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2024-25 Game Thread: Knicks vs. Celtics – If I Catch My Opponents

The Knicks host the sputtering Boston Celtics tonight in a game that would allow the Knicks to basically catch the Celtics in the standings if the Knicks win. And that would be awesome.

So let’s just hope that the Knicks go do that tonight.

The Knicks don’t need this game, as they already proved that they belong with their big wins over the Grizzlies and the Nuggets (the Rockets game was less impressive due to Houston’s injuries), so they could lose this game and it wouldn’t affect my feeling about the team that much, but, well, it would sure make me happier if they just won this thing.

Let’s go, Knicks!

58 would still be great!

The title lyric is from “Ain’t Talkin’”

135 replies on “2024-25 Game Thread: Knicks vs. Celtics – If I Catch My Opponents”

The Knicks don’t need this game, as they already proved that they belong with their big wins over the Grizzlies and the Nuggets

We proved nothing.

They pulled our pants down and spanked us on opening night. They’re down 2 starters. We’re at home. We need this game.

Luke Kornet. All-star starting center for the Boston Celtics.

Let’s put Huk on Jason Tatum, eh?

Not sure Precious works against this team. There’s a reason why Kornet is getting those blocks.

KAT looks like he’s really struggling to move out there. I’d prefer if he just sits this game out.

Trying to decide if it’ll be worse watching the rest of this game, or reading Knickerblogger tomorrow.

We’re not playing our basketball, looks like they’re trying new things. Let’s settle down and play what we’re used to.

Boston’s like that cool kid from high school who you still feel like a doofus around even though you’re very accomplished and it’s 20 years later.

We are missing OG (spacing and D) and Mitch (boards) more than they are missing Holiday and KP.

I mean, for the worst 6 minutes I’ve seen from the team this year, to be only down 11 is kind of a win

Since the 12-2, the score was 18-17. I think we’re settling. And they’re shooting the lights out, they’ll cool down.

Don’t recall who it was that mocked me this morning for calling us the 10th best team but I apologize to whoever it was for my overoptimistic assessment. If this is how we look at home on 3 days’ rest against the team we were allegedly purpose built to beat we are much worse than 10th.

Hart is playing the worst game of his Knicks career tonight, especially defensively.

I apologize to whoever it was for my overoptimistic assessment

Dude how do you think I feel? I just raised my odds to 2% today!

Since the 12-2, the score was 18-17. I think we’re settling. And they’re shooting lights out, they’ll cool down.

Narrator voice: they would not cool down

This tendency to enter quarters sleeping has to stop. We managed to put it at 11 at the end of the 1st, and then we do the exact same thing in the 2nd !?

Ok I’m going to go stare at the wall instead.

Don’t give up, we’re going to put this in single digits by the half. 😉

Good reality check fir us I guess. Gap between us and BOS is a yawning chasm, no smaller now than it was on day 1 of the season. Talent just ain’t there

Thibs game plan tonight was horrible. Playing Hart, Towns and Precious literally gave them the advantage. It’s the little strategic things where he can be so questionable.

Hart, Deuce and Achiewa have all played some great 1:1 defense on Brown, only to get posterized on a short jump middie.

We miss OG on both sides. I like Precious, but the offense needs the better spacing and OG is here in part to cover one of their wings. Precious is an undersized C at this stage of his career. It just doesn’t work on offense without the spacing against a top defensive team like the Cs.

When the Knicks go small they get posted up. When teams put a small on KAT they don’t post up enough

Good reality check fir us I guess

We beat the Memphis Grizzlies when Ja Morant had a .22 blood alcohol content. Nothing left to prove.

Good reality check fir us I guess. Gap between us and BOS is a yawning chasm, no smaller now than it was on day 1 of the season. Talent just ain’t there

But if we were winning it wouldn’t mean a thing, right? It works only one way.

But if we were winning it wouldn’t mean a thing, right? It works only one way.

No, it would move the needle for me. You’re confusing me with Hubie and E on that

We are lucky to be down by 13. Hart played like crap and so did Achiuwa. Deuce, Brunson, and Bridges fought hard. KAT was mediocre at best. Our defense was not good, and paint protection and rebounding were abysmal. The Celts are longer, deeper, and better than us in almost every position. We simply cannot afford to play like this. We cannot allow them to out-hustle and out-rebound us like this.

If Mikal weren’t shooting so badly he’d be having a pretty decent game. Some good D, a couple steals. The +/- for Hart/Precious/KAT really does reflect the reality of the game so far.

