The New York Knicks have looked pretty good of late. They looked even better on Sunday when All-Star point guard Jalen Brunson returned after a 15-game absence. OG Anunoby had himself a game, as well. But there are still hurdles that New York must clear. One such hurdle involves their poor play against the elite teams in the Eastern Conference—namely, the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers.
Thankfully, the Knicks will play the Celtics and the Cavaliers again, and the Celtics are actually next up. So, what’s really at stake? Can the Knicks exercise their demons? And will it matter, considering how little is at stake for the Celtics?
What can the Knicks get out of a win against the Celtics?
In short, the Knicks can get a lot out of a win. They’ve failed to defeat the Celtics so far this season. They’re 0-3 against Boston, and none of them were close. The aggregate score is 381-318, and the closest game—which was the most recent—was 118-105. So, at the very least, there’s pride to be clawed back.
But it’s about more than pride. It’s about hope, too. It stands to reason that you’d like to know definitively that you can beat a playoff opponent. And Boston and New York would meet in the second round if all goes as planned. Granted, Boston has to get past the winner of the 8 vs. 9 play-in, and New York will have to get past the sixth seed. But still, the Knicks would probably be pretty happy to get a win.
Should Knicks worry about lack of success against Celtics?
However, there is a silver lining to their losses against Boston. New York wasn’t fully acclimated or healthy for any of those matchups. The first matchup was the very first game of the season. Thus, it was the first regular season game in which Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges donned their Knicks jerseys.
While Towns acclimated relatively quickly—although even he must have struggled to understand when and where his spots were on night one—Bridges struggled for a much longer amount of time. And that amount of time took him through the next two games against the Celtics.
If that weren’t enough to contend with, there was also the case of missing seven-footer. Mitchell Robinson returned four games after the most recent loss to Boston. And, as we’ve cited before, New York is an entirely different defensive team with Robinson. Could the Robinson-led defense hold the Celtics offense to fewer points?
Boston has averaged 127 points per game against New York so far this year. They’re averaging 116.9 points per game on the season. However, the Knicks are surrendering only 106.6 points per game with Robinson. Ultimately, something has to give. And at the very least, the Knicks’ defense should look considerably better.
At this point of the season, and considering the Knicks and Celtics are all but locked into the third and second seeds in the Eastern Conference, respectively, there would typically be very little to look forward to in this matchup. However, considering the circumstances, this one is far more important for New York.
If the Knicks are able to change the narrative against the Celtics, they won’t get much time to celebrate. There is another, similar narrative about the Knicks and Cavaliers that New York will have an opportunity to change in just a few days. And that’s all before the playoffs begin.
