The Knicks host the red hot Boston Celtics at home, the first game they’ve played the Celtics since acquiring Precious, Bojan and Burks, so let’s hope that the new look Knicks match up better against the Celtics.
This is such a house money game that no one seriously expects the Knicks to win that I really think they are going to surprise everyone. Precious actually sort of matches up better against Boston than the two headed center monster, and the Celtics famously don’t take every game seriously, while the Knicks play to win every single game.
The Celtics also haven’t seen hot shooting DDV, really, this season.
I think the Knicks are going to make a statement tonight, and what’s great is that if they don’t, eh, whatever, it’s not a big deal if they lose.
House money, baby!
Let’s go, Knicks!
160 replies on “Game Thread 2023-24 Knicks vs. Celtics (New Knicks Rivalry Intro Opener, which is not a thing)”
I’m with Brian on this one. Everyone pinky promise no hitting the panic button tomorrow if it’s a beat down. Cuz we’re somewhere between 20-40% of the team we would otherwise be. And they are, sadly, 100% whiny Beantown.
And everyone gets to celebrate wildly if it’s a win.
Precious-Precious!
I have a feeling that it’s going to be a good game.
How about Jalen Brunson? 💙🧡
Mitch’s IG is making me very hopeful he’ll be back sooner rather than later.
We have no business winning this game tonight, and yet: Let’s go Knicks!
Interesting that Precious is on Brown with Hart on Tatum.
Precious on Brown is not working out well.
What happened to Brunson’s hand?
Well if we keep making most of our three’s this’ll be a game…
This 2 bigs lineup vs Tatum at the 4 can’t continue if they want to win tonight.
Hahaha. Devo on KP.
DDV on KP is the new Marcus Smart on KP!
Brunson is amazing at releasing the ball on his floater before the defender closes…
Burks should take a charge on KP there
I know people grow and we should also grow, but i still cannot stand KP.
I forgot about Houser. I hate Houser.
Brunson with some successful shenanigans there. Good for him/us 😉
Precious defensively struggling big time tonight so far, this a pretty tough matchup for him playing PF.
It’s kind of amazing that they are playing the best team in the league and we are not even a little bit surprised that Brunson has so far been the best player on the floor.
Problem is the next 4 best players on the court play for Boston.
It would have been nice if Bojan could have made that point-blank layup…
It’s fine because the next three best Knicks players are hurt.
Knicks shooting more 3s than the Celts is surprising. They probably need to keep that up if they want to win.
That Jokic and whoever else that was ad was very confusing. What does the pony have to do with anything?
Some of that, of course, is bc Jalen *has to be that guy for us.
Knicks getting a good whistle so far tonight. That’s a good sign.
I hate the Celtics, but there is some value for us in playing a much more complete team. We gotta get there, too.
Brunson is…still playing?!?
Jokic raises/races horses. Says often he cares more about them than basketball, which is just a job 😉
not Bogey’s finest game so far
We’re getting no open looks from 3, a little different from the Philly game.
Bojan trying to post up Jrue is probably not a winning proposition…
This is a game we really miss OG. Hart is too small to guard Tatum.
We miss Randle just as much as OG.
Exactly. Feels like we’re not using this lineup to get our 3 guys free. And of course, no interior D.
Deuce with the sky hook!
JJ wtf is “optionality”??
Thibs could rest Hart a bit and let Precious guard Tatum.
How many actual stops have we gotten tonight? 3?
Bobo gotta hit those threes. That’s what the money is for.
I think fully healthy the Knicks actually now match up pretty well against Boston.
You take away their starting front line and we wipe the floor with em.
Knicks could use Melo tonight.
Bullshit foul
Fuck you Jalen with the “too small” gesture. You follow that up by letting Deuce blow by you.
I hate the fucking Celtics
Yesterday I was arguing that Deuce essentially replaces Grimes’ production but I am starting to think he’s much more useful to this team than Grimes.
Why can’t the refs wait until after a fast break to call a technical? You are punishing the other team!
Playoff intensity to this game, injuries or no
The Knicks should do the too small gesture when they catch all of the offensive boards in a possession.
Josh Hart’s legs are going to fall off by the end of this season.
Grimes finally on the court for Detroit.
Celtics guards are physically man handling the Knicks in the paint.
It feels like the Celtics are dominating but we’re only down 4 points.
We okay with Hartenstein getting a few minutes this game? Seems he is shaking off the injury (or rust, perhaps…).
Dunno how the hell Knicks are only down 4 at the half but I’ll take it.
Hahaha. Commentators sing a five min ode to hustle-bunnies, and Hart rewards them as the clock expires.
Let’s steal this one!
