Opening With The Knicks Is The Perfect Early Season Test For This New Look Celtics Roster

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I don't know about anyone else, but I did not sleep a wink last night. There's nothing like the jitters you get the night before your season starts. To be honest I've been staring at my clock all day wondering why the hell it isn't 7:30pm yet. What is taking so long? Someone should figure that out. Anyway, I do not care that this is Game 1. Head to head matchups with a team in your division who in theory you could be battling for seeding come Spring will always be important. Doesn't matter when they happen as far as I'm concerned. Could be October, January, March, whatever. Tie breakers are real and if last year showed us anything I think we can all expect another clusterfuck with seeds 3-8 this year. 

Last year, the Knicks won the season series 2-1. They kicked things off with a beatdown by 30 in the first game (Kemba went 3-13), the Celts won a nail biter in OT in Game 2, and then in the final game the Celts started Semi/Grant/Romeo/Kornet/Pritchard and lost by 4. Jaylen and Rob were hurt and Tatum/Fournier didn't play. The point is, I'm not sure how much of last year's results will really carry over considering how different both rosters are. Kemba and Fournier are now on the Knicks. Reggie Bullock is gone. The Celts as we know completely revamped their second unit and have a new coach. So while you probably shouldn't put too much stock into the results, there are things that I do think will carry over into this season on the Knicks side that the Celts should factor in tonight.

First and foremost, we should talk about the Ime curveball when it comes to tonight's starting lineup

That means we're getting Smart/Jaylen/Tatum/Grant/Rob tonight. Naturally some Celts fans lost their minds when this news came out. I get why, but Ime sort of explained his reasoning

Which is true to some degree. Grant can stretch the floor since he's proven to be a consistent three point shooter, he's a good passer for a big and he's had his moments defensively. He was also pretty dogshit last season so it's for sure a risk. Why I think we're seeing Ime go this route is because I would imagine the Celts are trying to limit either Jaylen or Tatum having to guard big powerful 4s, like Julius Randle. Can Slim Grant do it? Who the hell knows. But by not going 1 big and 3 wings, that's how I view Ime's approach.

Last year, Randle was pretty good against the Celts with a 20/9/5 average. At the same time, he shot only 38/37%. You need a guy with some size who has good quickness that can stay in front of Randle and turn him into a jump shooter. If you allow him to overpower you, he can score at will. That's going to be one thing to watch tonight. Now that the Knicks should have improved shooters around him, how do they defend Randle? 

One thing we know about the Knicks was last year their defense was rock solid. One of the best in the entire league. This year, they now have two challenges to overcome. I can tell you from first hand experience, Kemba and Evan Fournier are not what I would call lock down defenders. That's why on the offensive end, I want to see Ime find ways for those two players to be targeted. There's no chance Fournier can guard Jaylen, and Smart should be able to use his size to get past/score over Kemba. It doesn't have to be through isolation either. Make them attack closeouts through good ball movement. What will be interesting to see is if the Knicks are still elite when it comes to their transition defense. I think we all want to see the Celts get out and run, but last year's Knicks were the 2nd best defensive team when it came to transition defense. They ranked in the 96th percentile. 

It's important that the Celts attack what the Knicks don't do all that well. They were pretty mid when it came to defending the P&R ball handler. I would use Smart/Jaylen/Tatum in that set repeatedly. Make Fournier/Kemba guard you, maybe pull out Mitchell Robinson from being able to protect the rim, you have options there. They were also pretty bad when it came to defending the post. This tells me Ime should have everyone posting up. Play that bully ball, especially with his wings. You're better off doing stuff like that since the Knicks were the best team in the NBA in terms of guarding the perimeter. If they are able to take that away, the Celts have to find other ways to score, and there are some weaknesses there.

I'm also interested to see how the Celts handle a hostile environment. MSG is going to be bananas. There are going to be times where we see the Knicks go on a 8-0 run. How will they respond? Will they fall into bad habits and shit snowballs? Or will they be able to continue to play the right way and not overreact. You know Kemba is going to be juiced up, so I'm already preparing for the best version of Kemba in this game. It's on guys like Smart/Schroder to show that their perimeter defense is legit.

In my opinion, this is the perfect early test for this Celts group. The vibe around this team has been great all offseason. They showed encouraging signs in the preseason. Well now they have an opportunity to show it on the road against a team many think will finish ahead of Boston. You never know when you might need that H2H record to break your way, so I'm interested to see how ready this team is. Not having Horford sucks, but there's enough available talent to take care of business. Now let's see them do it.