The Knicks have built a Celtics killer: Three reasons New York’s new-look roster is Boston’s kryptonite

The Celtics enter the 2024-25 season as overwhelming favorites to win their second straight NBA championship. An overwhelming 25 of the NBA’s 30 GMs chose Boston as their title pick. Gambling sites like BetMGM have the best title odds of any team.

Additionally, after escaping last season as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference by 14 games, Boston should be heavily favored.

Despite this daunting challenge, one team spent the 2024 offseason building the best Boston kryptonite. Much like the Timberwolves put together the perfect team to defeat the Nuggets, the Knicks have put together a tailor-made roster to challenge the Celtics in the playoffs.

That’s why New York is well prepared to face Boston’s biggest challenge.

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How the Knicks built a Celtics killer

OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges are capable jaystoppers

The Celtics have one of the more balanced offenses in the league, but what makes them special is their wing scoring duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Good defensive wings are in high demand across the league, and very few teams have two quality options that they can put on both of Boston’s stars.

Aggressive trades for both OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges provide the Knicks with ideal opportunities to neutralize the Celtics duo.

Both Anunoby and Bridges stand approximately 6 feet tall and have a wingspan of over 7 feet. Both made an All-Defensive team and earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. There aren’t many better ways to defend the Jays one-on-one.

Anunoby and Bridges also give the Knicks good options to protect Jalen Brunson on defense. Teams have tried to get Brunson to switch to their top scorers by riding on his 6-2 record. The Knicks generally try to show up and recover with Brunson to keep him out of these matchups by letting him jump to the ball before returning to his original matchup.

To execute this defensive plan, the Knicks need smart help defenders who can navigate screens quickly. Anunoby and Bridges are both solid in this regard, making it easier to hide their tiny guard.

RANKING THE NBA’S BEST DEFENSEMEN: 100-11 | 10-1

The Knicks can score points with the Celtics

The Celtics created the most efficient offense ever last season by putting up powerful shots at every position on the court. This five-out offense opened up lanes for its star players and allowed them to shoot plenty of threes. No team made a higher percentage of its shots from deep than Boston.

The Knicks weren’t too bad last year either, ranking seventh in offense. They got there in a different way, beating teams on the offensive glass while playing non-shooters Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein in the middle.

New York is completely changing its offensive strategy this year, replacing rebounding with shooting at all five positions. Karl-Anthony Towns is perhaps the best big man shooter of all time, replacing Julius Randle with a 31.1 percent shooting rate from distance. Cities will phase out Kristaps Porzingis and pave the way for more lanes. Anunoby and Bridges should also help spread the field, and Josh Hart is capable of making wide-open 3s.

Brunson will have a lot more room to play, but against the Celtics he may not even need that extra push. He played well against them in five meetings last season, averaging 28.4 points on 47.7 percent shooting. It was the other guys who didn’t score enough points, resulting in a 1-4 record.

With Towns, Anunoby and Bridges, the Knicks have assembled better supporting players who won’t let Brunson down this time.

POSITIONAL RANKING: PG | SG | SF | PF | C

The Knicks have the better closer

The Celtics’ biggest weakness was their tendency to lose their temper at the end of games. Tatum hasn’t been particularly good in the final scenarios of his career. He hit just 17 of 49 shots that could have tied the game or taken the lead in less than 24 seconds. Will the same problems remain after he overhauls his shooting form?

Brunson, on the other hand, was a clutch monster during the 2024 NBA Playoffs. His 49 crucial points led the league by a wide margin, and he surpassed Tatum in terms of efficiency in those playoff situations.

Clutch stats for the 2024 NBA Playoffs

Jalen Brunson	Stat	Jayson Tatum
49	Points	16
41.7	FG%	29.4
41.7	3-point %	14.3

In playoff series it often comes down to who has the best player. The Celtics defied that formula by assembling an ensemble cast of good to great players that the Knicks emulated. Given the same strategy, it could come down to which of Tatum or Brunson can perform better down the stretch.

The Knicks are betting on their man and the Celtics are being tested like never before.