With the Celtics in an 0-2 hole against the New York Knicks, the series moves to Madison Square Garden. The Celtics have held a 20 point lead in both Games 1 and 2 at home. In both games they lost that 20 point lead and allowed the Knicks to steal the games. They lost 108-105 in overtime in Game 1 and 91-90 in the final seconds of Game 2.
The Celtics shooting has been the biggest problem for them so far in this series. They are shooting 24.2% on open shots, which are shots that are taken at least 4 feet from the nearest defender. They are 4-36 on shots outside of 5 feet from the basket in the fourth quarter. They have missed 25 of 45 layups in the 2 games. They have to find their shooting touch in this game or the series could be over.
In NBA history, there have been 463 teams that have held a 2-0 lead in a playoff series. Of those teams 429 teams went on to win the series after being up 2 games to none. 34 teams have come back from being down 0-2 to win the series. However, only 5 teams have won a series after losing the first 2 games at home. These teams are the 1969 Lakers, 1994 Rockets, 2005 Mavericks, 2017 Celtics, and 2021 Clippers.
Even though there is just a very small chance to come back from down 0-2 at home to win the series, teams have done it, including the 2017 Celtics over the Chicago Bulls. No team has ever come back from being down 0-3. NONE. The Celtics came close back in the 2023 Eastern Conference Finals when they took the Miami Heat to 7 games after falling behind 0-3, but in the end, they lost the series.
These two teams have met in the playoffs 15 times with the Celtics winning 8 of those series and the Knicks winning 7 of those series. They first met in the playoffs in 1951 when the Knicks won the series 2-0. This is the first time they are meeting in the playoffs since 2013, Pierce and Garnett’s last season with the Celtics. It is the first time since 1984 that they are meeting past the first round. The Celtics went on to win the championship in that season.
For the first time in NBA history, every Game 1 in the conference semifinals was won by the road team. The Thunder, Cavaliers and Celtics were the three best teams in the NBA this season by a large margin. The Timberwolves also lost game 1 at home. The Thunder and Timberwolves came back to even their series at 1-1, while the Celtics and Cavaliers both lost their first 2 games at home.
Both teams entered Game 1 with a clean injury report. That didn’t last long as after playing just 13 minutes, Kristaps Porzingis left the game with an illness and did not return to the game in the 2nd half. This illness is connected to the respiratory illness that kept him out for 11 games in February and March. He played in Game 2, but came off the bench and played just 13 minutes once again.
Sam Hauser played just under 4 minutes in Game 1 before injuring his ankle during a foul on an OG Anunoby three pointer. He limped off the court and did not return after suffering a sprained right ankle. He missed Game 2 and is doubtful for this game as well so will likely miss this game also.
Coach Mazzulla played just 8 players in Game 2 so may go with that once again in this one. Or, we may get to see Torrey Craig or Baylor Scheierman fill in some of the minutes that Hauser would play. I’m going to guess that Porzingis will go back to the starting lineup but he may once again come off the bench with Al Horford once again starting. The Knicks still have a clean injury report.
Probable Celtics Starters
PG: Jrue Holiday
SG: Derrick White
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Kristaps Porzingis
Celtics Reserves
Payton Pritchard
Neemias Queta
Baylor Scheierman
Jordan Walsh
Luke Kornet
Torrey Craig
Xavier Tillman, Sr
JD Davison
Al Horford
2 Way Players
Drew Peterson
Miles Norris
Injuries/Out
Sam Hauser (ankle) doubtful
Head Coach
Joe Mazzulla
Probable Knicks Starters
PG: Jalen Brunson
SG: Mikal Bridges
SF: OG Anunoby
PF: Josh Hart
C: Karl-Anthony Towns
Knicks Reserves
Delon Wright
Cameron Payne
Miles McBride
Pacome Dadiet
Precious Azhiuwa
Tyler Kolek
PJ Tucker
Mitchell Robinson
Landry Shamet
Ariel Hukporti
2 Way Players
MarJon Beauchamp
Kevin McCullar, Jr
Anton Watson
Injuries/Out
None Listed
Head Coach
Tom Thibodeau
Key Matchups
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Jrue Holiday
Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images
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Jalen Brunson
Photo by Evan Bernstein/Getty Images
Jrue Holiday vs Jalen Brunson
Knicks’ All Star Jalen Brunson was voted Clutch Player of the Year this season. In Round 1, he averaged 31.5 points, 4 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game. He shot 43.6% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc. In Game 1, he finished with 29 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals while shooting 39.1% from the field and 55.6% from beyond the arc. In Game 2, Brunson finished with 17 points, 3 rebounds and 7 assists while shooting 31.6% from the field and 22.2% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to defend him well, especially in the 4th quarter when he has led the comeback in both games.
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Jayson Tatum
Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images
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Josh Hart
Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
Jayson Tatum vs Josh Hart
In Game 1, Hart finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 steals, while shooting 55.6% from the field and 20% from beyond the arc. In Game 2, Hart finished with 23 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 blocks while shooting 60% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to defend him better in this game. The Celtics also need Tatum to play better on both ends of the court, especially in crunch time, in order to win this game.
