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2025-26 Game Thread: Knicks vs. Celtics

The Knicks host the new-look (as in “they look a lot shittier”) Celtics at the Garden, with a perfect opportunity to go from 0-8 against the Cavs and Celtics last season to 2-0 against them this season!

Let’s go, Knicks!

Feeling great about 58!

199 replies on “2025-26 Game Thread: Knicks vs. Celtics”

Concerned that Celts are looking for revenge but really we should be able to handle this.
Fuck Boston

Josh gonna give it a go apparently and KAT starting at C
Edit – actually not confirmed that KAT is starting, sorry

Brown probably figured he needed Huk’s size against the big Cleveland frontcourt, but that it’s preferable to go with the small ball lineup against the less beefy Celtics. This Mike Brown guy is all right!

Surprised the line is only Knicks – 4 ½. Makes me a little nervous honestly.

I definitely feel nervous about the game. Expecting the Celtics to be seeking revenge (even if half of them weren’t here last spring), and we have a lot of guys nursing injuries.

Now they’re on Amazon? I wish the Knicks still sucked so I could listen to Clyde and Breen.

Deuce!!

I guess having the best shooting 7 footer of all time fire away is probably a good idea.

We’d be stomping them if there wasn’t a lid on their basket

Offensive process looks really good despite the shots not falling. They are generating so many easy looks from deep. 14 3PAs and still 2 minutes left in the quarter.

IIRC, you can only dress 12 players. Maybe Hart replaced him as one of the 12.

Also, Jemison can only dress for fifty games total.

Let’s hope the Basketball Gods forgive us for whatever sin we committed come the second quarter.

I am watching what I think is the Amazon feed (via Tencent Sports). I have to say the announcing team of Ian Engle and Stan van Gundy is pretty good.

So glad my Dad is out to dinner. Finding out the Knicks a e on Amazon would have ruined his night.

Good to see Kolek still getting in-game run.

Looks like we’ve been forgiven.

According to the Prime app, the Celtics have a mascot (Lucky the Leprechaun) and we have NOTHING. Can we fix this?

Kolek rope a doped us in summer league and pre-season

Dude likes New York and wanted to kill his trade value.

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I keep thinking about PT Milo’s comment that Kolek looks like the asshole frat boy in every teenage rom com

Eventually they will need to figure out how to maximize Brunson, but this is so nice to watch.

Hard not to think that they left stuff on the table last year.

I love that Deuce block-out on the rebound that went to Yabusele, he took his guy into the stands like the blocking scene from The Blind Side.

Wow. Still early but this team just “feels” different. Even when we were down earlier I wasn’t worried because we were just missing shots and made bad defensive rotations. Once we stopped those…20 point lead.

Fun first half to watch. We should be beating the Celtics though so not really a huge surprise.

Oh wow, a halftime show in which the analysts are actually talking about the game. What a concept!

You know how, in the past 25 years, the Knicks would play top teams in the league; and they would go on these big runs; and the National TV broadcasting crews seemingly wouldn’t know what to talk about other than to heap praise on the the top teams? Maybe the Knicks are that team now!

Just curious, is this game only on Amazon Prime? With so many Knicks games on “national” TV this season, I’m having a hard time rationalizing paying for League Pass this year b/c I’m afraid there’s gonna be a lot of blackouts.

Oh wow, a halftime show in which the analysts are actually talking about the game. What a concept!

I was impressed! During pre-game it seemed like they were following the TNT/ESPN model but the breakdown at half was good.

I was impressed! During pre-game it seemed like they were following the TNT/ESPN model but the breakdown at half was good.

Yes! I’m so used to muting the TV and doing other things during halftime that all four guys talking about the game caught me by surprise.

Yabu showing some life with the 3 and some actual rebounds. Had one nice defensive possession staying with a guard (Pritchard?) and one really terrible one against someone (Hauser?).

Kolek looking good again. Brown seems to like him & Clarkson together. Still looking to see how consistently he can score in the long run.

Honestly think the Knicks might have to send Yabu away for a bit. It is shocking how unprepared he is for the season.

Simons is so, so bad on defense. He’s getting burned by Tyler Kolek!

I’m not sure if I am more shocked or impressed by the defense. It looks very competent so far. You have to be impressed by Brown so far.