Those extra possessions go a long way. And the Knicks have 50% more 3PTAs than the Celts, which is really odd.
I have to think that Deuce has earned himself rotation minutes, even if everyone’s healthy. Dude has been terrific since the extension.
Don’t think we’ve gotten a single stop since my last post lol
I think Duece surpassed Grimes this year.
Boston is 20-25 from inside the arc.
Agree. The Celtics are one of the teams I had in mind while salivating for OG. You need a high level wing defender with some size against them.
Deuce is helping us tonight…honestly, a very good team effort so far!
If the Celtics revert to their usual 3-point shooting barrage, we have a chance to steal this one. Because if they keep pounding the paint, I don’t know how we stop them.
Their offense is ridiculous, but it feels like the Celts defense can be exploited, especially when the Knicks are close to full strength.
We’re gonna need Bogey to get hot at some point, he’s our X factor tonight.
Just wondering, is everyone okay with Hartenstein’s minutes so far?
No doubt Deuce with the strong first half: 9 min, 4/4, 1/1 from three, 2 boards, Asst.
Would love some more points from Devo, please.
When Derrick White shoots, it feels like there’s a 100% chance of it going in
I don’t know if it’s the hammy but DDV doesn’t look as explosive post ASG.
Pretty annoying that the Celtics shoot >50% from 3 every time they play us
Precious is killing the Knicks on both ends of the court tonight, this is a horrible matchup for him.
It’s a bit ominous that Tatum has been on cruise control so far and we’re still losing…
Thibs and the coaches are doing a good job managing everyone’s minutes the last few games.
Boston makes 16 threes per game at 38% so they shoot like this vs every team.
Jalem Brunson is so fucking unstoppable.
Maybe don’t let KP take open threes like that.
That was a harder three to avoid.
Boston is toying with the Knicks tonight.
I reiterate: the Celtics never miss against us
This is obviously a bad stretch here, but I’m still very impressed by how hard they’re playing.
Thibs is fired up….not happy with the boyz….
They have perfect health and then shoot 60% from 3. Fuck this.
“Boston makes 16 threes per game at 38% so they shoot like this vs every team.”
Is 57% equal to 38%?
They said that KP’s average 3pt shot is from 27 feet.
The only way the Celtics don’t win the title is if they get injured or we see an epic choke. This is a great basketball team.
No one can be the C’s when they get hot like this from three, but I love the way we are competing.
If they were shooting 38% instead of 57% this would be a 1 pt game.
Only chance the Knicks have is to go small, I said it during the 1st quarter they can’t compete with Boston tonight playing 2 bigs at the same time.
It was probably even longer in Dallas at times. They were ridiculous in trying to create space for Doncic. He would take logo shots.
Look on the bright side marechal, they are also shooting 80% from 2.
People have opined here that the Celts are overrated. That is ridiculous. This is a GOAT level team that would beat us in 5 even at fill strength.
Which is so silly to not be up on him there.
Brunson pressing a bit.
So of course they come out of the timeout with Sims and Precious….
This is painful to watch
Phew, needed that foul to stop the bleeding.
This right here is a terrible lineup. Only 2 players can shoot.
Do not get it at all.
That was smart to get Brunson a better look.
Who was that guy who was scoring 36 per 36?
I’m a big Thibs fan and have no problems defending him but tonight his lineups vs this Celtics team have been awful.
Fookin Doogie howser is hitting 3s…
I think the Knicks fans will remember that kiss.
What a big three by Brunson. Terrible shot, but it went in!
What a sequence by Hart! They’re not going away!!
We can score against this team but if they’re gonna hit every 3 they attempt…
Tatum can play on cruise control because he has a great team around him which is why the MVP talk for him is non- sense
I mean it’s not like all the Celts can do is shoot 3’s…
Huge phantom foul call there.
I don’t get how the Celtics didn’t really try to score there with four seconds left. They just kind of threw it up there.
Celtics only being up 13 after that 3rd quarter is sorta nuts. They really don’t have killer instinct. Let’s bring it back!
Maybe Thibs goes back to the 4 guard lineup to close it out
Yeah, I mean, come the heck on, 13 is nothing, especially when it was 20 just a minute ago. Tatum might regret that kiss this game.
“I’m a big Thibs fan and have no problems defending him but tonight his lineups vs this Celtics team have been awful.”
It’s a bit of a “pick your poison” deal, isn’t it?
In general, yes, that’s totally fair, but even with that in mind there have still been some odd lineup choices.
It’s not just that they can shoot, it’s their size and athleticism. Jrue and White both play very big on both ends.
11, baby!!
Bojan a bit sad there.
