How do we match up with the Knicks this year?

[LarBrd33]

They've won 12 in a row.  Just beat OKC.  Looks like we'll be stuck facing them in Round 1.  I'd actually rather play Miami in Round 1.  I think our team matches up better with Miami.  If we manage to pull off a huge upset against the Knicks, it's probably going to be a 7 game series.  And if we somehow end up in the ECF we'll probably be too gassed to deal with Miami at that point.

Personally I'd rather lose to Miami in round 1 than lose to the Knicks in round 1.   Thoughts?

[SparzWizard]

They're on a roll. Melo putting up MVP numbers. Took down Miami and OKC on their home floors. Yeah I think they're a tough bunch who could make it out in the East.

Let's not forget that their coach is not Mike D'Antoni. It's Mike Woodson. Give me Miami or Indiana Pacers in the first-round.

[NocturnalRebel]

We do match up better with Miami but we can still beat tha Knicks. In that thread about tha Knick fans wanting us in tha first round, I stated that I felt tha Knicks still don't know how to win yet. They have a better team and better coach this season but I still don't think they're good enough to get out of tha first round over tha Celtics.

Tha majority of their points come from tha 3 point line. Melo and maybe Smith are about tha only ones on that team that can score from anywhere other than tha 3 point line. And tha playoffs aint a two man game. We all know tha Celtics turn it up come playoff time and like they say in basketball, "You live by the 3, You die by the 3." They lived by it in tha regular season but it won't save them in tha playoffs. Especially against tha Celtics.

[chambers]

I watched the OKC game and a few of their recent games.
Durant was a no show and the Knicks continued to shoot lights out from three.
They did move the balls similarly to Miami last year though which got them open three after open three.
I think we match up well with Green and Pierce taking turns on Melo, and I don't know what their answer for Green is.
AB+Lee will be a nice tandem to close out on their shooters and we need to get Melo in trouble and Green attacking the basket.
I think Avery will be a great weapon stopping Felton doing too much.
I like playing the Knicks because they've moulded themselves after the Heat but they are always going to be a poor man's heat. (superstar small forward surrounded by shooters).
Their defense isn't up to par with Miami's and I question Melo's ability to bring it for a complete 7 game series.

I think we've been the best at keeping them under 40% from three in each game this year.
Knicks fans hate us too- there's nothing more that I'd like than to send them home in the first round. We aren't expected to win and the pressure is on them to shoot the lights out.
Bring em on.

[Big Rondo]

We have no answer for Tyson Chandler and we can't outpace them on O. We're going to have to play 4 games of lights out defense to beat them in a series -- hold them to highs 80s or less. Maybe we can steal one flat out outscoring them but not if we let Chandler run loose on the boards. With Doc likely to  ride our small ball lineup into the ground, 2nd chance opportunities and guards helping on the boards (leaving their man open on those 50/50 balls) could ultimately be the death of us.

[Who]

Boston matches up very well against New York.

Kevin Garnett gives Boston the matchup advantage at center over Tyson Chandler. Comparable defensive presences but KG is a much more skilled offensive player. Garnett will also be able to drag T.Chandler out of the paint offensively with his long two point jump-shooting and high post passing whereas Tyson Chandler's limitations will allow Garnett to roam around the paint and make more defensive plays around the rim.

Jeff Green and Paul Pierce give Boston two big quick forwards who can matchup against New York's small ball lineups. The Knicks only really have one big quick forward themselves with Carmelo Anthony so one of Boston's guys should have an advantageous matchup there too.

The Knicks offense is too reliant on Carmelo Anthony. It lacks versatility (in number of creators). Raymond Felton and JR Smith are the 2nd and 3rd options in the Knicks offense. Avery Bradley gives Boston the best on-ball defensive PG in the league to throw on Felton and have Courtney Lee to put on JR Smith.

The Knicks frequently play small in the backcourt with Felton, Kidd and/or Prigioni so there will be lots of opportunities to get Jason Terry or Jordan Crawford on the floor without their defensive limitations being exploited.