Weird that we’re doing better on turnovers (11-13) when it feels like we had 20 in the third quarter alone…

18-point quarter for the offense is not great. Quite sloppy, though understandable given the score. But they could have put this game to bed in the third.

I’m not sure if I am more shocked or impressed by the defense. It looks very competent so far.

Totally. The Celtics have missed some shots, but the Knicks have really contested a lot.

Stop playing with your food, Knicks.

Is anyone else’s stream out all of a sudden?

I had to close the app and reopen, and it’s good now.

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I had to close the app and reopen, and it’s good now.

Thanks. Had to restart like 3 times before it finally reconnected.

It’s insane how many gambling commercials there are. They’re just brainwashing kids with this shit.

It’s nice to be the way better team and play like crap for a long stretch and still be up 12 points

I would like Brunson to make one (1) shot. Second straight game he can’t hit the ocean.

C’mon Mr. Clutch! Take us home!

Anyone know what happened to Huk? Did he fall into a pothole on the way to the game?

Brown with his first big mistake not calling for a replay on that Brunson block.

I was just thinking about all the close playoff games we lost when our coach didn’t think Deuce could finish a game.

Hart can’t hit anything, but I do appreciate that he’s been shooting it with no hesitation. At least we can’t yell at him for that…

I really thought Jaylen Brown would be good as the lead guy and carry the Cs but man, that team got seriously hollowed out. If White and Pritchard are your second and third best guys, yiiiiikes.

Not a good ballgame but I am delighted nonetheless!

We shot 38% from the field and won by 10, gotta feel good despite the messiness

D-Red, Josh got 14 rebounds in 19 minutes.

I know he was just moving like a guy with a fucked up back in the last minute

Ugly at times but we got the win.

Brown is sure not afraid to mix it up and experiment with different lineups. So that’s one box checked. We’ll see what we think as the season progresses and we get to see what works and what doesn’t.

Definitely true when Brown said the defense was ahead of the offense. Just some really dumb turnovers by the Knicks and they missed a lot of open shots. Deuce is looking really good so far, maybe primed for a breakout year.

Maybe it’s the finger, but Hart going 1-5 from inside the arc is not a great sign. He might need to get his surgery.

The Knicks 3PAs in games 1 and 2 would have ranked as 3rd and 7th highest in the 2024-25 season.

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Not sure why Brown left Kolek in the game for so many minutes in the second half. We clearly needed Jalen back at they cut into the lead. Then he came back, scored a bunch, and we no longer had to worry. I guess it’s a work in progress….

I actually thought Brown had very good composure keeping the guys on the bench (OG and Jalen in particular) earlier in the 4th quarter. Thibs would have put the whole starting lineup back in when the lead was cut to 12, and they’d be gassed by the end/would have played 40 min.

I didn’t get to watch because I had to do dad stuff, but I must say I am pleased to be able to just casually beat the Celtics in a game where we didn’t even play that great.

I actually thought Brown had very good composure keeping the guys on the bench (OG and Jalen in particular) earlier in the 4th quarter. Thibs would have put the whole starting lineup back in when the lead was cut to 12, and they’d be gassed by the end/would have played 40 min.

Agreed. It felt like Kolek was in a long time bc we were missing shots but Brunson played 35 mins and Kolek 13. You can survive these runs without panicking.

No issues at all with minutes management. Kudos to Brown on that front. X’s and O’s? Def room for quibbles, although I’d put a lot on the players just not executing.

2026 pick watch: the Wizards are 1-0!

I had no idea McCollum and Middleton were playing for them.

donnie disagrees on both counts

i wasnt at all worried about playing in miami next until i just saw what they did to the grizz in memphis still not very worried just a little bit

At what point does Bridges become worth the 5 draft picks?

If we wanted to cut our losses, I think the Nets would probably take him back for the picks that turned into Nolan Traoré and Ben Saraf.

I saw parts of the game, including the great Kolek stretch in the second quarter.

Tell me more about Yabu, and what DEFCON level you’re at with him. (As a reminder, DEFCON-5 is everything is peaceful, and DEFCON-1 is nuclear war.)

Slight improvement from Yabu, honestly not overly concerned, just disappointed that he is clearly going to have to play his way into shape. So maybe DEFCON 4. But Brown utilized him well. And also, Clarkson played pretty well on both ends.

