The New York Knicks survived their six-game dogfight with the Detroit Pistons on the strength of Jalen Brunson‘s now iconic game-winning three. Somehow, they escaped the first round with their entire rotation healthy despite the physical nature of the Pistons series. They struggled all year to beat the league’s best teams, and Boston blew them out three times in their season series sweep. However, all any Knicks fan could ask was to make it to their long-anticipated Celtics second-round matchup fully healthy. They’ll have three days to rest before taking on the defending champions in Boston on Monday. Before turning the page on the Pistons series, what takeaways can New York carry into this much tougher test?
3 Knicks First-Round Lessons for Matchup With Celtics
1. They Must Play Five-Man Offense, Not Brunson-Ball
Look, Brunson is a phenomenal player. He’s unquestionably the best Knick and is arguably the best clutch player in the league. He’s one of the most consistent playoff performers in the sport, doing things rarely seen this side of Michael Jordan in terms of scoring in the postseason. With all of that said, he needs to decrease his usage. Whether that’s something Tom Thibodeau needs to dictate, or Brunson himself needing to distribute the ball more, the Knicks must play a more egalitarian style if they want to match buckets with Boston’s historically great offense.
Brunson’s 32.8% usage rate ranked fifth among the playoff field in the first round. That may not seem bad, but anyone who watched the games saw the real truth. Whenever the Pistons blitzed the Knicks with a stretch of energy and momentum, New York devolved back into Brunson pounding the ball in isolation against Ausar Thompson. Thompson is arguably the best defender in the league to guard Brunson because of his speed, strength, and athleticism. While NY’s captain got the last laugh with his incredible game-winner, their offense performed much worse than it should’ve considering their talent level.
New York’s 109.8 offensive rating in the first round was 11th out of the 16 playoff teams. When Leon Rose made the trades for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns this offseason, he did it to surround Brunson with three elite offensive players. Rose made a calculated gamble by sending away much of NY’s gritty identity from years past to create an explosive offense. It worked in the regular season, but New York failed to maximize their talent in the first round. Towns, Bridges, and OG Anunoby should all be huge parts of the offense, or the Knicks have no chance to compete with Boston.
2. Make Boston Play One-On-One
This lesson is more from Boston’s first-round series against Orlando, but it is extremely important for New York. The Magic decided to focus solely on limiting the Celtics’ three-point volume. They forced Boston to play one-on-one offense and didn’t help off any shooters. It was extremely effective, as the Cs only got up 31.2 three-point attempts per game compared to their 48.2 in the regular season.
Now, Boston still had the third-best offense in the first round with a 117.4 ORTG, but Orlando kept itself in every game until at least halftime despite their lackluster offense. The Magic obviously have better personnel to switch everything and hold up in isolation matchups than the Knicks do, but New York’s offense is exponentially more prolific. Furthermore, NY does have several good defenders who can do a good job against Boston’s best players. Anunoby and Bridges have a fighting chance against Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, while Josh Hart and Miles McBride can guard Derrick White and Jrue Holiday. Even Towns has shown an ability to compete in switches against Tatum in their matchups.
New York’s issues will come in pick-and-pops against Kristaps Porzingis. Additionally, they will struggle when Boston forces Brunson into a switch (which will be often). They may not be able to overcome those matchup flaws, but forcing the Celtics to take tough shots in isolation rather than bombing threes might allow NY’s elite offense to keep them in games. If the Knicks can hang around until the fourth quarter, Brunson gives them a fighting chance to steal wins.
3. Josh Hart Should Play His Normal Minutes
All season, I’ve been calling for Josh Hart to be benched for Miles McBride because of Hart’s shooting struggles. His refusal to take wide-open threes has destroyed the Knicks’ offense at times, while McBride provides spacing. He also gives NY great on-ball defense. The lineup data bears that concept out, as units with McBride have outperformed those with Hart. However, McBride is in a deep slump, and it seems like he may still be struggling with injuries.
In the first round, McBride averaged 3.8 points in 16 minutes on 26.7% from the field and 26.3% from deep. He even appeared unfocused on defense at times, not his usual lockdown self. Whether the former second-rounder is nursing injuries or just grappling with shaken confidence, he’s not the best option for Thibodeau. New York desperately needs him to get going in this series, but for now, Hart should maintain his role.
Featured image: © Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images
