Well, folks… it’s time.
After a grueling series against the upstart Detroit Pistons, the Knicks have set themselves up with a matchup against the defending champion Boston Celtics. Some might argue that this was inevitable. All paths to glory go through Boston in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics have made (at least) the Eastern Conference Finals the last three seasons and six of the last eight.
It goes beyond that, though. This Knicks team was built to compete with Boston. They spent an entire season preparing (the Knicks’ starters played over 25% of non-garbage time minutes this season) the lineup they think is best suited to handle Boston’s five-out attack. The Knicks are big underdogs – Draftkings has Boston as 8-to-1 favorites – but I’m here to tell you there are ways the Knicks can make this series competitive.
Find a way to keep BostonLet Josh Hart be Josh Hart
Two things are undeniably true:
Tom Thibodeau is going to play Josh Hart a ton of minutes
The Celtics are going to ghost Hart whenever he’s on the court
If we can agree on those two things as a near-certainty, then we can probably agree that Hart is an X-factor in this series. He’s going to have endless opportunities to leave his imprint on these games, whether that’s as a defender switching onto Boston’s stars, crashing the glass, pushing the pace, initiating certain possessions or being used as a screener. Hart’s presence should be felt.
