Preview: Boston Celtics at New York Knicks

The Boston Celtics will look to get back to their winning ways on Tuesday night against the New York Knicks. Boston enters the game 27-22, sixth in the Eastern Conference, after their disappointing loss to the Orlando Magic a couple of nights ago. New York was in the playoff hunt, and still is, but has fallen off recently and sits at 23-27, seventh in the Eastern Conference.

Boston has won five of their previous six games, however, New York has only managed to win one game in their previous six. Nothing has been going right on either side of the ball for New York recently as they continue to go through one of their toughest stretches of the season.

Jae Crowder is dealing with a shin injury and missed practice on Monday. It’s yet to be seen whether he will play Tuesday night in New York. The Celtics need him as they will be going up against one of the best small forwards in the league, Carmelo Anthony.

The Knicks come into this game a little banged up. Carmelo Anthony has dealt with a sore knee as of late and Jose Calderon has been dealing with a groin injury. Both are expected to play though.

More from Hardwood Houdini

Both starting small forwards are a little banged up but they’re the matchup of the game. Carmelo Anthony is once again near the top of the league in scoring (14th in NBA) as he averages 21.3 points per game. He is also second on the team in rebounding with 7.6 rebounds per game, second to Kristaps Porzingis (7.7 rebounds). Despite the Knicks improvement this season, it’s clear that Melo still carries the team, even if it’s not as much.

Anthony is a superstar and there’s no doubting that. If Crowder is unable to go then the smaller Avery Bradley will have to step up on defense. Crowder is second on the team with 1.78 steals per game (Marcus Smart averages 1.79 steals), although, his quickness could be affected by his sore shin. He is also the tallest out of the three defensive specialist players the Celtics have on the wing (Crowder, Bradley, Smart).

It will be interesting to see what Brad Stevens comes up with if Crowder is unable to go because he usually guards the team’s best wing player. Marcus Smart may have to play small forward at times, although, Anthony will cause even more problems considering he is 6’8″.

The X-Factor in Tuesday’s game is Jared Sullinger. His numbers have been up and down as of late but he will need to be a factor on the boards against the Knicks. New York is near the middle of the pack in rebounding (14th in the NBA), averaging 43.7 rebounds per game. Sullinger leads the Celtics in rebounding (8.7 rebounds) and had at least 10 rebounds in four of the past six games. He will have his hands full as the Knicks starting front court averages 21.3 rebounds among them.

Amir Johnson will also need to step up tonight as he will most likely guard the Latvian super-rookie. He is a good defender down low but will need to up his perimeter game or else Porzingis will get a lot of open threes. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kelly Olynyk sees even more time considering his recent success on offense and his quickness on defense.

Next: Evan Turner's Number to be Retired

This is a winnable game for the Celtics. I expect Brad Stevens to have his team ready to bounce back against the Knicks, especially since New York is on a downfall as of late. The Celtics will need a balanced attack, as that is when they’re most effective, and to help relieve the pressure off of Crowder on defense; a zone defense may even be seen a little. This could be a very different looking rotation if Crowder is unable to play.

Home/Celtics News