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New York Knicks (13-6) at Boston Celtics (11-9)Tuesday, December 2, 20258:00 PM ETRegular Season Game #21 Home Game #11TV: NBC/PeacockRadio: Sirius XMTD Garden
The Celtics return home to take on division rival New York Knicks. This is the second of 4 games between these two teams this season. The Knicks beat the Celtics 105-95 in Boston on October 24 for their first meeting. They will meet again in Boston on February 8 and for a second time in New York on April 9. The Celtics are playing in the 3rd game in 4 nights.
Both teams won on Sunday and both were off on Monday. The Knicks are playing in the first of back to back games and will face the Hornets at home on Wednesday. The Knicks have only had 2 back to back sets this season so far and they are 2-0 in the first game. The Celtics won the series with the Knicks 4-0 last season. They are 308-191 overall, all time against the Knicks and they are 166-68 in games played in Boston.
The Knicks’ roster hasn’t changed much since last season. They signed Jordan Clarkson after he had been bought out by the Jazz. And they signed Guerschon Yabusele as a free agent from the 76ers. They had signed Malcolm Brogdon but he retired just before the season began. They lost Precious Achiuwa to free agency. The core remains unchanged. The biggest change the Knicks made was to fire coach Tom Thibodeau and hire Mike Brown.
The Celtics are 8th in the East, half a game behind 7th place Cleveland, 1 game behind 6th place Orlando, and 2 games behind 4th place Miami. They are half a game ahead of 9th place Philadelphia and 2.5 games ahead of 11th place Milwaukee. The Celtics are 8-6 against Eastern Conference teams and 2-4 against the Atlantic Division. They are 6-4 at home and 7-3 in their last 10 games and are coming off a win in their last game.
The Knicks are 2nd in the East, 2.5 games behind 1st place Detroit and tied with 3rd place Toronto. They are half a game ahead of 4th place Miami, 1.5 games ahead of 6th place Orlando and 2.5 games ahead of 8th place Boston. They are 10-6 against Eastern Conference opponents and 4-0 against the Atlantic Division. They are 3-5 on the road and 7-3 in their last 10 games. They have won their last 4 games.
After this game at home vs New York, the Celtics play at Washington and at home against the Lakers in yet another back to back set. They then play at Toronto at Milwaukee at home against the Pistons. After the Cup games, they host Miami, play at Toronto, host Indiana and then head out on a 5 game road trip through Indiana, Portland, Utah, Sacramento and the LA Clippers.
The Knicks will play at home against Charlotte on Wednesday and then will host Utah, Orlando, Philadelphia, and Miami before a game at Minnesota. Then they are back home vs Cleveland before the break for the NBA Cup games. The Knicks will play Toronto in the first of the knock out rounds and then will face either Miami or Orlando should they win their first game.
Jayson Tatum remains on the injured report as he rehabs from the torn Achilles. Neemias Queta and Derrick White both missed Sunday’s game but both are probable for this game. For the Knicks, OG Anunoby is out with a left hamstring strain. Landry Shamet is out due to a right shoulder sprain. Kevin McCullar, Jr (nose) and Trey Jemison III (eye) are both questionable and will be a game time decision.
Probable Starting Matchups PG: Derrick White vs Miles McBride
SG: Payton Pritchard vs Jalen Brunson
SF: Jaylen Brown vs Mikal Bridges
PF: Jordan Walsh vs Josh Hart
Mike Watters-Imagn Images
C: Neemias Queta vs Karl Anthony-Towns
Celtics ReservesAnfernee SimonsJosh MinottXavier TillmanSam HauserHugo GonzalezLuka GarzaBaylon ScheiermanChris Boucher2-Way PlayersRon Harper, JrMax ShulgaAmari WilliamsInjuries/OutJayson Tatum (Achilles) outDerrick White (calf) probableNeemias Queta (ankle) probable
Knicks ReservesJordan ClarksonPacome DadietAriel HukportiTyler KolekMitchell RobinsonGuerschon YabuseleMohamed Diawara
Two-Way PlayersKevin McCullar, JrTosan EvbudmwanTrey Jemison III
Injuries/OutOG Anunoby (hamstring) outLandry Shamet (shoulder) outKevin McCullar, Jr (nose) questionableTrey Jemison III (eye) questionable
Key MatchupsPayton Pritchard vs Jalen BrunsonBrunson is the key to the Knicks offense and the Celtics need to defend him well. He is averaging 28.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 6.2 assists, while shooting 47.8% from the field and 37.3% from beyond the arc. Against the Celtics this season, he finished with 31 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 assists while shooting 50% from the field and 42.9% from beyond the arc. The Celtics must defend him closely, especially on the perimeter. Payton Pritchard is coming off a 42 point game and another of those would be very nice.
