After the Knicks’ second 20-point comeback win in two games gave them a 2-0 series lead over the Boston Celtics, their locker room was surprisingly muted, as reported by SNY’s Ian Begley.
“I don’t think we’ve played as well as we can,” OG Anunoby said.
“We’ve got to figure out (how to put together) a complete game,” Josh Hart echoed.
New York may have come away with two impressive upset wins on the road, but it is rightfully focused on the improvements it needs to make in Game 3 over the results of the prior contests. They know as well as anybody that Boston is the reigning NBA champion for a reason, and that two wins don’t make a series, four does.
It’ll take the Knicks’ best efforts to win two more and put the Celtics away for good. So, here are three improvements they should look to make as they head back to New York and MSG for the next two contests.
Defensive rebounding
During the regular season, Boston only ranked 18th in offensive rebounding, hardly a major strength in their attack. Yet against New York, it has dominated securing second-chance opportunities.
The Celtics are pulling in 36.2 percent of their misses over the two games of this series, which would have been good for second in the league during the regular season. They’ve secured 35 offensive rebounds, partially a product of their voluminous missing, but still a major concern for the Knicks, who pride themselves on cleaning the defensive glass.
New York struggled with the higher-volume offensive rebounding teams during the regular season, which appears to have played a role in Boston’s game planning. The Celtics are attacking their own misses and getting rewarded for it, not enough to win either of the first two games, but enough to see it’s a flaw they can exploit.
There aren’t particular Celtics players hurting the Knicks (though Kristaps Porzingis has seven in only 27 minutes of play), it's more a team effort that New York needs to adjust to with more boxing out and maybe a personnel move. Most offensive boards have come right around the rim, and most of those have been guys grabbing or tipping their own miss.
Perimeter players are also flying towards the rim and free throw circle to catch some surprise rebounds. Lots of this can be corrected with some more diligent effort and poise on that end.