Fifty seconds.
Through three games and 144 minutes of basketball played, the Celtics have only trailed the New York Knicks for 50 seconds.
With Sunday’s 118-105 win, Boston has outscored New York by 63 points this season, with victories by 23, 27, and now 13 points.
“The goal wasn’t to win by 20,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said after the game. “I didn’t care if we won by one. It was to execute.”
Execution – and double-digit wins – have come pretty easily against these Knicks, who simply can’t compete with the Celtics.
New York’s big-ticket offseason addition, Karl-Anthony Towns, has ironically been one of Boston’s best offensive weapons, as the Celtics have repeatedly targeted him to generate easy looks. Meanwhile, the other two additions, Mikal Bridges—who cost the Knicks five first-round picks—and OG Anunoby, who they re-signed for five years and $212.5 million to try and stop Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, have been practically invisible.
There was – and has remained – genuine buzz surrounding this Knicks team. Many considered them to be the primary threat to Boston in the Eastern Conference before the season. Yet, the reigning champions, as well as the other top contenders in the league, have remained unfazed, with New York dropping to 0-7 this season against the NBA’s top three teams—Cleveland, Oklahoma City, and Boston.
“It’s an ongoing process,” Knicks’ head coach Tom Thibodeau said when asked about closing the gap against Boston. “That team is a well-oiled machine. They’ve been together a while. We have to keep learning and getting better.”
New York hasn’t had an answer for Boston on either end of the floor. In their three games against the Knicks, the Celtics are averaging 127 points (which would lead the NBA by +5) behind 21.7 made threes at a ridiculous 45.1% clip. They are knocking down 46.3 of their 90.3 (51.3%) of their field goal attempts, posting an absurd 135.1 offensive rating.
Defensively, Boston has stifled New York’s fourth-ranked offense, holding them to just 106 points per game (12 below their season average). The Celtics have held New York under 25 points in six of the 12 quarters they’ve faced off this season.
“We have good defenders. We can make it difficult for them,” Kristaps Porzingis said. “They have really talented offensive players, but our versatility and the guys that we have on the team can make it really difficult for them. Obviously, it’s a dangerous team anyway, but we respect them, and we came out the right way in the first, and we set the tone for the game.”
The Celtics have completely undressed the Knicks. Despite going all out this offseason to narrow the distance, they now find themselves looking up at the team they’re trying to catch—and it’s not a pretty view.
Whatever vision New York had in this team competing with Boston has failed miserably. The Celtics’ “Killer Whale Offense” attacks the opponents’ weakest defenders. With the Knicks, they have two seals in Towns and Jalen Brunson, two guys New York needs on the floor. The combination of an undersized guard and a slow-footed Boston can pick on makes for a matchup nightmare for New York.
“It’s just the responsibility you have when you win a championship,” Tatum said on teams like the Knicks loading up to slow down the Celtics. “When the Warriors were going on their run, teams were building their team to compete with them. When Denver won the championship, Minnesota built that team to kind of beat Denver. There’s a responsibility that comes with when you’re the champs and you’re the standard; teams try to build their team to compete with that style of play or whatever it may be. The most important challenge we have is to focus on us. It’s not guaranteed who we’re going to play in the playoffs, but we’ll be up for the challenge whoever we play.”
The gap between Boston and New York is as towering as the Empire State Building. As long as the Celtics are in their way, the Knicks can’t be seen as a true contender. It’s clear that Boston is on a whole different level, and one this Knicks roster isn’t capable of reaching.
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