Heading into their second-round series against the Boston Celtics, no one even gave the New York Knicks a sliver of hope. No experts picked them to win, the media counted them out, fans laughed at them, and even the sportsbooks had this series as lopsided as a second-round series can be. Despite 51 wins, one of the league’s best starting fives, and two All-NBA players, New York was seen as a non-threat to the defending champions. Their pitiful performance during the regular season against top teams indicated more of the same come playoff time, but NY has completely flipped the script to go up 2-0 on their historic rivals. The story today has been about Boston’s collapse, but how have the Knicks done it?
3 Reasons Why The Knicks Are Up 2-0 On Celtics
1. New York Has The Best Player in the Series
Going into the series against the vaunted Celtics, New York vowed that if they were able to keep the games close, they liked their chances. This was because they knew they had the best clutch player in the matchup and arguably the world. Jalen Brunson won Clutch Player of the Year for a reason: he seems to come through every single time the Knicks have needed him. Well, although erasing consecutive 20-point deficits wasn’t how the Knicks planned on “keeping it close”, they were able to get the game to the late stages at a one-possession game. From there, Brunson has stared Jayson Tatum in the eyes and simply been better.
After a tremendous regular season in crunch time, Brunson has delivered yet again in the playoffs. Since losing Game 2, NY’s captain has come through in every big spot. Games 3, 4, and 6 of the first round, and Games 1 and 2 of Knicks-Celtics have all featured Brunson’s clutch heroics (He was injured late in Game 5 of the Detroit series).
New York’s captain leads the playoffs with 5.9 points per clutch game (seven games). He’s walked down the Celtics in Games 1 and 2, outperforming Tatum both times. He hit the game-winning three in round one to send New York to Boston. Although Tatum is a proven champion and a better overall player, Brunson is simply more reliable at the moment. He’s creating offense for his team at a higher level, and it’s clear he feels more comfortable late in games than his counterpart. If Brunson continues to outperform Tatum this badly, the Knicks will win this series.
2. “Wingstop” Formula Has Worked
When Leon Rose paired OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges last summer, the idea was to create a defensive wing tandem who could match up with the Celtics’ championship duo. The East ran through Boston, and stopping Tatum and Jaylen Brown was the first step to winning a title. While good in theory, it didn’t work out at all on the floor in the regular season, as Boston abused the Knicks in a series sweep.
Well, the theory has finally come to fruition in this series. OG Anunoby has done a phenomenal job guarding Tatum. Celtics players are 7-34 from the field (20.6%) when guarded by Anunoby. Bridges has done well when he’s switched onto Tatum or Brown in this series. Most importantly, Bridges has made the two biggest defensive plays of the Knicks’ season, ripping the ball from Brown at the buzzer of Game 1 and stealing Tatum’s pass at the end of Game 2.
Lowest opponent FG% on shots inside of 10 feet in the 2025 Playoffs (min 40 FGA):
37.8 – Mikal Bridges
43.8 – Draymond Green
43.9 – Chet Holmgren
44.2 – OG Anunoby
44.7 – Tobias Harris
45.0 – Buddy Hield
46.7 – Jalen DurenWorth Every Penny. pic.twitter.com/dtQPIEuE7S
— The Lead (@TheLeadSM) May 8, 2025
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The Knicks have two of the best wing defenders in basketball. It’s giving Boston fits to deal with them alongside Josh Hart, Mitchell Robinson, and Miles McBride. The formula has worked.
THIS IS WINGSTOP pic.twitter.com/kXTapoDFni
— Big Knick Energy (@BigKnickEnergy_) May 8, 2025
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3. Tom Thibodeau is Out-Coaching Joe Mazzulla
In another surprising turn of events, Tom Thibodeau has been the far superior coach in this series. Coming into the playoffs on the hot seat for his lack of adjustments and curious minutes decisions, Thibodeau may be coaching for his job. Well, it looks like it, as Thibs has pushed every right button so far through two games.
After his innovative, three-point led analytical style helped Boston win a championship in 2024, Mazzulla’s inexperience may be showing in this bout with Thibodeau. Continuing to foul Robinson just to get him off the floor while allowing the Knicks free fouls to get in the bonus and put the Celtics in foul trouble was a bad look for Mazzulla. Whether the players or the coaching staff is more to blame, Boston’s refusal to deviate from their three-point attack when the shots aren’t falling has put their backs against the wall.
Thibodeau, meanwhile, has made all the necessary adjustments. He yanked Cameron Payne immediately after a bad shot. He refused to go away from Robinson even after the Game 1 free-throw debacle, recognizing his positive effect on the floor. He’s relentlessly attacked every mismatch that Brunson and Towns have. Mazzulla, on the other hand, has continued to go back to the same actions even though they aren’t working. If Thibodeau can win this series on the back of a great coaching performance, it will be a career-defining moment. He’s halfway there.
Featured image: © David Butler II-Imagn Images
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