Huk’s gotta play more, over Precious and/or Hart. We need some size and to stop throwing the ball away.

It’s so frustrating how Thibs just reliably game plans us into a wire to wire blowout loss in situations like this by going big

It’s pretty obvious that going small makes sense when shorthanded against stronger opposition so that we at least raise the variance and give ourselves a puncher’s chance. Getting posted beats getting spaced to death every time.

No, it would move the needle for me. You’re confusing me with Hubie and E on that

I haven’t moved the needle because my “somewhere between the 4th and 8th best team in the league” call has been spot on all year.

Win or lose, I’m not changing anything based on this game (and we may still win; 13 points is nothing). You, on the other hand, seem willing to drop us down to 20th in the league because the Celtics had a good half.

That Lakers Hornets trade being rescinded is pretty crazy considering how it affects the Lakers rest of this season.

That Lakers Hornets trade being rescinded is pretty crazy considering how it affects the Lakers rest of this season.

Man, his physical must have been terrible for the Lakers to rescind the deal.

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KAT’s knee may hurt but it doesn’t explain the terrible close-outs. That’s just a lack of awareness.

Hart talks to the ball, KAT talks to his hands

Edit: JB just lets his game talk

Hart talks to the ball, KAT talks to his hands

LOL! Whatever works, it’s fine with me. 😉

Should credit Thibs for starting Deuce over Precious second half. He’s been very good.

If this game doesn’t make you appreciate Mitch, I don’t know what would

Terrible call

That’s two bad calls in the last couple minutes – KAT not travelling, Deuce not fouling White

The Celtics have collectively responded to the idea we were perfectly built to beat them the same way MJ responded to Gerald Wilkins being called Jordan Stopper.

Don’t think the Knicks were built to beat Boston with OG in street clothes.

Or Mitch still not back. Come on.

Don’t think the Knicks were built to beat Boston with OG in street clothes.

The usual suspects will have fun tomorrow downgrading our chances but this game doesn’t change a single thing. There’s not a huge difference between the two teams at full strength with normal performances.

OG is critical to our spacing and defense, Towns is less than 100% and Mitch will be the backup getting rebounding and protecting the paint. Precious at PF does not work against a good defense like this.

Holiday is critical to them, but not KP.

Rest some starters now, we’re not going to overcome a 20 pt deficit in just one quarter.

The Celtics are not only deep but also so smart and will exploit every weakness. Their outside shooting is simply lethal. Hitting contested step-back threes time after time from five-ten feet beyond the line? Come on!

Well, props to Hart, I guess, whose half is somehow going to get him back to his usual numbers by the end of the game

Celtics really exploited brunson and towns on D, put them on switches and pick n rolls. Precious awful. Hart terrible 1H. Bridges cannot guard tatum … Just can’t guard him. Lots of signals that look terrible for the future even if this game not that meaningful in the grand scheme. Also we played tentative and scared on the 1st half – that beat down in game 1 haunting us still

Another 3 from Tatum, step-back from the logo. How many like this have they made tonight?

this game doesn’t change a single thing

You’re right about that. Single game results don’t change a thing. That’s why it was really stupid when y’all told me that beating the Memphis Grizzlies changed everything.

Achiuwa should be fined for the way he played tonight. Not only was he being exploited time after time after time, he didn’t even seem to give effort. This is absolutely unacceptable.

The way we started the second half, I though we would at least avoid the blowout. Unfortunately, I was wrong.

We are not in the same league with Boston and OKC. Perhaps Cleveland as well. The only way we can compete with them (not necessarily win but compete) is when we are at our best and they are not. It was the opposite tonight.

watched some of the game, kept turning it, we just looked flat and unconnected from the jump…

did not appreciate watching us get worked by both kornet and queta, not cool…

we got crushed on the boards and they dang near shot 50% from 3…

we see them again in boston on feb. 23, sunday early game…hopefully we look better then…

next three against indy (11th), hawks (12th), and bulls (20th)…

who knows what will happen…

MITCH come back now, tired of seeing us always getting beat up in the paint…

Geo, there was a little juice when Mikal hit that 3 to cut it to 3. That dissipated like a fart in the wind.

No one played well. No one.

The last 2 games I attended at MSG were the thrashing by OKC and the bludgeoning by Boston tonight

I may never go to another game )-:

On the bright side, Delon Wright has a +92.9 net rating and the universe marches unyieldingly towards heat death.

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