BOSTON — The Knicks looked overmatched against the Celtics for the third consecutive matchup on Sunday, falling 118-105 at TD Garden. The loss was the Knicks’ seventh overall in their last eight games to Boston dating back to last season, making Boston look like they are in a different category of contender than every team in the Eastern Conference outside of the Cavaliers.
That reality is a troubling proposition for a Knicks squad that pushed their chips towards the middle of the poker table this offseason for this core. The Knicks trained the majority of their draft assets on Mikal Bridges back in July and followed that up with a blockbuster for Karl-Anthony Towns in September. The net result so far is a team that just does not have the horses to match up against this Celtics squad.
New York does have center Mitchell Robinson set to return from offseason surgery at some point in the next few weeks but he doesn’t have the ability to sway a potential playoff series. Instead, the Knicks simply look like a pricy team that doesn’t have the resources to improve upon itself after going all-in on their starting five.
The Knicks’ payroll has $200 million committed already to their top seven players heading into next season, taking away any options of adding free agent talent for more than the veteran’s minimum. With the team’s draft pool depleted for the future, internal improvement is the only hope for this group and that probably isn’t going to be an answer against this Celtics squad.
Boston has the weapons to go after smaller matchups (Jalen Brunson) or punish poor perimeter defense (Karl-Anthony Towns) time and time again. To make matters worse for Tom Thibodeau, the Knicks only have seven playoff-caliber pieces for a playoff series against Boston as Precious Achiwua, Cam Payne and Landry Shamet are all weak links for the Knicks.
That was brutally apparent on Sunday as the Knicks’ second half comeback was derailed in part because Thibodeau did not want to bring any of that group into the game. Some starters (Towns, Brunson) ultimately ran out of gas, allowing Boston to regain control midway through the fourth quarter and cruise to the win.
The Celtics will eventually start to lose pieces to their core due to luxury tax concerns, perhaps as soon as this season. Even still, it’s hard to see this Knicks group posing a challenge down the line to Boston as long as Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown remain in place. Tatum feasted against on Sunday with a near triple-double (25 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists) and New York’s bevy of wing additions don’t look like defensive stoppers for him or Brown (24 points).
The Knicks could have certainly waited for some different options during this season (Jimmy Butler?) if they bided their time with trade assets. Instead, the finished product while looking improved from last season, looks to be drawing dead against the Celtics and other top NBA contenders (0-7 vs. Celtics, Cavs, Thunder this year).
With a very limited list of teams capable of posing a challenge to Boston in the Eastern Conference for the foreseeable future, add the Knicks to a growing list of teams (76ers, Bucks) who have seen a lot of their moves fall flat against the league’s elite.
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