Final: Knicks 108, Celtics 105 - Same ol' script for another Celtics collapse

Game 39
Boston Celtics (18-20, 7-12 road, T-10th East) vs. New York Knicks (18-20, 8-11 home, T-10th East)
Madison Square Garden
7:30 PM - TNT

PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS

Boston: Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Robert Williams, Al Horford

New York: Alec Burks, RJ Barrett, Taj Gibson, Evan Fournier, Julius Randle

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

- The only Celtics out tonight are Payton Pritchard (Health and Safety Protocols) and Brodric Thomas (back)

- Kemba Walker is out with left knee soreness

- Also out for the Knicks: Derrick Rose (ankle surgery), Ryan Arcidiacano (ankle), and Luka Samanic (G-League). Nerlens Noel (return to competition reconditioning) is questionable.

- The San Antonio Spurs suffered a COVID outbreak after their game in Boston. According to Ime Udoka, the team went through its normal COVID testing this morning. So far there are no added cases for Boston.

- Udoka isn’t making too much of the potential goaltending call at the end of the game when a Spurs player touched the rim as Jaylen Brown was attempting his layup. 

“As soon as we went back into the locker room we were watching the last play and honestly, I think it's a judgment call that sometimes they call it sometimes they don’t,” Udoka said. “Not sure how much force on the rim dictates whether it affects it or not. Sometimes you touch it and they call it, sometimes they don’t. Tight play, I'm not sure if the refs were even in the right position sprinting back, but I didn't see until back in the locker room and I’m not sure if it did affect them or not, honestly.”

The NBA’s Last Two Minute Report deemed the no-call accurate as the contact to the rim came before the shot was released and didn’t impact the ball’s trajectory. 

- Udoka acknowledged multiple times that the inconsistency is problematic for the Celtics, but that this is a long-term project. 

“They’ve been great, honestly. I would say we have high character guys that want to do the right thing, want to be coached,” he said. “So it’s not an intentional thing where they’re not looking to pass to somebody. They’re in a crowd sometimes, they take a poor shot. But for the most part, you start to see things click a little bit. 

“So, for instance, Jaylen, Jayson, some of the guys we’ve sat down with and really tried to hammer those points home, you see it start to shake out in certain games. And then obviously at times they go back to those habits. So we just keep on hammering away at those and you see the growth game by game. But it’s something that we’re going to have to stay on them all year. I mentioned 15 years of (Gregg Popovich) being with Tony (Parker), Tim (Duncan), those guys, there were some things they had to show film on damn near every two or three sessions about moving the ball to whoever the case may be. So it’s something that’s hard to break.”

THREE THINGS TO WATCH FOR

1. Bench battle: New York’s success has historically come from their second unit. They're shorthanded right now, so this is an opportunity for Boston to put together a good start AND good middle of the game with their bench units. 

2. Finish defensive possessions: The Celtics got, like, 85% of their defensive possessions right before botching a rotation or giving up an offensive rebound against San Antonio. 

“I think it was miscommunication at times where we're just not finishing the play,” Udoka said. “We've had those lapses this year at times defensively and then at times we look great. Consistency across the board is what we're looking for and it's on both ends of the court. Some of the switching, some of the lack of communication hurt us at times and it felt like we were really sloppy in the first half, but cleaned it up, so to speak, in the second half and we were much better.”

It’d be great to see them put it together from the start.

3. A calmer Tatum:  Tatum wasn’t all the way back mentally to start the game against San Antonio. 

“I won’t say I was nervous, but it was definitely heavy on my mind,” Tatum admitted about his first night back from Health and Safety Protocols. “It kind of lingered into the game. I kind of questioned myself out there. I was tired. But I definitely felt better than the last time. We all have to get used to it. It’s part of the new normal. It’s not going anywhere. But I’m starting to feel better.”

It’s great to have Tatum back, now let’s see if Boston gets the real Jayson Tatum back in a city he loves to play in.

GAME THREAD

Stick around for more comments below as the game goes on. Feel free to add your two cents in the comments.