Honorable Mention
Kristaps Porzingis vs Karl-Anthony Towns
Towns gives the Knicks a strong presence in the paint along with the ability to spread the floor. In Game 1, Towns struggled with foul trouble but still finished with 14 points, 13 rebounds, and 1 steal. He shot 46.2% from the field but was just 0-1 on threes. In Game 2, he finished with 21 points, 17 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block while shooting 56.3% from the field and 0-1 on threes. It’s possible that Porzingis may come off the bench once again and, if so, Horford should get the start at center.
Keys to the Game
Defense – Defense is the key to winning every game. Defense is important in the regular season, but even more so in the playoffs. In the playoffs so far, Boston has a defensive rating of 102.8 (2nd) while New York has a defensive rating of 106.9 (4th). The Celtics have to play tough team defense in this game, especially on the perimeter. They also especially need to tighten up their defense in the 4th quarter to avoid another run by the Knicks to take the game over in crunch time.
Rebound – The Celtics can’t score if they don’t have the ball, and the best way to get the ball is to grab rebounds. The Celtics need to rebound as a team with every Celtic battling on the boards. So far in the playoffs, the Celtics are 2nd with 45.9 rebounds per game while the Knicks are 11th with 41.9 rebounds per game. The Celtics are 44-10 when tied or out-rebounding their opponents. The Celtics out-rebounded the Knicks 59-49 in Game 1 and 51-46 in Game 2 and that may be the only reason that they were so close even though they shot so poorly. They need to keep that effort on the boards in this one in order to give themselves a chance to win the game.
Focus and Mental Toughness – For the team that set records in the regular season for 3’s made, the Celtics are shooting very poorly in this round. They missed 45 of 60 threes in Game 1 and they missed 30 of 40 in Game 2. In the regular season they shot 40.7% on open 3’s. In the first round they shot 41.5% on open 3’s. In the first 2 games of this round, they shot 25% on open 3’s. Much of that has to be focus and a mental lapse. They need to take their time and focus on making their shots. They have also missed 25 of 45 layups and that has to be partly focus as well. They have played well enough to build 20 point leads and then have lost focus and effort and have allowed the Knicks to come back and win. The Celtics just need to keep the same focus and mental toughness throughout the second half that they bring in to the first half when they are building the lead.
Full Effort for 48 Minutes – The Celtics have played very well at the start of both games in this series. They built a 20 point lead in both of their first 2 games in this series. But in both of those games, after going up 20 points, they seemed to kick back and relax on both offense and defense and that allowed the Knicks to come back and steal both games. The Celtics need to go all out with full effort on both ends of the court for the entire game and not let up. They need to come out strong and build a lead and then they need to continue to give full effort right up until the final buzzer.
X-Factors
On the Road – The Celtics are playing on the road, where they played better in the regular season than they did at home. They need to overcome the distractions of playing on the road and in front of a hostile crowd and stay focused on playing the right way. They have to come out playing hard right from the beginning to keep the Knicks’ crowd from getting into the game.
Injuries – After entering the series with a clean injury report, the Celtics have had to deal with injuries since Game 1 of the series. Kristaps Porzingis played just 13 ineffective minutes in both games due to a recurrence of the respiratory illness that kept him out of 11 games late in the season. H Sam Hauser, who struggled through most of the first round played just under 4 minutes before leaving with a sprained ankle. Porzingis will likely play in this one but how well he will play is anyone’s guess. Also, I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that both Tatum and Brown are dealing with injuries from the first round due to their struggles in this game.
Officiating – Officiating always has the potential to be an x-factor. Each officiating crew calls the game differently. Some refs call it tight and constantly call fouls while others let them play with few fouls called. Some refs just make terrible head-scratching calls. The Celtics will be on the road and so they can expect the Knicks to get a favorable whistle in their arena. The Celtics need to adjust to how the refs are calling the game and not allow bad calls or no calls to take away their focus.
Official Report
Crew Chief – Zach Zarba – Zarba has a home win/loss record of 40-27 this season. He calls 50.8% of fouls against the road team. Over the past 2 seasons, the Celtics are 13-1 with Zarba as an official and they were 6-0 this season with Zarba. He called Game 1 vs Orlando. In the anonymous player survey, 18.2% for the players voted Zarba as one of the best refs.
Referee- Courtney Kirkland – The Celtics were 2-2 with Kirkland this season and 10-2 over the past 2 seasons. He calls 52.2% of fouls on the road team. His home win/loss record is 34-33. He called Game 3 of the Orlando series.
Umpire – Justin VanDuyne – VanDuyne has a home win/loss record of 40-26 this season. He calls 49.8% of fouls against the road team. The Celtics are 3-1 this season with VanDuyne and 7-3 over the past 2 seasons. The Knicks are 0-3 this season and 4-4 over the past 2 seasons with VanDuyne.
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