Can the Knicks beat Boston in round 2?
Despite finishing with the fifth best record in the NBA this season, many people still didn't have an abundance of confidence in the Knicks to make it out of the eastern conference. After going winless against both the Cavaliers and the Celtics in the regular season, it seemed as though should New York meet either of these teams in the playoffs, the Knicks would be in deep trouble. But regular season means nothing compared to postseason, so lets find out how the New York Knicks can beat the Boston Celtics in round 2.
First looking back at round 1 against Detroit. A case can be made New York had the toughest matchup out of the top 4 seeds in the East, a tough and scrappy Detroit team who had a massive chip on their shoulder. It wasn't the prettiest brand of basketball but even while beat up, the Knicks dug in and fought their way past Detroit in impressive fashion. They'll need to tap into that resiliency if they want any chance at defeating Boston.
Part of that resiliency is effort on the glass. The Knicks cannot by any means give the Boston Celtics extra possessions. With Boston top 10 in offensive rebounding and the Knicks ranked 25th in rebounding this year, they'' certainly need to improve the effort on the glass if they want to avoid having this series get out of hand.
The Knicks also cannot turn the ball over, I know that's common sense, but the possession battle becomes exponentially more important when facing this Celtics team. We know Boston loves to shoot threes, the Knicks on the other hand were 28th in attempted threes this season. It's very clear even if New York closes that gap it won't be by much, and Boston will win the three point battle. This is where the Knicks cannot be careless with the ball, because a team that loses both the three point battle AND the possession battle will almost never win a 7 game series.
Karl Anthony-Towns is the X factor for this Knicks team. His big shot making ability propelled them to wins in the Detroit series. But luckily for him his poor game 6 performance was overshadowed by Jalen Brunson's 40 ball, that likely won't happen this round. KAT can't expect to coast by and hope his teammates help enough to get the job done. For the Knicks to have ANY chance in this series, KAT needs to show up with a consistent 25 points and 10 rebounds or more each night.
It's an uphill battle, but with the Knicks resiliency and toughness, coupled with a potential dip in motivation to get ring number 2 for some Celtic players, New York could surprise some people in round 2 against the Boston Celtics.
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