SUMMARY
- The Celtics lost to the Knicks at the TD Garden 118-109.
- Joe Mazzulla believes the Celtics' poor rebounding was what led to the unfortunate defeat.
The Boston Celtics are going to be facing one of their toughest post-seasons yet despite being NBA Finalists two years ago. This time, the pressure is certainly greater as they have the best record in the league with over 60 wins. There is a common thread with teams that do well in the regular season. They tend to slack off during the playoffs when the pressure unravels. Teams like the Phoenix Suns and Milwaukee Bucks have had this happen to them recently.
The Celtics recently played against the New York Knicks at the TD Garden. Unfortunately, Boston had the Knicks hand them over a terrible 118-109 loss. A loss at this stage of the season against a major rival like the Knicks is something that needs to be studied carefully. New York’s largest lead was by 31 points while Boston only led by two in the first half.
Joe Mazzulla revealed where the Celtics suffered against the Knicks
There were a few problems that weren’t handled too well during the game and the Celtics’ head coach, Joe Mazzulla claimed the biggest of them all was poor rebounding. While he was asked about the Celtics double-teaming Jalen Brunson, he said, “Yeah, we did it a little bit. But that’s the thing against this team is if you get into rotation that’s where the offensive rebounding becomes a huge liability.”
The Knicks were dominant on both sides of the floor and they managed to grab more offensive rebounds than the Celtics, giving them extra second-chance opportunities. New York had 56 rebounds during the game while Boston recorded 36 rebounds which includes 10 from the offensive end. Not only did the Celtics suffer while rebounding, but they also did not play too well offensively.
The Celtics realize they have to step up in the playoffs
During the Celtics vs Knicks game, Jayson Tatum only finished with 18 points, 4 rebounds, and 7 assists with some defensive efforts. Jaylen Brown had only 15 points during the game while Kristaps Porzingis recorded 14 points and 8 rebounds. Nobody on the Celtics team had a standout performance and this shows that they need to be on their A-game to keep winning.
39 points in 30 minutes 🤯@jalenbrunson1 pic.twitter.com/mrEFGTFEAx
— NEW YORK KNICKS (@nyknicks) April 12, 2024
Before the Celtics played the Knicks, Brown spoke about what his team needs to do when they begin their playoff journey. He said, “When the playoffs start, it’s back to square one.” Even Porzingis also believes there’s another level that needs to come out from the Celtics. He said, “We want to feel like when we turn it up, we’re invincible, no one can mess with us. We have that next level we can go to.” Right now, the Celtics have to wait until the Play-In Tournament concludes to find out who their first-round opponent will be.