Look, they aren’t alone here.
Plenty of teams face this same challenge.
They are a matchup nightmare.
As good as the Knicks are, they simply have a roster problem when it comes to this matchup.
This was a game the Knicks clearly wanted badly, if for nothing else but their own psyche.
So what did the Champs do?
They broke that confidence.
The best road team on Earth did what the best road team on Earth does.
They found a way to win.
Not sure if you were aware, but it’s currently 2025.
That’s over two decades of belt to ass in their own building.
I’d hate the Celtics and Jayson Tatum too if that were the case.
It’s sort of how I imagine trying to pick your favorite kid is like.
We had two candidates from this game, both with legitimate and compelling cases.
Both were extremely important to the win, both had HUGE moments, and both were dominant.
So how do you choose?
Well luckily, I’m a professional.
I do this for a living.
For the majority of the NBA, a night like this would be an outlier.
For Jayson Tatum, this is his standard.
That production on 50/36% splits?
I’ll take that every day of the week and twice on Sundays thank you very much.
When the team needed Tatum the most, he delivered.
In the 4th quarter, Tatum led all scorers with 12 points on 4-5 (2-3) shooting.
He played 29 straight minutes in the second half including OT.
In the biggest moments, he once again came through.
Not only is Jayson Tatum clutch.
He’s the best late game shot maker in the entire NBA since he entered the league.
I’m sorry if this upsets people, but the numbers are the numbers.
We are watching a generational talent do what generational talents do.
Rip hearts out on the road.
And most importantly, win.
Meanwhile, in this game, he killed Bridges with it.
- Then of course, there was the unicorn.
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times.
A healthy Kristaps Porzingis is the ultimate cheat code.
With this roster and this team?
That’s a layup.
There are no right answers, only death.
He did everything else.
He’s shown enough.
The Knicks dominated the shot margin in this game 101-87.
Celts finished 19-49 from deep, whereas the Knicks only managed 11-38.
They got Mazzulla Ball’d.
As long as the process is good and they are generating good looks, THAT is what matters.
Water will always find its level, and once it does, good fucking luck.
The role for Jrue Holiday is simple.
Make your open 3s, play good defense, and take care of the ball.
They don’t have to double.
They are perfectly fine letting their defenders battle with no help, especially someone like Jrue.
There’s no weak link, even in the instances where a big gets switched onto a guard.
That’s not normal.
The Bad
- Of course, it wasn’t perfect.
In fact, far from it.
In fact, very bad.
I’m not even talking about the actual production, which was dogshit.
I’m more talking about how he looked while on the floor.
Slow, not aggressive, not really playing with force, no real lateral movement etc.
It was the first time he truly looked cooked, and who knows if rest will even fix anything.
Sometimes guys have bad nights, shit happens, that’s fine.
How we get that version is the million dollar question.
Is it actually continuing to play so they can figure out how to manage it?
I see both sides.
- I am nothing if not fair.
Tatum missing that FT in the final second stung.
Thankfully he immediately made up for it, but we can’t be doing that shit.
You were gifted those 3 FTAs to save the game, you have to go 3-3 in that spot.
Pritchard especially, was a -10 in his 29 minutes which remains a concern as we enter the playoffs.
Can he be playable and effective against the best of the best and not just terrible defenses?
It’s very weird.
High TOs / points allowed off TOs
2.
Poor defensive rebounding
3.
Cold shooting
In this win, the Celts finished with 15 TOs that led to 22 Knicks points.
They were DESTROYED on the glass 52-38, allowing 17 OREB for 23 2nd chance points.
While the shooting came around, they started just 8-26 (30%) in the first half.
You simply cannot allow your opponent to put up 40 points off TOs/2nd chance points.
Extra possessions, especially in a playoff game, are death.
It’s how you give a team life and get the crowd engaged.
Not fouling up 3?
you’re free to’t really rely on smart teams making those mistakes.
You have to be better around the margins, and last night the Celts really struggled with them.
But hey, a win is a win is a win.
Not bad for a game that didn’t mean anything.
