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Boston Celtics (0-1) at New York Knicks (1-0)
Friday, October 24, 2025
7:30 PM ET
Regular Season Game #2 Road Game #1
TV: Prime Video
Radio: 98.5 Sports Hub, 98.7 ESPN, Sirius XM
Madison Square Garden
Probable Celtics Starters PG
SG
SF
PF
C
PG: Derrick White
SG: Payton Pritchard
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Sam Hauser
C: Neemias Queta
Celtics ReservesAnfernee Simons
Josh Minott
Xavier Tillman
Jordan Walsh
Hugo Gonzalez
Luka Garza
Baylon Scheierman
Chris Boucher
2-Way PlayersRon Harper, Jr
Max Shulga
Amari Williams
Injuries/OutJayson Tatum (Achilles) out
Luka Garza (concussion) out
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
Probable Knicks Starters PG
SG
SF
PF
C
PG: Jalen Brunson
SG: Mikal Bridges
SF: OG Anunoby
PF: Karl-Anthony Towns
C: Ariel Hukporti
Knicks Reserves Jordan Clarkson
Miles McBride
Pacome Dadiet
Tyler Kolek
Guerschon Yabusele
Landry Shamet
Mohamed Diawara
Two-Way Players Kevin McCullar, Jr
Tosan Evbudmwan
Trey Jemison III
Injuries/Out Mitchell Robinson (ankle) out
Josh Hart (back) questionable
Karl-Anthony Towns (quadriceps) questionable
OG Anunoby (ankle) probable
Head Coach Mike Brown
Game Notes The Celtics move from one division rival to another as they head to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Knicks. This is the first of 4 games between these two teams this season. They will face off in Boston on December 2 and February 8 and one more time in New York on April 9.
The Knicks were 4-0 in the preseason while the Celtics were 3-1 in the preseason. The Celtics won the series with the Knicks 4-0 last season. The Celtics finished last season 61-21 while the Knicks finished 51-31. The Celtics are 308-190 overall, all time against the Knicks. They are 130-109 against the Knicks all time on the road.
The Knicks' roster hasn't changed much since last season. They signed Jordan Clarkson after he had been bought out by the Jazz. And they signed Guerschon Yabusele as a free agent from the 76ers. They had signed Malcolm Brogdon but he retired just before the season began. They lost Precious Achiuwa to free agency. The core remains unchanged. The biggest change the Knicks made was to fire coach Tom Thibodeau and hire Mike Brown.
The Celtics are split about evenly between returning and new players. They have 9 returning players and 8 new players on the team this season. Gone are Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Jrue Holiday and Luke Kornet. New players include Anfernee Simons, Josh Minott, Chris Boucher, Hugo Gonzalez, Luka Garza, Max Shulga, Amari Williams, and Ron Harper, Jr. The Celtics have a core of good players returning along with some young players who are excited to show what they can do.
After this the Celtics will play back to back games on the road at Detroit and at New Orleans. They then return home for one game against the Cavaliers before going on the road to Philadelphia for their first NBA cup game. Then it's two games back at home against Houston and Utah before 2 games in Orlando and at Philadelphia once again.
After this game, the Knicks play 3 road games, at MIami, Milwaukee and Chicago. Then, it's back home for a 7 game home stand against Chicago, Washington, Minnesota, Brooklyn, Memphis, Orlando and Miami. After that, they have a 5 game road trip through Miami, Dallas, Orlando, Brooklyn, and Charlotte.
The Celtics will begin the season without their All Star forward, Jayson Tatum, who is rehabbing from a torn Achilles. He is expected back anywhere from the All Star break until next season, depending on who is reporting. Luka Garza left Wednesday's game after a hard blow to the head as he fought for an offensive rebound against the 76ers. He did not return and is out for this game with a concussion.
For the Knicks, Mitchell Robinson has yet to make his debut this season. He sat out their first game on Wednesday and has been ruled out for this game due to left ankle injury management. Josh Hard also missed Wednesday's game with back soreness and is questionable for this game. Towns is questionable with a quad strain. Anunoby (ankle) is probable.
