10 thoughts as Celtics-Knicks gets underway

It felt inevitable that the Celtics and Knicks would meet at some point in the playoffs.

Now, after much anticipation and buildup, the long-awaited matchup is finally here. This is the moment where everything really starts to heat up. It should be a heck of a series.

Here are 10 thoughts as the action gets underway Monday night.

1. Forget the regular season.

In my opinion, the Celtics’ regular-season success is irrelevant heading into this series. Sure, a regular-season sweep is nice, but it doesn’t guarantee a postseason sweep. Not at all.

I think this will be a long series with many twists and turns. While the Celtics should certainly be favored, and will likely win, I don’t think fans should expect a cakewalk.

2. Jrue Holiday’s health is key.

This is where the Celtics are going to really start to need Jrue Holiday, so it’s certainly significant that he’s not on the injury report for Game 1. Jalen Brunson is one of those players you’re not going to shut down entirely, but keeping him relatively in check for at least a few games would go a long way.

I believe Holiday has the best chance of slowing him down in the fourth quarter, when he usually takes it to the next level. Holiday is physical, intelligent, moves his feet well and knows how to outwit his opponent at key moments. The Celtics will likely put different guys on Brunson, and try to wear him down, but it would be a lot more difficult without Holiday.

3. Keep an eye on Karl-Anthony Towns.

Karl-Anthony Towns averaged 19.7 points, 10 rebounds and 1.2 steals, while shooting 48 percent from 3-point range and hitting a string of clutch shots, against the Pistons.

Towns is playing some inspired basketball right now, and I’d expect him to keep that going this series. Between Kristaps Porzigis and Al Horford (and sometimes Jayson Tatum), the Celtics have the personnel to keep him in check, but that doesn’t mean it will be easy.

In the same way that Porzingis stretches the floor, Towns has a knack for burning the opposition both inside and out.

4. The battle of the benches will be intriguing.

If Tom Thibodeau had his way, he would stick with his starting five the entire game. The reality, however, is that he’ll have to turn to his bench at key moments in spurts throughout the series.

The Celtics have a better bench on paper than the Knicks, but it’s up to Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet to prove it.

Pritchard brought his usual dose of energy against the Magic, but he may need to take on even more of a role offensively against the Knicks. When he’s matched up against Cam Payne, it’s a battle the Celtics will gladly take and should expect to win.

5. The Knicks may try to copy the Magic.

The funny part about that Celtics-Magic series was that the Magic actually played really good defense. It didn’t ultimately mean much, but the approach was pretty creative.

They relied on their 1-on-1 defense, didn’t over-help and dared the Celtics to beat them with contested 2s. Up until a collapse in the second half of Game 5, they were a worth adversary.

The Knicks have the players to use a similar approach. Again, it may not be enough, but it will be interesting to see if they copy that blueprint and put their own spin on it.

6. Jayson Tatum is on a mission.

I feel like I say this all the time, but this truly has been some of the best basketball of Tatum’s career. He averaged 31.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists against the Magic and had a pulse for exactly what each game needed.

Mikal Bridges is the archetype of player who can check Tatum, but doing so is far easier said than done. I expect Tatum to continue his torrid play. While I think his scoring numbers will dip a bit in the series, I believe his assist numbers will go up.

7. I feel like there’s going to be a true instant classic along the way.

I think this series is going to have one game along the way that’s a legitimate classic – the kind of game people reminisce about years from now. Back and forth, trading buckets the entire way, maybe an overtime or two, capped by one memorable play to seal it.

I feel like it will be competitive as a whole, but I just have a hunch that one game will stand out as a “Where were you?” type of game.

8. They need to keep getting to the line.

As of Saturday afternoon, the Celtics are second in the postseason with 22.2 made free throws per game and third with 25.8 attempts per game.

The Celtics are at their best when they’re not one dimensional. Three-point shooting is their biggest strength, and they’ll need to hit 3’s to win, but getting to the rim and the line as a result is also a winning formula.

9. It’s kind of crazy they haven’t met in the playoffs in 12 years.

Boston and New York haven’t gone head to head in the playoffs since 2013. It makes sense in one sense, because the Knicks haven’t exactly been the cream of the crop; in another sense, it’s kind of nuts it’s been that long.

They also met in 2011, but before that, it had been since 1990. Crazy! So I encourage you to enjoy this, because outside of Celtics-Lakers, it doesn’t get any better atmosphere and mystique-wise. This is the good stuff.

10. The Knicks put up a fight, but the Celtics take it in six.

I really don’t think the Knicks will roll over here. They’re a very good team and deserve Celtics’ fans respect. If they don’t have it now, I think they will soon.

But the Celtics have too much firepower and balance offensively, and I think they’ll wear them down over the course of six games. My guess: a close Game 1 to the Celtics, a close Game 2 to the Knicks, a lopsided Game 3 to the Celtics, a somewhat lopsided Game 4 to the Knicks, a very lopsided Game 5 to the Celtics, a close Game 6 to the Celtics.

Regardless, it should be a whole lot of fun.