The Boston Celtics welcomed the New York Knicks to TD Garden on Sunday afternoon for their third matchup of the season. The last time the Knicks were in town, it was the season opener, and the Celtics wiped the floor with them. Then, a few games before the All-Star break, the Celtics destroyed them again, but this time, at Madison Square Garden.
New York has been unable to crack the code of the defending champions. Every time the two teams square off, it looks as though the Celtics are just too talented for the Knicks, and the game ends in a blowout.
It only took seven minutes of game time on Sunday to prove the same.
The Celtics' defense is just too much for the Knicks to deal with
At the 5:00 mark in the first quarter of Sunday’s matchup, Josh Hart was in the corner being guarded by Luke Kornet. Hart dribbled in, stepped back, and took a three.
Boston’s defense guards New York so well that they were forced to settle for a Hart step-back three. That speaks volumes regarding how big of a gap there is between these two teams.
Hart has never been a good three-point shooter. He’s gone through spurts when he shoots the three-ball well, such as last year’s postseason, but the Celtics know that he’s not consistent from long range.
They were comfortable giving up that type of look, and the Knicks fed right into their plans. Hart’s step-back three attempt, which did not go down, was indicative of just how well the Celtics were clamping the Knicks.
Rather than putting Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, or Kornet on Karl-Anthony Towns, the Celtics put Jayson Tatum, Jrue Holiday, or another wing defender on him.
This allows Kornet and Porzingis to play off the ball, helping over in the paint to stunt drives. And New York has been unable to crack this defense because of the inconsistent shooters of guys like Hart, Previous Achiuwa, and others, who constantly occupy the floor.
Boston uses this strategy against other top centers in the league, too. In their first game back from the All-Star break, they guarded Joel Embiid with Holiday and Jaylen Brown, putting the Philadelphia 76ers into a bind on that end of the floor.
Seeing the Knicks struggle so mightily to combat Boston’s defensive game plan was a clear indicator of where these two sides are at this season. The Celtics are simply on another level, and it doesn’t look like the Knicks will be able to compete with them this year.
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