I have listed the same starting lineup that the Celtics used on Wednesday. I have a feeling that the Celtics may change up the power forward or center as they try to decide what lineup works best. The Knicks starting lineup is also the one that they used on Wednesday. If Towns is unable to play, Yabusele may get the start.
Key Matchups vs
Derrick White vs Jalen Brunson
Brunson is the key to the Knicks offense and the Celtics need to defend him well. On Wedneday, he finished with 23 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists, while shooting 27.8% from the field and 11.1% from beyond the arc. Chances are that he won't shoot that poorly again and so the Celtics need to be ready to defend him.
vs
Jaylen Brown vs OG Anunoby
Anunoby led the Knicks on Wednesday with 24 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and 1 block while shooting 52.9% from the field and 44.4% from 3. Both Brown and Anunoby were questionable going into Wednesday's games and both played. Anunoby is probable for this game. The Celtics need to pay special attention to slow him down.
Honorable MentionSam Hauser vs Karl-Anthony Towns
Towns is questionable for this game, but I expect him to play. If he can't play, Guerschon Yabusele will likely get the start. On Wednesday, Towns finished with 19 points, 11 rebounds and 2 assists while shooting 41.7% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc. Joe may start Hauser once again, but Boucher may be better for this matchup.
Keys to the Game
Defense - As always, defense is the key to winning this, and every, game. The Celtics were second in the preseason with a defensive rating of 100.2. They struggled on the defensive end on Wednesday, and slipped to 20th with a defensive rating of 117. The Knicks, on the other hand, are 3rd with a defensive rating of 105.7. The Celtics must make defense a priority if they hope to win this season.
Rebound - As with defense, rebounding will always be a key to winning.The Celtics have to crash the boards as a team and go after every rebound. The Celtics led the league with 52 rebounds per game in the preseason, but they had only 42 rebounds on Wednesday, which is 16th. The Knicks finished with 48 rebounds, which is 8th. Much of rebounding is effort and every Celtic has to work harder to grab rebounds.
Move the Ball Carefully - The Celtics have to be careful with the ball and avoid turnovers. They need to make careful passes and also focus on their ball handling so as not to turn the ball over. But they need to move the ball to find the open man and to get the best shots. On Wednesday, they had just 16 assists on 41 made baskets. This puts them last in the league. Part of the problem was that players weren't making their shots, hitting just 25.6 of their 3 pointers. They need to look for open teammates and share the ball.
Pick up the Pace - After a lot of talk about playing faster in the preseason, the Celtics slowed it down in their first game. They were 7th in pace in the preseason (106.13) but they were 23rd on Wednesday (100.00) Their best hope this season is to play fast and hard. They need to play faster and harder in order to win this game.
X-FactorsOn the Road - The Celtics are on the road for the first time this season. The Celtics are younger this season than last and sometimes young players struggle more on the road than they do at home. They need to overcome the distractions of playing on the road and in front of a hostile crowd and stay focused on playing the right way. They have to come out playing hard right from the beginning and try to keep the Knicks' crowd from getting into the game.
Coaching - Joe Mazzulla is starting his 4th season as Celtics' head coach. He won a title with a very talented team that was packed with shooting stars. Now he is going to have to win in a different way since his personnel has changed and so he must prove that he can. Mike Brown is in his first season as the Knicks coach, but he has a 28 year coaching career with Washington, San Antonio, Indiana, Cleveland (twice), Los Angeles Lakers, Golden State, and Sacramento. Which coach can get the most out of his team?
Officiating - Officiating always has the potential to be an x-factor. Each officiating crew calls the game differently. Some refs call it tight and constantly call fouls while others let them play with few fouls called. Some refs just make calls that just don't make sense. The Celtics will be on the road and so they can expect the Knicks to get a favorable whistle in their arena. The Celtics need to adjust to how the refs are calling the game and not allow bad calls or no calls to take away their focus.
Topic: Celtics (0-1) at Knicks (1-0) Game #2 10/24/25 (Read 420 times)