Post Game Reaction: Celtics 119 Knicks 114
The New York Knicks were back playing on Christmas Day. The atmosphere was great as it felt like a playoff game. The Knicks lost to the Celtics 119-114 and looked overmatched for most of the game. Here are a few of my observations.
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Knicks down 110-101 with 2:14 left in the game. The Knicks looked like they were going to let this game slip away but all of sudden the Knicks went on an 11-2 run as Melo and Porzingis combined for 11 straight points for the Knicks to tie the game with less than a minute. After that the Celtics got a wide-open three by Marcus Smart and Melo then turned the ball over and the game was over. Melo ended up with 29pts, Rose with 25 and KP with 22. Those three did most of the damage for the Knicks.
The Knicks have only one win against teams above .500. This has been an issue all year for the Knicks. They have beaten the teams they are suppose to but have struggled against the better competition. Many of the Knick players felt this was a must-win game but they did not show that intensity consistently as the Celtics out-hustled and out worked them, gaining extra possessions and moving the ball to get better looks. Thomas led the way for the Celtics with 27 and got help from Crowder (16pts) ad Horford (15pts) plus a nice boost off the bench from Smart with 15pts and Olynk with 16pts. They were the better team for most of the night.
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Knicks struggle on the boards. The Knicks have been one of the better rebounding teams in the league but really struggled on the defensive glass. The Celtics coming in only averaged 6 offensive rebounds a game, the Knicks let them get 12 and that led to many of the threes they gave up. They are not going to win if they keep giving teams 2 or 3 chances to score.
Knicks cannot contain Celtics from the three-point line. The difference in this game was the three ball. The Celtics made 14 and the Knicks only made 8. The Celtics probably should have made like 20-22 of them as a majority of them were wide open. The Knicks struggled to stop penetration from the likes of Thomas, Bradley and Smart, which led to these open looks. The Knicks defense has been an issue and against better teams like the Celtics they need to play better and limit penetration.
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Ball movement the difference in the game. As usual the Knicks showed their usual self on offense as they went heavy iso. You can clearly see the difference between these two teams. The Celtics looked like they actually ran offense as they moved the ball and set each other up with good looks, while the Knicks took turns going one-on-one. In the end the Celtics had 25 assists on 45 field goals and the Knicks had 11 assists on their 41 field goals. This issue will become even more evident as they play better teams. You cannot beat elite teams like the Celtics by going one-on-one, it is just too easy on the defense as they can setup and just focus on one player. Between Rose and Melo, they took 43 shots and only had 5 assists. Not going to cut it. That needs to improve and the worry is that this team has played 30 games and you would think the ball-movement would be improving as the team has been playing together for almost half a season.
The New York Knicks lose to another playoff team and it is the same old Knicks as they lacked focus on defense and showed limited offensive creativity. These two areas have to improve if they want to contend this year. They have already shown they have the fire power to make the playoffs but to be in the conversation for making the Eastern Conference Finals, they must improve these two areas. The Knicks have a little break until Wednesday when their next opponent are the Hawks. Just want to wish everyone Happy Holidays and enjoy this little break to spend time with your loved ones.
