The Boston Celtics efficiently ended a taxing series against the Orlando Magic with a dominant second half on the TD Garden parquet. The hosts outscored their visitors from the Magic Kingdom 73-40 after Game 5's intermission on Tuesday.
That propelled the NBA's reigning champions into the second round of the playoffs, courtesy of a 4-1 series win. Now, the New York Knicks await.
"Every time you go through a playoff series, a team tries to do something differently," said Derrick White on a Friday Zoom call. "[That] was a big test for us that first round and it's going to make us better."
Orlando's length, physicality, and lack of vulnerable defensive targets to exploit made for a grueling offensive experience for Boston. New York isn't built like that and doesn't play nearly as punishing of a defense.
While the Magic resembled the Bad Boys Pistons of the 80s, this iteration of the Knicks is far from their approach in the 90s when Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley, Anthony Mason, and Co. would maul opponents to protect the rim.
New York will raise its physicality from the regular season when it got swept 4-0 by the Celtics. However, the latter will no longer feel like they're in a bar fight as they battle to establish their spacing and positioning while setting screens.
It also helps to have targets like Karl-Anthony Towns, who Boston hunted relentlessly in the regular season, and undersized star guard Jalen Brunson to attack when they're on defense.
The Celtics' three-point barrage will return vs. the Knicks
Orlando forced Boston to win without one of its greatest strengths. The Magic limited teams in the regular season to the fewest three-point takes and makes in the NBA. That carried over to the playoffs, where the Celtics ranked 12th in attempts from behind the arc, averaging 31.2 per game.
"Our ability to handle different matchups [and] different coverages," said Joe Mazzulla on Friday while discussing how the first round prepared them for what's next. "The way we had to screen. Getting into the depth of some of our offensive actions that we had to execute. The pace that we had to play with."
New York's defensive-minded head coach, Tom Thibodeau, can get creative with what his team does while in drop coverage, but the Knicks' personnel, mainly Towns and Brunson, remain vulnerable.
Jayson Tatum, who feasts against centers, relishes his chances against Towns. Those opportunities were at the heart of how he scored more against New York than anyone else did this season.
The soon-to-be four-time All-NBA First Team selection produced 33.5 points per contest vs. the Knicks while shooting 53.5 from the field and 47.8 percent from three-point range. He also dished out 7.0 assists per game against the team from the Big Apple.
So, while the Celtics had to lean even further on their most important strength, their combination of versatility and skill, to circumnavigate their lack of three-point attempts, their long-range onslaught will return in this rivalry clash.