Know thy enemy: New York Knicks

That is the primary in a sequence of articles previewing the Celtics’ likeliest challengers to the throne.

The best type of flattery is watching opponents tailor their rosters particularly to beat you.

From the Harden Rockets making an attempt to math the Warriors dynasty into submission within the late 2010s to the Minnesota Timberwolves realizing that dimension was the pickaxe wanted to mine the Nuggets, groups have turn out to be extra aggressive about developing a roster designed particularly to beat the highest canine of their convention.

No one has been extra blatant about forming a Celtics Killer than the New York Knicks.

Final season’s Knicks have been an excellent workforce finally undone by accidents. Their new roster, bolstered by the summer season’s commerce for Mikal Bridges, was remade to battle Boston.

Let’s begin with the doubtless depth chart.

PG: Jalen Brunson, Miles McBride, Cam Payne

SG: Mikal Bridges, Donte DiVincenzo

SF: OG Anunoby, Josh Hart

PF: Julius Randle, Keita Bates-Diop

C: Mitchell Robinson, Treasured Achiuwa, Jericho Sims

Though the Celtics gained final common season’s sequence 4-1 final season, they not often noticed the Knicks at full power. New York’s one win was the one recreation Anunoby participated in, and this 12 months’s workforce will likely be higher outfitted to struggle Boston.

The Knicks have a ton of wing depth, an apparent response to the Celtics assault, however is it doable to have an excessive amount of of a superb factor? Pretty much as good as Mikal Bridges is, I’m undecided he’s as comfortable a match for the Knicks offensively as Donte DiVincenzo, who had a case because the second-best three-pointer shooter within the league final season. You don’t commerce the farm for a participant like Bridges with out enjoying him monster minutes (and his iron-man standing will instantly endear him to teach Tom Thibodeau), however watching how the Knicks match DiVincenzo (their finest shooter by a Brooklyn Bridge size) into the rotation will likely be fascinating.

Brunson was an All-NBA participant final 12 months, and he was capable of finding success at instances in opposition to the Celtics’ vaunted defensive backcourt, dropping 34 and 39 factors within the final two conferences on environment friendly capturing.

Randle, the Knicks’ second-best participant (by box-score manufacturing, not less than), has sometimes struggled in opposition to the Celtics. There’s a way that his bruising energy recreation may benefit from a slimmer Boston frontline, however that hasn’t translated to actuality but.

Their largest gap is on the largest place. The Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson is a good middle, however he’s consistently injured. Dropping Isaiah Hartenstein to the OKC Thunder leaves a Kool-Help-man-sized hole on the roster, as Treasured Achiuwa and Jericho Sims will likely be overtaxed as the first backups. The Knicks nonetheless have some commerce ammo left to fortify their entrance court docket, so I’d count on them so as to add a high-quality backup earlier than the commerce deadline.

Strengths

The Knicks, as an entire, have two important strengths going for them in opposition to the Celtics. One, no workforce within the league will higher have the ability to match up with the Jays (though that could be extra difficult than individuals assume, because it means placing both Julius Randle or NY’s middle on considered one of Boston’s guards — a transfer Boston noticed loads of final 12 months and is aware of exploit). Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown can’t be utterly stopped, however Anunoby and Bridges have the very best likelihood within the league of slowing them. It’ll be as much as Jrue Vacation or Derrick White to benefit from what ought to be a susceptible matchup.

Right here’s one thing bizarre: regardless of their 1-4 document, the Knicks really had the third-best offensive score in opposition to the Celtics! No, I wouldn’t have guessed that both, but it surely wasn’t as a result of they shot exceptionally effectively. As a substitute, the Knicks put their full weight into their best power: offensive rebounding.

The Knicks have been the very best offensive rebounding workforce within the league, however they amped up their boarding to a preposterous quantity in opposition to Boston. They mopped up 38.0% of their misses, almost six proportion factors greater than their league-best 32.2% regular-season fee. It’s laborious to overstate how absurd that quantity is.

Randle, Robinson, and Hart be sure that not less than two elite window-wipers are on the ground always. Boston was a superbly first rate defensive rebounding workforce final 12 months, however that is the one statistical edge New York ought to cleanly have over the Celtics, even when they take a small step again with out Hartenstein. Though Boston’s protection ought to maintain up effectively in opposition to New York’s first-shot offense, the Celtics should emphasize defending the glass.

Weaknesses

Regardless of what I mentioned above, New York should have issues scoring in opposition to Boston. Randle, specifically, should work out get buckets extra effectively — he shot simply 34% in opposition to Boston in his three matches final 12 months. He’s additionally struggled in his playoff minutes, on the whole. Bridges’ presence provides a desperately wanted tertiary playmaking ingredient to New York, but it surely stays to be seen how a lot incremental profit that has for an offense constructed round bully ball and Jalen Brunson’s pitter-patters into the paint.

Between Bridges, Anunoby, DiVincenzo, and Brunson, the Knicks have surprisingly dependable capturing. However praying for long-range fireworks is never a sustainable technique over a seven-game sequence (let’s neglect about that Miami-Boston sequence a couple of years in the past, we could?).

And with the Knicks, well being is at all times a priority. Middle depth, specifically, is a big drawback proper now. If Randle or Brunson is even barely hobbled, there merely isn’t sufficient creation on this workforce to beat a protection as well-rounded as Boston’s.

Ultimate ideas

The scariest model of the Knicks would possibly place Anunoby or Randle at middle, one thing they toyed with an eensy-teensy bit final season. Tom Thibodeau’s willingness to get bizarre would possibly decide their possibilities.

The Knicks’ revamped protection may hassle Boston (as a lot as anybody can, anyway). Nonetheless, regardless of their rebounding prowess, New York ought to have even higher issues scoring persistently in opposition to the Celtics. On the finish of the day, I’d count on them to fall brief (though Boston could escape battered and bruised).

In some methods, I stay up for a Boston-New York sequence greater than anything. Brown and Tatum should elevate their video games to beat the Anunoby/Bridges duo. Nothing creates basketball artwork fairly like high-level offense overcoming snarling protection, and I’d love to look at the Jays swish their paintbrushes round.

Trying forward, the Knicks ought to be round on this iteration for a number of years. Despite the fact that I firmly have Boston in entrance of New York for this season, the Knicks could also be a much bigger risk within the following years, when Boston will doubtless should shed some wage. However that’s an issue for future Celtics; for now, Boston should keep their self-discipline on the glass to show me proper.