On Thursday, May 1, the Boston Celtics finally found out who they will be facing in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The New York Knicks booked their spot with a hard-fought win over the Detroit Pistons. 
Now, the Celtics’ attention will turn toward figuring out how to slow down Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. During a recent media availability, Joe Mazzulla shared his thoughts on what it takes to contain an All-Star scorer like Brunson.
“You can’t do it with one guy, right?” Mazzulla said, via CelticsBlog. “It takes a team — takes different matchups, takes different coverages, but there’s got to be a level of physicality, a level of discipline, a level of attention to detail on tendencies at the same time..If you add up all the points, there are a number of points to which you can work to be disciplined and work to control. At the same time, he’s a great player, and he’s going to make plays.”
Boston often struggles to contain shifty guards, especially ones who can create for themselves off the dribble. As such, Derrick White and Jrue Holiday will have their work cut out for them, because shutting down Brunson is the quickest way to stymy New York’s entire offense.
The Celtics Have the Mental Advantage
The Celtics are 4-0 against the Knicks throughout the 2024-25 regular season. Boston has consistently outscored Tom Thibodeau’s team while also showing them what it’s like to come up against a versatile and elite defensive unit.
Having won every encounter over the past 12 months, the Celtics likely hold a mental advantage. They’ve proven themselves to be the better team, regardless of who was, or wasn’t, in either rotation.
The Knicks must also find a solution to Jayson Tatum. The All-NBA forward has haunted New York this season. In the four meetings between the two teams, Tatum is averaging 33.5 points, 7 assists and 6.8 rebounds. He’s shooting 47.8% from 3-point range and 53.5% from the field during those meetings.
Tom Thibodeau is Already Getting Prepared
When speaking to the media on Thursday, Tom Thibodeau discussed how his team will begin preparing to face the Celtics.
“Obviously, I haven’t really dug into that yet,” Thibodeau said. “I watched some of the playoff games. Obviously, we’ll be doing a lot of work in the next couple of days, with our assistants and our advanced guys, who have been working on it for a long time. We have to get our team in. We have some days for recovery and preparation. They’re the defending champions, so we’re going to have to be at our best.”
New York rebuilt their roster this past summer. They added Mikal Bridges and re-signed OG Anunoby to help deal with the wing threat that Boston poses. They also added Karl-Anthony Towns to give them a five-out offense, again, matching what the Celtics bring to the floor.
As such, Boston must now beat a team that was designed to stop them over the course of a series. With four regular-season wins under their belt, Boston must ensure complacency doesn’t creep in.
However, if Mazzulla’s team stays healthy and plays to their potential, they should have too much talent and experience for the Knicks to overcome.