Neemias Queta vs Karl Anthony-TownsTowns is averaging 21.7 points, 11.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game while shooting 44.9% from the field and 32.7% from beyond the arc. In the first game against the Celtics, he finished with 26 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block while shooting 37.6% from the field and 66.7% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to box him out on the boards and be aware of his presence on defense.Honorable MentionJaylen Brown vs Mikal BridgesBridges is averaging 16.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.3 blocks per game while shooting 52.7% from the field and 41.6% from beyond the arc. Against Celtics this season, he finished with 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 block while shooting 50% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to be aware of his presence on defense as he is very good at getting steals and blocks. Jaylen Brown is coming off a triple double and hopefully he can play well again in this game.
Keys to the GameDefense – As always, defense is the key to winning this, and every, game. The Celtics are 18th with a defensive rating of 114.9. The Knicks are 12th with a defensive rating of 113.1. The Celtics defense has been up and down, at times locking down their opponents and at other times allowing them to score at will. The Celtics must make defense a priority if they hope to win this season.
Rebound – As with defense, rebounding will always be a key to winning.The Celtics have to crash the boards as a team and go after every rebound. The Celtics are 16th with 44.5 rebounds per game while the Knicks are 2nd with 46.5 rebounds per game. Against the Cavs, the Celtics out-rebounded the Cavs 28-20 in the first half, but were out-rebounded 23-18 in the second half. The Cavs had 13 rebounds to just 6 for the Celtics in the 4th quarter. While that may have been due to the Celtics playing back to back and being fatigued at the end, they have to put out more effort on the boards then their opponents for all 4 quarters.3 Point Shots – When the Celtics make their 3’s they are tough to beat but when the 3’s aren’t falling, the game gets really ugly. The Celtics are 3rd in the league, taking 43.0 threes per game. The Knicks are 5th with 41.3 threes a game. Although the Celtics are 3rd in 3 pointers attempted, they are 18th, shooting 35.6% from beyond the arc. The Knicks are 9th, shooting 37.1% from beyond the arc. The key is simple. The Celtics must make their threes and they have to defend the perimeter well to keep the Knicks from making theirs.Consistency – The Celtics have been able to build leads in most of their games so far. They also have allowed their opponents to come back from those leads to either make the game close or win. They were dominant in the first half against the Timberwolves but then lost their energy and effort in the second half. The Celtics led by 21 against the Cavs but won by just 2. They need to play hard and with energy and focus on both ends of the court for all 4 quarters and not allow the Knicks to have a big quarter to bury them.
X-FactorsHome Game – The Celtics need to take advantage of home court and the boost their fans can give them. The Knicks will face a hostile crowd and an unfamiliar arena along with travel which will hopefully give the Celtics the edge. If the Knicks have shown one crack in their armor, it is playing on the road. They are 10-1 at home but just 3-5 on the road. The Celtics need to play hard with focus and take advantage of playing at home.
Officiating – Officiating always has the potential to be an x-factor. Each officiating crew calls the game differently. Some refs call it tight and constantly call fouls while others let them play with few fouls called. Some refs just make terrible head-scratching calls. The Celtics need to adjust to how the refs are calling the game and not allow bad calls or no calls to take away their focus.
