As the Celtics and Knicks meet for the second round of the playoffs, the obvious first talking point is Boston sweeping New York in the regular season. Now, that doesn’t perfectly translate to the playoffs where situations are significantly different. But there’s no denying the Celtics had success against their division rivals this season.
That came off the strength of their 3-pointers, another clear talking point. The Celtics rained away from deep against the Knicks as that was a strength for them in their wins. So that, in turn, is also a main priority for the Knicks to slow down the defending champions.
“You have to finish your defense,” New York coach Tom Thibodeau said ahead of the series. “It requires multiple effort. It takes great communication. Aggressiveness. And you have to finish. They’re a great offensive rebounding team, and oftentimes, those lead to more 3s. So they’re active pursuing the ball. They can create turnovers, which also leads to 3. We have to have a great understanding of what’s going on in the game.”
Game 1 of the series is set for 7 p.m. Monday at TD Garden. The Celtics are heavy favorites to advance to the East Finals, though they’ve stressed they’re not skipping any steps and looking ahead. That mindset worked well for them last season on their way to Banner No. 18. They’ve followed that process this year, too, including downing the Magic in only fives games to ensure they rested up ahead of the second round.
The Celtics not only employ a roster full of capable and willing shooters, but they can also all defend on the other end of the court. That’s a stark difference to other teams where matchup hunting is prevalent in the playoffs. But with the Celtics, it’s about how to overcome arguably the most talented roster in the league.
The C’s actually didn’t get up and shoot many 3-pointers in the first round as the Magic instead game-planned to take that away. But that hasn’t been a strength for the Knicks when facing the Celtics. So the 3-point margin, going into the series, will be worth monitoring throughout the second round.
“Obviously keep bodies on bodies,” Jalen Brunson said. “Don’t let them loose on every open 3. Contest everything and be ready for the long rebounds and second shots. So I think that’ll be a big key because obviously they’re great chasing down their misses and getting wide-open second looks.”
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Read the original article on MassLive.
As the Celtics and Knicks meet for the second round of the playoffs, the obvious first talking point is Boston sweeping New York in the regular season. Now, that doesn’t perfectly translate to the playoffs where situations are significantly different. But there’s no denying the Celtics had success against their division rivals this season.
That came off the strength of their 3-pointers, another clear talking point. The Celtics rained away from deep against the Knicks as that was a strength for them in their wins. So that, in turn, is also a main priority for the Knicks to slow down the defending champions.
“You have to finish your defense,” New York coach Tom Thibodeau said ahead of the series. “It requires multiple effort. It takes great communication. Aggressiveness. And you have to finish. They’re a great offensive rebounding team, and oftentimes, those lead to more 3s. So they’re active pursuing the ball. They can create turnovers, which also leads to 3. We have to have a great understanding of what’s going on in the game.”
Game 1 of the series is set for 7 p.m. Monday at TD Garden. The Celtics are heavy favorites to advance to the East Finals, though they’ve stressed they’re not skipping any steps and looking ahead. That mindset worked well for them last season on their way to Banner No. 18. They’ve followed that process this year, too, including downing the Magic in only fives games to ensure they rested up ahead of the second round.
The Celtics not only employ a roster full of capable and willing shooters, but they can also all defend on the other end of the court. That’s a stark difference to other teams where matchup hunting is prevalent in the playoffs. But with the Celtics, it’s about how to overcome arguably the most talented roster in the league.
The C’s actually didn’t get up and shoot many 3-pointers in the first round as the Magic instead game-planned to take that away. But that hasn’t been a strength for the Knicks when facing the Celtics. So the 3-point margin, going into the series, will be worth monitoring throughout the second round.
“Obviously keep bodies on bodies,” Jalen Brunson said. “Don’t let them loose on every open 3. Contest everything and be ready for the long rebounds and second shots. So I think that’ll be a big key because obviously they’re great chasing down their misses and getting wide-open second looks.”
