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 attempting to math the Warriors dynasty into submission within the late 2010s to the Minnesota Timberwolves realizing that measurement was the pickaxe wanted to mine the Nuggets, groups have change into extra aggressive about setting up 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 in the end 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, Valuable Achiuwa, Jericho Sims

Though the Celtics received final common season’s sequence 4-1 final season, they not often noticed the Knicks at full energy. New York’s one win was the one recreation Anunoby participated in, and this yr’s workforce might be higher outfitted to combat Boston.

The Knicks have a ton of wing depth, an apparent response to the Celtics assault, however is it attainable to have an excessive amount of of an excellent factor? Nearly as good as Mikal Bridges is, I’m unsure he’s as cosy 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 greatest shooter by a Brooklyn Bridge size) into the rotation might be fascinating.

Brunson was an All-NBA participant final yr, 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, a minimum of), has usually 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 greatest gap is on the greatest place. The Knicks’ Mitchell Robinson is a good middle, however he’s always injured. Dropping Isaiah Hartenstein to the OKC Thunder leaves a Kool-Help-man-sized hole on the roster, as Valuable Achiuwa and Jericho Sims might be overtaxed as the first backups. The Knicks nonetheless have some commerce ammo left to fortify their entrance court docket, so I’d anticipate them so as to add a high-quality backup earlier than the commerce deadline.

Photograph by Stephen Gosling/NBAE through Getty Pictures

Strengths

The Knicks, as an entire, have two vital 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 folks assume, because it means placing both Julius Randle or NY’s middle on one among Boston’s guards — a transfer Boston noticed loads of final yr and is aware of how you can exploit). Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown can’t be fully stopped, however Anunoby and Bridges have one of the best probability within the league of slowing them. It’ll be as much as Jrue Vacation or Derrick White to benefit from what must be a weak matchup.

Right here’s one thing bizarre: regardless of their 1-4 report, the Knicks really had the third-best offensive rating against the Celtics! No, I wouldn’t have guessed that both, however it wasn’t as a result of they shot exceptionally effectively. As an alternative, the Knicks put their full weight into their biggest energy: offensive rebounding.

The Knicks have been the best offensive rebounding team 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 share factors greater than their league-best 32.2% regular-season fee. It’s exhausting to overstate how absurd that quantity is.

Randle, Robinson, and Hart be certain that a minimum of two elite window-wipers are on the ground always. Boston was a wonderfully respectable defensive rebounding workforce final yr, 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.

Photograph by David Dow/NBAE through Getty Pictures

Weaknesses

Regardless of what I mentioned above, New York should still have issues scoring in opposition to Boston. Randle, particularly, should work out how you can get buckets extra effectively — he shot simply 34% in opposition to Boston in his three matches final yr. He’s additionally struggled in his playoff minutes, basically. Bridges’ presence provides a desperately wanted tertiary playmaking component to New York, however it 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 isn’t a sustainable technique over a seven-game sequence (let’s neglect about that Miami-Boston sequence a couple of years in the past, lets?).

And with the Knicks, well being is all the time a priority. Heart depth, particularly, is a big downside 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 may place Anunoby or Randle at middle, one thing they toyed with an eensy-teensy bit final season. Tom Thibodeau’s willingness to get bizarre may decide their probabilities.

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 larger issues scoring persistently in opposition to the Celtics. On the finish of the day, I’d anticipate them to fall brief (though Boston could escape battered and bruised).

In some methods, I sit up for a Boston-New York sequence greater than anything. Brown and Tatum must 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 observe the Jays swish their paintbrushes round.

Wanting forward, the Knicks must be round on this iteration for a number of years. Though 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 must 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.