BSJ Live Coverage: Celtics vs. Knicks 7:00 p.m. - Boston vs. New York always matters

BOSTON CELTICS at DETROIT PISTONS

Location: TD Garden, Boston, MA

Game time: 7:00 p.m.

TV: Prime Video

Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub

Preview: It's the first home game of the season for the Boston Celtics. For the New York Knicks, the first road game. Both sides are still searching for their first victory after Opening Day losses.

Boston fell to the Detroit Pistons, and the Knicks lost to the Philadelphia 76ers on their ring night. Now, in the classic Boston vs. New York rivalry, both will try to bounce back.

The Knicks are arguably the best team in the NBA. Perhaps you'd prefer the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs, but the tie goes to the NBA Champions. The Celtics have their work cut out for them. 

Last season: Last year, the Knicks got the best of the Celtics. They won three of the four matchups against Boston, dominating from behind the 3-point line.

New York shot 40.9% from deep range in the four matchups on 39.8 attempts a night. The Celtics, on the other hand, shot just 30.4% from deep on 42.0 attempts. That's a massive discrepancy. 

Mikal Bridges specifically cooked Boston from distance. Across the four games, he shot 61.9% on 5.3 3-point attempts per contest.

Obviously, the Celtics have to account for Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns as well. Towns, in particular, was elite as a pick-and-roll big man. He scored 1.37 points per possession, which was the third-best mark in the NBA (minimum 100 possessions).

Summer changes: Not much changed in New York this summer. The biggest difference is the absence of Mitchell Robinson, who signed with the Celtics in free agency.

The Knicks replaced him with Andre Drummond, who played well in their season opener. New York mostly brought back its guys after winning the title last year.

Shootaround sound: The Knicks are one of the most talented teams in the NBA, especially on the offensive end. Led by the Brunson-Towns connection, it takes a lot to guard them well.

"Super talented team," Baylor Scheierman said at shootaround on Friday morning. "Have a lot of guys on the floor that can beat you. I think it comes down to the discipline of guarding for 24 seconds. They like to push it, and then if it's not there, [they] really work the clock. So, I think it comes down to our discipline of staying consistent throughout the possession and then finishing possessions with rebounds."

That note about New York working the clock really stands out. Nobody shot better than the Knicks with 0-4 seconds left on the shot clock last season (41.3%). And against the Celtics, that number skyrocketed.

In their four games against Boston last year, New York shot a ridiculous 58.6%. The Celtics didn't close possessions. Hart shot 6-of-9, Brunson shot 4-of-6, and Towns shot 2-of-3.

Even with 4-7 seconds left on the shot clock, the Knicks shot 43.6% against Boston. And their 47.1% in that range was the third-best mark in the league.

As for the Brunson-Towns partnership, in particular, guarding it takes discipline. They always look for angles. Ways to create advantages.

"Well, I mean, one, they're tough shot makers, and then two, they play well off of each other," Scheierman said. "And you have to be disciplined because they're looking for any sort of angle they can get on you, especially playing downhill, playing off two feet, shot fake, stuff like that. So, it's just a lot of discipline."

New York has a team of tough shot takers and makers. In the four matchups against the Celtics, New York shot 50.0% from the field and 40.6% from deep (8.0 attempts) on what the NBA defines as "tightly-contested" shots (shots with a defender within two to four feet away).

For context, no team in the league shot 37% or better from distance with defenders that close to them last season. New York just made tough looks, so Boston has to contest even better.

Brunson and Towns also forced their way to the free-throw line. Brunson only attempted 4.8 free throws a night against Boston last year, but Towns got to the line six times per game.

As for the Celtics offense, which clearly struggled (especially from beyond the 3-point line), pace will be key. Always stay moving.

"I think it's just about pace and creating advantages," Scheierman said. "I think, like you said, they have great defenders who are long and active. But if you play with pace, you can get them off the body, create separation. That creates reads, rim reads, two-on-one reads, and allows [for] good, easy offense and open shots."

That's not always about sprinting in transition. Doing so would certainly help, but staying active in the half-court is just as crucial to pace.

"Both. I think on makes and misses, being able to push it up the court, and if nothing's there, being able to play with pace in the half-court is just as important as full-court," Scheierman said.

Something that will aid that plan is creating turnovers. Brunson only turned the ball over 2.0 times per game against Boston last year, and he dished out 8.5 assists a night.

The more Boston can turn the Knicks over, the more chances it will have to push the pace. That will help the Celtics create easier looks.

One fun play: The Celtics want to put a ton of pressure on Brunson. Understandably so. He's one of the most talented players in the league. But it always comes with risk.

Watch this play. Scheierman is guarding Bridges, but he leaves his assignment to help cut off a Brunson drive. Jaylen Brown got too hung up on the off-ball screen. But that shouldn't be too big a problem.

Scheierman should be able to help and recover with the knowledge that someone behind him can help contest Bridges. But neither he nor Neemias Queta recovered quickly enough, and Bridges gets an open three.

If the Celtics are going to take risks and commit to helping each other, they have to be more connected on defense. That will be one of the biggest challenges tonight, especially after a relatively lackluster defensive opener against the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday night.