After a tough battle against the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the NBA playoffs, the Knicks know things will only get tougher in the second round when they face the defending-champion Boston Celtics.
Not only are the Celtics the reigning champs, in which they dominated their way through the league by going 16-3 during the 2024 playoffs, they also enter this series having swept New York in the regular season, 4-0.
"Obviously, play better than we did throughout the regular season," said point guard Jalen Brunson after Saturday's practice. "Be ready to go from the jump and knowing that itās gonna be a game of runs, knowing that theyāre capable of doing a lot of great things. Weāve got to keep our composure, stick together and just making sure that we continue to play throughout the entire game."
Despite the Knicks' first three games against Boston in the regular season being blowouts, losing by a combined 63 points, the final matchup between both clubs was much closer and necessitated overtime before the Celtics eventually came away with a 119-117 win at Madison Square Garden.
While there are no moral victories, the last meeting did, at the very least, give New York confidence that it can hang with the defending champions.
"Theyāre a terrific team, each game you learn something," said head coach Tom Thibodeau. "You have to play for 48 minutes. We felt the last game, there were things we obviously could have done better. It was an overtime game, so just find a way to win."
Thibodeau has emphasized playing a full 48 minutes often this season and during his coaching career. It even came up in the first round after the Knicks dropped Game 5 to the Pistons at home in a game they led at halftime and had a lead in the fourth quarter.
It's something that has resonated with the team, evidenced most recently by their comeback win against Detroit in Game 6 on the road.
"You gotta play 48 minutes against them," said center Karl-Anthony Towns. "We didnāt do that in the fourth game and it cost us the game. We gotta be ready to do whatever it takes to get a win."
Of course, if not for a game-tying three-pointer by Jayson Tatum in the final seconds of that match, New York would've won -- serving as a blueprint for how to beat the Celtics.
"I feel like we played better in that game," Brunson said. "We adjusted to them from the first three times we played them. Obviously still not getting it done. Definitely played better and competed better than the first three games. Thatās something we can look at and build off of."
Part of what makes Boston so difficult is its ability to switch at an elite level, as each player is capable of defending any opposing player efficiently.
To counteract that, the Knicks will need to move the ball and have everybody on the same page constantly.
"I think the biggest thing is making sure everyone is in rhythm," Brunson said. "Theyāre tough and they have a lot of guys who can switch and guard one through five and make it a problem. For us itās just making sure that weāre sticking together, going with our game plan and then making sure that weāre moving the ball, getting in the paint, making plays for ourselves and each other. Just find the best open shot every possession."
What else is the Celtics' prowess at hitting threes, which New York will have to look out for and do its best to defend.
"Obviously keep bodies on bodies, not let them loose for open threes, we have to contest everything, and be ready for the long rebounds and second shots," Brunson said. "I think thatāll be a big key because obviously theyāre great at chasing down their misses and getting wide open second looks."
Offensively for the Knicks, players will have to step up and help Brunson, who averaged 26.8 points in the four meetings and who turns it on to another level in the playoffs. One player who did that in the last meeting was Town,s who had 34 points and 14 rebounds.
It'll be interesting to see how New York utilizes Towns in the next series, coming off a game in which he attempted just 10 shots and scored 10 points.
"Iām about wins so as long as we win then everything is fine," Towns said.
The big man averaged 24.4 points while shooting 52.6 percent from the field in his first season with the Knicks, which resulted in an All-Star selection.
Regardless of how their offense plays out, the Knicks must continue to focus on the little things that often help teams win games.
"We canāt let offense or shots falling dictate how hard we play or the things that we can control," Brunson said. "I feel like a lot of people on this team have that mindset and weāre gonna have to because the longer youāre in the playoffs, the more difficult the games are gonna be. So we canāt let little things like that have an effect on how weāre playing."