But this was a defensive win where KAT and Cap carried the team on O. The only other thing that stood out is Hart’s incredible rebounding spree.

The C’s looked pretty soft. Hugo Gonzalez looked like a keeper.

The only other thing that stood out is Hart’s incredible rebounding spree.

Hart getting all those boards in the second half was key

cyber, max, farfa, etc. you with us?

I got beat by the sleep bug again… and then i woke up and forgot the game was still going, i could’ve watch the 2nd half. My son would say “you’re having a senior moment, dad” !! LOL

You have to include KBA, he’s an “european” now, living in Milan for some months (a year?). 🙂

Max got lost in the Dolomites, i see. 😀 And where are you, Bruno? We need the portuguese speaking group to increase, not shrink. 😛

You know Alan, we argue about whether Yabu and Clarkson were the right hires, and they may or may not be, but they are still NBA capable players, which is nice.

Well, beating the Celts not even putting in the effort is a great way to start the weekend… too bad i’ve missed it. Going to watch the 10 min highlights on LP to get a 2nd* feel for what happened.

*the 1st was the game thread, hilarious as always, at some point i thought JB had 0 points, and then Marechal said “Somehow Brunson has 30 points?” LOL Never change, people, i love you all just like you are. 🙂

Other notes:
-Hart’s shot looked WAAAAY off…is it the finger splint or just rust? He still looked like his back was bothering him, definitely not 100%.

-We took 1 more 3PA than the Celts did (45 vs. 44) and shot them better (38% to 34%.) We also had more REBS (53 vs. 37), ASTs (23 vs. 19) and FTAs (25-15.) The game was really not as close as the score. They led by 8 points after 1 because the Knicks couldn’t hit a shot, but we killed them after that.

-Deuce’s shot was off until he hit a big 3 down the stretch. Maybe he was a bit nervous about starting? His D was a big factor, though. He was all over the POA.

-Mikal played 36 minutes to lead the team, then Brunson with 35. Looks like Brown is trying hard to get the starters a quarter’s worth of rest. None of the bench players seemed to have a particularly quick hook, even during C’s runs. Nice to see!

I got beat by the sleep bug again… and then i woke up and forgot the game was still going, i could’ve watch the 2nd half

Be glad you didn’t watch the 2nd half. It was a terrible experience. We won the 2nd quarter by 28 and that was the ballgame.

Tell me more about Yabu, and what DEFCON level you’re at with him. (As a reminder, DEFCON-5 is everything is peaceful, and DEFCON-1 is nuclear war.)

Took a few steps back from the ledge. The fact he started to corral a good number of rebounds was nice. Looked a bit more sprightly on a few possessions. Notable that he played C for all his minutes. He’ll be fine.

Max got lost in the Dolomites, i see. 😀 And where are you, Bruno? We need the portuguese speaking group to increase, not shrink. 😛

I’m still here! More lurking than anything because life’s been busy (the good kind of busy, thankfully!), but I’m enjoying this new look Knicks that actually has a bench to rotate players and can beat the Celtics and the Cavs in mostly stress-free games!

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2026 pick watch: the Wizards are 1-0!

Behind 34 pts (on 15 shots) and 11 rebounds from the player taken with our 24th pick, Kyshawn George, who is already an excellent defensive wing at 6-8.

Between him, Mitchell, Shannon, Filipowski, Wells, we could be loaded with 2nd year players ready to contribute at the end of the rotation. There were so many useful rotation players when Leon was on the clock it was like shooting fish in a barrel. And he shot the barrel.

Maybe we will get lucky and get the Wizards but the odds of us doing anything good with it are slim.

We seemed to have played 1:47 with no center.

End of 4Q – 40 secs (1 def possession & dribbling clock out):
Brunson/Deuce/Shamet/Hart/Mikal

Mid 4Q – 1 min:
Brunson/Deuce/Clarkson/Hart/OG

End 3Q – 6 secs:
Deuce/Shamet/Hart/Bridges/OG

We won the 2nd quarter by 28 and that was the ballgame.

That was the only quarter we won.

Yeah, but they said just a cramp.

Translated from Knicks language that means he’s out for 3 months and will on load management for the rest of the season. 😉

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because life’s been busy (the good kind of busy, thankfully!)

Oh, that’s great to hear. Happy for you! 🙂

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