. One bucket. One shot that might flip a sport — perhaps even the sequence.
**
There’s a cause the fourth assembly between the Knicks and Celtics means greater than the three that got here earlier than it: Mitchell Robinson didn’t make his long-awaited return till Feb. 28 in Memphis.
When the Knicks traded for All-Star massive man Karl-Anthony Cities, the blueprint was clear: Cities on the 4, Robinson anchoring the 5 — mirroring the frontcourt system Minnesota used alongside four-time Defensive Participant of the 12 months Rudy Gobert. However Robinson’s prolonged restoration from offseason ankle surgical procedure delayed that imaginative and prescient. It wasn’t till the season’s remaining stretch that the Knicks lastly noticed their twin towers in motion.
The defensive affect was fast. Earlier than Robinson returned, the Knicks ranked twenty first in defensive effectivity. From his return by way of the regular-season finale, they surged to eighth.
It wasn’t only a enhance in metrics — it was identification. The Knicks, typically out-sized all year long, immediately had size, rim safety and rebounding in one of the vital bodily frontcourts within the league.
Cities and Robinson solely logged 47 minutes collectively throughout 10 regular-season video games, but in that restricted pattern, New York outscored opponents by 9.2 factors per 100 possessions. Their pairing didn’t profile as dominant towards the Pistons — a minus-4.9 internet ranking in 40 minutes throughout six video games — however Robinson’s presence alone provides New York important lineup flexibility heading right into a second-round sequence outlined by dimension, capturing, and second-chance factors.
If the Celtics go massive with any two of Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, or Luke Kornet, the Knicks can reply with seven-footers of their very own. The 2-big look provides New York a shot at controlling the paint whereas higher contesting Boston’s five-out spacing.
“When he’s on the floor, he’s a positive for our team with his natural, God-given intangibles and obviously his ability to defend at a high level,” Cities mentioned of Robinson. “It gives us a different offensive attack scheme and it gives us more different opportunities that we have in our lineups to do.”
The affect will probably be felt most on the glass. The Celtics don’t simply shoot threes — they chase down misses and create second-chance threes that demoralize defenses. Robinson is the Knicks’ greatest shot at neutralizing that.
“If you run in, [the rebounds will] probably go over your head,” Thibodeau mentioned. “So our guards have to do a great job covering the long ones. Their bigs are real active, and then they come from behind, so we have to have an awareness with that as well. They’re defending champions for a reason.”
Boston punishes breakdowns. However with Robinson again, the Knicks lastly have the inside presence to disrupt second efforts, management the boards — and perhaps even reshape the matchup. It additionally provides Cities an opportunity to lean additional into his defensive potential away from the paint.
“Just gotta be more a perimeter defender and also tap into that Minnesota experience I had with Rudy Gobert,” he mentioned. “Especially in the playoffs, I feel like I’ve shown the world I can do it at a high level, especially in last year’s playoffs. So I just want to carry that experience, grow on that, and get even better.”
**
Context issues. The Celtics tied an NBA file with 29 made threes towards the Knicks of their season opener — however that was on ring night time, towards a Knicks staff nonetheless stitching collectively its identification halfway by way of coaching camp. Boston blitzed them in a second they had been by no means constructed to face up to.
Recreation 2 wasn’t a lot better: a 27-point blowout with Anunoby sidelined. Tatum poured in 40 factors on 50 p.c capturing from each the sphere and past the arc. With out their defensive stopper, the Knicks by no means stood an opportunity. If they’ve any hope in Spherical 2, they’ll want him wholesome and engaged — matching Tatum’s minutes each possession, each quarter.
The third assembly adopted a well-known script: Boston constructed a lead, the Knicks rallied late, and the Celtics answered with a backbreaking run to win by 13. Robinson’s return got here simply days after. And the fourth matchup? It got here on the enterprise finish of a brutal five-games-in-seven-nights stretch — and but, the Knicks nonetheless pushed Boston to time beyond regulation.
They bought higher. Every sport, a bit of extra aggressive. A bit extra linked.
“The third game was a four-point game in the fourth quarter, too, but you have to play,” Thibodeau mentioned. “They can go on runs the way that they shoot threes. A bad minute or two — that could be the difference in a 10-point swing.”
These moments — the lapses — have price the Knicks all season. It’s why they had been 0-10 towards title contenders within the common season. And it’s why Thibodeau’s most constant problem to his group has been the only, but most elusive: play 48 full minutes.
“[We need to] play better than we did throughout the regular season,” mentioned Brunson. “Be better, ready to do it from the jump, knowing it’s going to be a game of runs, knowing that they’re capable of doing a lot of great things. We’ve gotta keep our composure, stick together and just make sure that we continue to play throughout the entire game.”
That’s what the Celtics demand: composure, unity, precision — for 4 full quarters. Something much less, and Boston will make you pay.
“They’re a terrific team, defending champions,” Thibodeau mentioned. “Each game you learn something. You’ve got to play for 48 minutes. We thought the last game there were some things that we could have done better, but it was an overtime game — so you just find a way to win.”
And now? That 0-4 regular-season file? It’s irrelevant. Recreation 1 begins recent. The rating is 0-0. The sequence is zip-zip. With a visit to the Japanese Convention Finals on the road.
How do the Knicks change the narrative? How do they play a full 48-minute sport?
“It’s maximum concentration, maximum effort,” Thibodeau mentioned.
That’s the one path. As a result of something much less — a breakdown, a missed rotation there, a free ball not secured one too many instances — and the Celtics will do what they’ve achieved all season.
But when the Knicks keep locked in? If they bring about the struggle they confirmed of their best moments?
Properly, it’s the NBA. It’s the playoffs. And the file says 0-0 for a cause.