This is the first time ever I see the Knicks conceding 30pts per quarter and cannot complain about their defensive effort. It’s not that they are lazy or that the defensive schemes are bad. It’s that the Celts are so good and balanced on offense. They beat as us a team, not because one player went off. They exploit every possible mismatch and they make threes as if they are layups. The majority of shots they took tonight were contested, but the only need a tiny bit of space to knock them down. We sorely missed our inured players tonight.
Pritchard looks like a troglodyte
Looks like Tatum palms the ball when he dribbles
Single digits, baby!
Thibs’ head might explode right now.
Sloppy
Oh well….
This is getting embarrassing.
Where’s DDV…
I hate the Celtics
They can beat you in so many ways. It’s frustrating.
Last three minutes of mess. That’s it. Still doesn’t look like there’s much of a plan when Bobo and Burks are out there.
Might have been better to bring Deuce back for more (anything?) in 2nd half. Hasn’t played at all despite a very strong 1st.
I hate the Celtics with every fiber of my being, but let’s be honest, what team in the East or the West is beating them in a 7 game series?
Well I’m glad McBride has only played 9 minutes. He sucks.
Burks is a zero … Bogi just doesn’t do much outside of shooting … McBride should keep getting burn.
Boston is by far and away the best team in the NBA.
The Clippers and Nuggets
They go at Bojan every time
If we are fully healthy, then we can make it very difficult for them. Otherwise, I don’t see any team stopping them.
OKC
Good teams know what a players weakness is
They aren’t making the Finals
The 2nd unit offense looks a lot like the Grimes/Deuce 2nd unit offense
This is exactly the point.
Thibs has been awful with his rotations tonight. Bogi was desperately needed in the 3rd when the offense was stalling, Brunson starting every quarter seems dumb to me especially when McBride is playing well, and Burks right now is unplayable. You can’t play two non offensive big men against the Celtics and expect to get away with. And why did DDV go away so fast?
This is where Thibs could/should show maturity and preserve his top players. He won’t, but this is the time.
I’m dreading the Grimes/Fournier/Flynn revenge game on Monday!
Clippers… maybe
Nuggets have no shot
Super glad Brunson is back in with 3:40 to go in a 16 point loss.
Thibs putting Brunson and Hart back in down 19 is a firable offense. Holy shit do I hate him now…
Knicks bench has played more minutes than the Celtics bench tonight!
Thibs is a bad in game coach..he doesn’t adjust quick enough
I feel like this could have been the Deuce game, and I’m not sure why it wasn’t.
Because Thibs had to play 1-7 from three Burks instead.
Didn’t understand not playing Bogey at all in the third, wouldn’t have made a difference though unless he’s good at making the Celtics miss some 3s.
It’s really annoying they found like 7 guys who can shoot and defend.
Take your frustration on the coach, the staff, the parquet, the rims, your dog, the movement of the planets, whatever. The Celts are just better than us right now. Plus, they are fully healthy while we are missing key players. It will hopefully be a different story when/if we get healthy.
Exactly Rough. There is absolutely no need for finger pointing tonight.
At least I’ll get to see Juan Soto make his Yankees debut tomorrow.
At least the Celtics weren’t the third team ever to shoot over 70% in a game.
You both are right. We were losing that game right now pretty much guaranteed, given our strength. At the same time, we might have lost it by 7 instead of 14 based on some different choices by the coach. I don’t blame the players at all, they did as good as they could. Deuce and Hart were great, Brunson and Precious and iHart and Divo were solid. Sims didn’t embarrass himself. I thought Burks laid an egg, and Bogy was mid.
Is what it is.
They looked a little bit human only in fourth. It was frustrating to watch how easily they were making contested shot after contested shot for three quarters.
Yeah, I don’t think we were one Thibs move away from victory by any means. Rather, I remain curious to see what lineup he chooses for scoring when Brunson is out. So far, Burks has not shown much IMO. Bobo had that nice game v. Philly. Deuce has shown life. Devo was on fire before the injury, so I desperately want him to get it going again.
Nevertheless, Boston tonight offered only a teaching moment, nothing more to say.
The Celtics turned Marcus Smart, Robert Williams, Grant Williams and Malcolm’ Brogdon into Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday who are perfect fits for Boston.
That’s some pretty good GM’ing right there
KP ending up in Boston draining 3’s is tough to watch.
I feel like long ago we talked on here about how Kornet was a homeless man’s KP in that he was tall and could sort of shoot, and that having him on the bench could have the minor upside of getting players more reps with a KP-style player. Kind of funny that they’re both on the Celtics now.
It’s such a perfect situation for him. He doesn’t have to exert himself at all. Just take open threes and dunk easy lobs.