The injury to Amare Stoudemire was a huge blow for the Knicks. He was the only guy Boston had no answer too. A major advantage off the bench. But now he is out of commission.

In his place, Kenyon Martin will take over but in a matchup against Chris Wilcox, this shouldn't hurt Boston too much. Martin not much of an offensive threat but will give NY better interior D. If it's Bass, K-Mart will give NY a slightly larger advantage.

Steve Novak and Chris Copeland are threats if Doc doesn't control the matchups well but if he can keep Jeff Green out there and force one of them to pickup J.Green then the matchup is firmly in Boston's favour. If he does something stupid like use Bass, then NY's three point shooters will create the advantage for their team.

Bass should only really play if NY goes big and puts a proper power forward alongside their center (Tyson Chandler). Kenyon Martin or Kurt Thomas. Other than that, Doc needs to keep Bass' butt glued to the bench because the matchups here are not favourable to him and Bass will cause more damage than harm if used against them.

So yeah, overall, this is a very good matchup for Boston.

The Celtics starters have a strong advantage over the Knicks counterparts. The bench battle depends quite a bit on Doc but the talent is there for him to minimize NY's threats (K-Mart, JR Smith) and to even turn some of threats into liabilities (Novak, Copeland). He (Doc) just needs to his job well which unfortunately hasn't happened as often as it should have this year.

Boston should be favoured in a series against New York.

[azzenfrost]

If their 3 pt shots are falling, they crush us. If their 3 pt shots are failing, we crush them.

[j804]

Boston matches up very well against New York.

Kevin Garnett gives Boston the matchup advantage at center over Tyson Chandler. Comparable defensive presences but KG is a much more skilled offensive player. Garnett will also be able to drag T.Chandler out of the paint offensively with his long two point jump-shooting and high post passing whereas Tyson Chandler's limitations will allow Garnett to roam around the paint and make more defensive plays around the rim.

Jeff Green and Paul Pierce give Boston two big quick forwards who can matchup against New York's small ball lineups. The Knicks only really have one big quick forward themselves with Carmelo Anthony so one of Boston's guys should have an advantageous matchup there too.

The Knicks offense is too reliant on Carmelo Anthony. It lacks versatility (in number of creators). Raymond Felton and JR Smith are the 2nd and 3rd options in the Knicks offense. Avery Bradley gives Boston the best on-ball defensive PG in the league to throw on Felton and have Courtney Lee to put on JR Smith.

The Knicks frequently play small in the backcourt with Felton, Kidd and/or Prigioni so there will be lots of opportunities to get Jason Terry or Jordan Crawford on the floor without their defensive limitations being exploited.

The injury to Amare Stoudemire was a huge blow for the Knicks. He was the only guy Boston had no answer too. A major advantage off the bench. But now he is out of commission.

In his place, Kenyon Martin will take over but in a matchup against Chris Wilcox, this shouldn't hurt Boston too much. Martin not much of an offensive threat but will give NY better interior D. If it's Bass, K-Mart will give NY a slightly larger advantage.

Steve Novak and Chris Copeland are threats if Doc doesn't control the matchups well but if he can keep Jeff Green out there and force one of them to pickup J.Green then the matchup is firmly in Boston's favour. If he does something stupid like use Bass, then NY's three point shooters will create the advantage for their team.

Bass should only really play if NY goes big and puts a proper power forward alongside their center (Tyson Chandler). Kenyon Martin or Kurt Thomas. Other than that, Doc needs to keep Bass' butt glued to the bench because the matchups here are not favourable to him and Bass will cause more damage than harm if used against them.

So yeah, overall, this is a very good matchup for Boston.

The Celtics starters have a strong advantage over the Knicks counterparts. The bench battle depends quite a bit on Doc but the talent is there for him to minimize NY's threats (K-Mart, JR Smith) and to even turn some of threats into liabilities (Novak, Copeland). He (Doc) just needs to his job well which unfortunately hasn't happened as often as it should have this year.

Boston should be favoured in a series against New York.

