“Different here” has been the Boston Celtics’ tagline for the past few seasons now, in allusion to the franchise’s high standards and history of championship success. Everyone knew it would have a different meaning going into this season, with the sheer amount of change the roster saw this summer.
Friday, reality set in.
Their 105-95 loss to the New York Knicks was the first time in years (excluding their Game 6 elimination at Madison Square Garden in the spring) that it felt like the Celtics were the inferior team.
It was like watching a superhero movie and seeing the first encounter with the film’s “big bad.” Typically, the hero will get humbled and realize their mortality.
The Celtics learned a tough truth vs. the Knicks
Watching the Celtics fall into an insurmountable hole against the New York Knicks in the second quarter was like seeing Batman meet Bane for the first time. Just pure domination.
New York outscored Boston by 28 points, 42-14, to build a 20-point lead by the halftime buzzer.
Did the Celtics struggle to put the ball in the basket?
Absolutely, they did. Their efficiency was brutal, 4-18 from the field and 3-12 from three is never going to be good enough. Meanwhile, the Knicks sank 12 of their 24 attempts overall and six of their 13 from beyond the arc.
But it wasn’t just that. The Cs couldn’t close out defensive possessions even when they finally got New York to miss. They gave up seven offensive rebounds in the frame, and only managed four defensive rebounds of their own.
In the first half as a whole, the Celtics allowed 12 offensive rebounds, which turned into 14 second-chance points for the Knicks. Plus, they turned the ball over nine times for 18 points off turnovers.
The Knicks had them in a pretzel.
As bad as the second quarter was, it wasn’t enough to break the spirit of this Boston team. They fought like hell in the second half and really took the wind out of my sails when I’d already decided this brutal awakening was what I was going to write about.
It still was just that -- a brutal awakening -- but they responded to it properly. Instead of giving up and punting for the final 24 minutes, the Cs matched New York’s intensity.
If there’s one way to ensure you won’t get absolutely bludgeoned on the glass, it’s to keep the opposition from even getting shots off.
The Celtics managed to do that.
They locked in on the defensive end and made things uncomfortable for the Knicks, forcing 12 turnovers of their own. The improved defense led to the Celtics outscoring the hosts by 10 in the second half.
Unfortunately, 10 wasn’t what they needed; it was 20. It says alot about how bad the second quarter was when Boston outscored New York in the other three and still lost by double digits.
It’s just a reminder that they’ve got to play 48 minutes of good basketball to win games this season. They don’t have the talent to get away with anything less.
"We did it for 12 minutes last game,” Joe Mazzulla said when asked about his team’s second-half surge. “We probably did it for 20 to 24 today. So we're 12 minutes closer."
Though the roster has changed, the mindset has not.
“You never want to lose. But we got 80 more, and I'm pretty confident that we're gonna start winning some big ones here,” Sam Hauser told reporters after the loss. “The standard hasn't changed.”
Now, just like Batman after being beaten down by Bane, they’ve got to find a way to rise.