It’s the Larry Bird jersey in a sweltering Brooklyn summer. It’s Melo and KG hurling obscenities at each other; Clyde surviving a 3-1 series comeback in 1973; Bird’s 39-point triple-double in 1984’s Game 7. It’s the New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics! Things haven’t quite been to the level of Yankees-Red Sox due to recent competitive imbalance, but these particular teams make for an interesting national TV matchup.
How to watch New York Knicks at Boston Celtics
A goal for New York down the stretch: Seriously, it’s time to show Boston what you’re all about. The Knicks manufacture gorgeous offense and just yielded two All-Star starters for the first time in five decades. They are firmly established as a fun and competitive basketball team. That’s huge for one of the most tormented fanbases of the 21st century, but it doesn’t mean all that much if New York can’t hang with archrival Boston. Leon Rose and the front office went all-in on creating a team that matched up with the championship Celtics. They lost to them by 23 on opening night and fell 27 points short on Feb. 8.
For Boston: Tell Payton Pritchard to keep doing this.
The presumed Sixth Man of the Year was particularly heartless on the Madison Square Garden stage before All-Star intermission. Pritchard is shifty and swaggering, with a quick release and a smooth pump fake. He hit the Knicks with the “too small” celebration and vacuumed the energy out of Manhattan.
The Athletic’s midseason report cards:
New York (B): “The Knicks are third in the East thanks mostly to the second-best offense in basketball. Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Town have been dominant on that end, and Josh Hart has been very consistent as the connector. But after spending a year cashing in assets to build a top-heavy roster, the Knicks hit the break 0-5 against the Thunder, Cavaliers and Celtics, losing twice to Boston by a combined 50 points. Furthermore, New York has a losing record against the top-eight seeds in the East. The defense has been up and down, ranking 18th in the NBA. Teams are shooting well from 3 against the Knicks, and the pick-and-roll defense has been flimsy. Even with the defensive inconsistencies, New York is still near the top of the conference.” — James L. Edwards III
Boston (B-): “Have the Celtics lived up to last season’s dominance? Not quite. It took them a month and a half to rediscover how to play together once Kristaps Porziņģis returned from injury. Still, entering last Thursday, they were the only team in the top five in both offense and defense. The Celtics’ biggest problem might be that the league around them has improved. They didn’t have a challenger like the Oklahoma City Thunder or Cleveland Cavaliers last season.” — Jay King
Offensive identity checks from Law Murray: New York
- Pace — 23rd
- Pick and roll frequency — 20th
- Drive frequency — 14th
- Passes — 20th
Per Murray, this is the only team not in the top-10 or bottom-five in any of these categories. The Knicks are great in cutting.
Boston
- Pace — 26th
- Pick and roll frequency — 22nd
- Drive frequency — 28th
- Passes — 25th
The Celtics like to play carefully in isolation and, as we all know, they love the long ball.
Starting five of players to wear both jerseys (min. 50 games with each franchise):
- Nate Robinson
- Gerald Henderson
- Willie Naulls
- Xavier McDaniel
- Kristaps Porziņģis
(Photo of Jayson Tatum and Mikal Bridges: Elsa / Getty Images)