You make some good points but us favored, seriously? I think with all our injuries they are probably the favorite amongst most people, but hey that's just how we like it. I'll never count this team out but NY will be a load to handle the way they put up points scares the hell out of me. 

[Celtics4ever]

I think we match up fine.   They have the best player, we have the better team and coach.

[PhoSita]

Kidd bullies our guards and is less effected by Bradley since he's big.  J.R. Smith owns us, again because he's bigger than any of our guards other than T-Will.


Green and Pierce will do their best to cover Anthony but that's a tall order.  Tyson Chandler will eat us alive inside off easy looks from Kidd and Felton.  Felton is a known Celtic-killer.  Always seems to hit last-second shots against us.

All the Knicks need is to defend homecourt, which will be easy against a Celtics team that sucks on the road this season, and then get hot from three once in Boston, and the series will be over in five games.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

They've won 12 in a row.  Just beat OKC.  Looks like we'll be stuck facing them in Round 1.  I'd actually rather play Miami in Round 1.  I think our team matches up better with Miami.  If we manage to pull off a huge upset against the Knicks, it's probably going to be a 7 game series.  And if we somehow end up in the ECF we'll probably be too gassed to deal with Miami at that point.

Personally I'd rather lose to Miami in round 1 than lose to the Knicks in round 1.   Thoughts?

I told people here before the season started the knicks would be tough and a threat out of the east. well, well, well

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

We have no answer for Tyson Chandler and we can't outpace them on O. We're going to have to play 4 games of lights out defense to beat them in a series -- hold them to highs 80s or less. Maybe we can steal one flat out outscoring them but not if we let Chandler run loose on the boards. With Doc likely to  ride our small ball lineup into the ground, 2nd chance opportunities and guards helping on the boards (leaving their man open on those 50/50 balls) could ultimately be the death of us.

chandler and K mart will make it tough for us to score in the paint plus they can get boards.

[lantinm]

They've won 12 in a row.  Just beat OKC.  Looks like we'll be stuck facing them in Round 1.  I'd actually rather play Miami in Round 1.  I think our team matches up better with Miami.  If we manage to pull off a huge upset against the Knicks, it's probably going to be a 7 game series.  And if we somehow end up in the ECF we'll probably be too gassed to deal with Miami at that point.

Personally I'd rather lose to Miami in round 1 than lose to the Knicks in round 1.   Thoughts?

Being from NY/NJ, I absolutely loathe the Knicks and their fans.  They haven't won a playoff series in over a decade and a championship since 1973, and yet their fans (at least the one's I know) act like entitled Yankee fans.  Having said all of that, I really don't want to see them until after Round 1.  We still need to find our rhythm and set a playoff rotation and I could see us taking a few games to work out the kinks.  Here are my keys to a first-round victory over the Knicks:

1. Clean the glass and avoid giving them 2nd-chance opportunities.  Too often they grab an offensive rebound, and swing it around the perimeter for an open 3.  That kills us!

2. KG and Pierce don't need to play like Superstars every game, but they at least need to give us their averages and come up big in the 4th.

3. Defend the 3-pt line.  Don't let Novak, JR, Kidd, Melo, and Copeland go nutso from 3.

4. Have Avery and Lee match up with JR all game and play him rough/tough.

5. Establish a swagger/attitude right from the opening of Game 1.  Come out and attack and smack them in the mouth from the get-go.

6. The bench rotay of Terry, Crawford, Lee, and Wilcox/Randolph has to produce and play well.

7. We need to see the Jeff Green that we've seen the last two months, otherwise we may not come out of this series alive.  He has to score 14-16 pts per game, and have a few games over 20.  Between he, Pierce, and KG, we are going to need 55-60 pts from the three of them per game.

[Lightskinsmurf]

As long as we stay healthy I think we beat everyone in the east except miami. That being said I wouldn't be overly surprised if we lost to someone else like the pacers or maybe knicks.

[Snakehead]

I think Jeff punishing the Knicks on offense and matching up with Melo on D is the key to the series.