Two games, two 20-point Boston third quarter leads, two times the Celtics shot less than 25% after getting those leads, twice Boston turned the ball over an lot in the clutch, two games where in the clutch the Celtics played predictable — meaning: defendable — offense, and twice the Knicks showed resilience, twice New York got to the free throw line when it mattered, twice Mikal Bridges made a clutch defensive play, and twice the Knicks completed the comeback inside TD Garden.
With the Knicks up 2-0 as the series heads to Madison Square Garden, here are a couple of notes out of the Knicks vs. Celtics
Mitchell Robinson most impactful Knick
Through two games, Mitchel Robinson is a series-best +32. For comparison, Jalen Brunson is +1 through two games, while Mikal Bridges is -3.
When Robinson is on the court in the playoffs, the Knicks’ defense is 17.6 points per 100 possessions better, giving up less than a point per possession — this is the vision the Knicks had for him and Karl-Anthony Towns when they traded for KAT right before the season. Recovery from Robinson’s offseason ankle surgery put that vision on hold, but it has hit the Celtics full force.
Which led to Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla to call for a hack-a-Mitch plan late in Game 2 (as he had done at other points in the series), intentionally fouling the career 52.2% free throw shooter, trying to force New York to take him off the floor.
“He was a +19, all their starters were in the negative,” Mazzulla said.
That strategy backfired in Game 2. Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau left Mitchell on the court until his team was in the bonus the rest of the way, which came with 2:41 left in the game. At that point, Thibodeau swapped out Mitchell for OG Anunoby and let his offensive players foul hunt the rest of the way. Jalen Brunson won the game from the free-throw line (on a shooting foul).
“Actually, that makes me feel like a threat,” Robinson said of the intentional fouling. “You want me out the game?… I’m just saying, you trying to get me out the game? Why y’all want me out the game?”
The other thing that has thrown the Celtics off is something Thibodeau envisioned since the KAT trade — a double-big lineup with the defensive-focused Robinson next to the offensive-focused Towns. It’s similar to how Towns thrived last season in Minnesota, playing next to Rudy Gobert. The Knicks have a +17.8 net rating in the playoffs when both their bigs are on the court together. Mazzulla and the Celtics need to figure out how to handle this quickly. If they go down 0-3 in this series on Saturday, their season is all but over.
Porzingis says pressure of Celtics
Kristaps Porzingis has played just 27 minutes through two games in this series, slowed by a non-COVID upper respiratory issue that has been with him for a few months. His lack of presence on the court means Boston is not exploiting Towns’ defense like they hoped, and one of their best scoring options is not impacting the game.
But it was Porzingis with the positive spin on Boston being down 0-2 in this series.
“In a way, it kinda takes all the pressure off of us,” Porzingis said. “If you check the odds, maybe the Knicks are the favorites now to win. We were expected to win, so for us to be in this hole right now, with our backs against the wall, we have nothing to lose. We’ve got to go out there and leave it all out on the floor. It’s still a lot of basketball left to play, and let’s see where it goes.”
Even with the Knicks up 2-0, our partner BetMGM has the series even — both teams are -110 to win the series — and the Celtics are -5.5 point favorites to take Game 3 in Madison Square Garden.
Also, is the pressure off Boston? If they lose this series — then head into an offseason where many around the league expect the Celtics to trade away a key rotation player or two because of the NBA second luxury tax apron and its team building restrictions — hard questions will be asked. Championship teams only get so many bites at the apple, the pressure is on Boston to take advantage of theirs, not assume they will be back in this position next year.
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