Two key factors to me:
1. The Celts have an edge in playoff experience, at least for the lead players. And many of the Knicks (Prigioni, Felton, Shumpert etc.) have little to no playoff experience.
2. Pierce seems to bring his 'A' game against the Knicks, averaging over 25ppg against them over the last four seasons with some huge games at the Garden.
I think we'll steal game 1. After that, I think it will boil down to their adjustments vs. our ability to play top-level defense for 48 minutes per game.
I think we either win in 6 or lose in 7.
1 couldn't be further from the truth. Jason Kidd, Tyson Chandler, Melo, Wallace, Martin, Smith, Camby and Stoudemire all have extensive playoff experience. Contrary to popular belief, outside of Terry, Pierce, KG, and Bass, we have little playoff experience. The Knicks are the vet team. We are the ones who have Bradley, Lee, Green, Crawford, Wilcox, Williams, Randolph and White who have played few to none playoff games in their career.
I said "lead players." No one on the Knicks has experience on a par with Pierce and Garnett except Kidd, and Kidd is hardly a key player for the Knicks.
Both Garnett and Pierce have played more playoff games than the probable Knicks starting lineup combined.
Knicks 5 lead players are Kidd, Felton, Melo, Stoudemire (who is returning for the playoffs as far as I know), Chandler. Our 5 lead players are Bradley, Terry, Pierce, Green and KG. Hard to say we have an edge there. There is no contest after that as far as experience is concerned. Sheed and Camby have probably played more playoff games than all the rest of our players combined.
OK, you are defining "lead" a bit differently than I did - I was talking about the top 2-3 players on each team.
Even among the players you mention, I would not take Sheed's and Stoudemire's experience too seriously. Sheed hasn't played in 3 months, Stoudemire more than a month.
So then you are left with Kidd, who I think is a secondary player.
Chandler and Melo have made one deep playoff run each.
I personally think that Pierce, Garnett and Terry's experience trumps the Knicks'.
Whether this gives the Celts an edge or not is probably something you can debate.
But I really take issue with your statement that what I said "couldn't be further from the truth." Don't you think that was a little over the top?
Not at all. The truth is that the Knicks have MUCH more playoff experience in their locker room. The Celtics have a team full of people with very little playoff experience.
Our top three players have more experience than their top three players, but that is an entirely arbitrary line to draw. The more rotation players you include after that the more experience the Knicks have over our roster.
It was true for the past few years when we said we had more experience because we had Rondo, Ray, Paul, KG, Perk and Baby who all had a lot of experience playing together deep into the playoffs season after season. We also had veterans like Posey, Brown, Jermaine O'Neal, Shaq, Wallace, Collins, Dooling, Pietrus, Barbosa etc. to add to our core.
We are playing this post-season without Rondo and Ray. We also have no weathered veteran coming off the bench except Terry. We do have multiple rotation players who have barely seen any time in the playoffs (Bradley, Wilcox, Williams, Crawford, Randolph and White) and others who have seen one or two seasons worth (Lee, Green). It is very misleading to say that we have an advantage in experience against the Knicks.
Prignoni may not have NBA playoff experience, but at 35 he's actually has a ton of experience playing deep into the post season internationally. Sheed, Camby, Martin, JR Smith, Stoudemire all have a lot of playoff experience and contribute a lot of minutes combined when healthy. It doesn't make any sense to disregard their experience simply because they are not the top 2-3 players. You need 5 people on the floor, and at least three more heavy rotation players to play a game of basketball.
This is the issue, I guess. I would be more inclined to agree with you if those guys were healthy and certain to be part of the "heavy rotation."
But right now Camby has played 12 minutes in the last 13 games after suffering a fascia injury.
Wallace has not played since December 13 after suffering a stress fracture and having surgery; he "hopes" to return some time in the playoffs.
Stoudemire has not played since 3/9 and his return for the first round is "uncertain."
Martin has a sprained ankle and has missed 5 out of the last 6 games.
Heck, Chandler has missed 14 of the last 18 games with a back injury.
Jason Kidd - Pablo Prignoni
Raymond Felton - JR Smith - Iman Shumpert
Carmelo Anthony - Steve Novak
Amare Stoudemire - Kenyon Martin - Rasheed Wallace
Tyson Chandler - Marcus Camby
This is probably the Knicks playoff rotation.
If Stoudemire and/or Chandler doesn't play then Martin, Wallace and Camby would have to play BIG minutes. Even if both were fully healthy, two of Martin, Wallace and Camby would have to back them up with at least 10 minutes each.
In any case the true value of veteran leadership is their influence in the locker room and how they can keep the team focused and driven. This is the role Dooling, Barbosa and other vets have played for us in the past, and they are ready to step in if needed i.e. when Bradley and Rondo got hurt.
The point remains that the Knicks are stacked with experience. Also lingering injuries always come with experience. KG, Ray and Paul have been fighting through injuries in all they post seasons for us, just like the Knicks and the Lakers this year.
Topic: Do you like our chances against New York in the first round? (Read 9881 times)