After the Knicks’ second 20-point comeback in two games gave them a 2-0 series lead over the Celtics, their locker room was surprisingly muted, as reported by SNY’s Ian Begley.
“I don’t think we’ve played as well as we can,” OG Anunoby said.
“We’ve got to figure out (how to put together) a complete game,” Josh Hart echoed.
New York may have come away with two impressive upset wins on the road, but they are rightfully focused on the improvements they need to make in Game 3 over the results of the prior contests. They know as well as anybody that Boston is the reigning NBA champion for a reason, and that two wins don’t make a series, four does.
It’ll take the Knicks’ best efforts to win two more and put the Celtics away for good. Here are three improvements they should look to make as they head back to New York and MSG for the next two contests.
Defensive rebounding
During the regular season, Boston only ranked 18th in offensive rebounding, hardly a major strength in their attack. Yet against New York, they’ve dominated securing second-chance opportunities.
The Celtics are pulling in 36.2 percent of their misses over the two games of this series, which would have been good for second in the league during the regular season. They’ve secured 35 offensive rebounds, partially a product of their voluminous missing, but still a major concern for the Knicks, who pride themselves on cleaning the defensive glass.
New York struggled with the higher-volume offensive rebounding teams during the regular season, which appears to have played a role in Boston’s game planning. The Celtics are attacking their own misses and getting rewarded for it, not enough to win either of the first two games, but enough to see it’s a flaw they can exploit.
There aren’t particular Celtics hurting the Knicks (though Kristaps Porzingis has seven in only 27 minutes of play), it's more a team effort that New York needs to adjust to with more boxing out and maybe a personnel move. Most offensive boards have come right around the rim, and most of those have been guys grabbing or tipping their own miss.
Perimeter players are also flying towards the rim and free throw circle to catch some surprise rebounds. Lots of this can be corrected with some more diligent effort and poise on that end.
If that doesn’t do the trick, the Knicks may look towards rotational changes. New York is gathering 70 percent of Boston misses with Hart off the floor vs. just 62.6 percent with him on.
Meanwhile, the Knicks went on their Game 2 comeback in large part with Mitchell Robinson and Karl-Anthony Towns sharing the court, giving them two rebounding bigs vs. their usual look of one plus Hart. We could see more of these minutes at MSG if the rebounding doesn’t turn around.
Get KAT more involved
Towns currently has 35 points on 29 shots in the series' first two games, having attempted only two threes so far, despite a standout series against Detroit and a 34-point outburst in his last regular-season matchup with the C’s. New York’s been winning the series on defense, holding Boston to a 90’s era under 99.5 points per 100 possessions, but their offense has been equally sluggish, and Towns could give them the right kick.
Boston put their wings on Towns while having their center play off Hart, essentially giving Towns a one-on-one mismatch each trip down the court. While New York’s gone some stretches intentionally feeding Towns low against these undersized defenders, to success, it hardly lasts.
In fact, despite playing 25 of 29 potential fourth quarter and overtime minutes this series, Towns has only attempted five field goals and scored seven points in those minutes. That can’t suffice for your second-best offensive player, who once again has a glaring advantage in this series.
While his three-point volume will be a tough solve given how tightly guarded he’s been, just getting Towns some more looks should be an emphasis going into Game 3. He’s been the most efficient scorer of the starters behind Hart, and even if he isn’t converting can help get the Celtics in foul trouble with his physicality and paint touches.
The Knicks may need to throw in some new sets the Celtics haven’t seen - they’re switching and denying any plays to get Towns a clean touch down low. But this is likely more of an approach problem than a schematic one, and New York will simply need to lock in further on getting Towns the rock.
Play a full 48 minutes
This one is a much simpler adjustment. The Knicks had to come back down 20 in both road games after getting off to slow starts.
Pulling that off a third or fourth time would be increasingly improbable, and they’re better off not falling far behind in the first place. They have a chance to take a commanding lead in the series at home, and should do so in commanding fashion.
That takes 100% effort for 100% of the game, not leaving any doors open for bad stretches and Boston runs. If they can accomplish that, they’re in good shape to make the conference finals.
