Beasts of the East Collide
The moment has arrived, Ladies and Gents. The Eastern Conference Finals are here, and we couldn’t ask for a better matchup.
The Boston Celtics and the New York Knicks. Two of the three last remaining charter teams from the Basketball Association of America. Both franchises were established in 1946 and are the oldest teams still playing in their original cities.
Their first playoff meeting was in 1951 in the Division Semifinals where the Knicks swept the Celtics in a best of three series. These teams have met only 15 times in the playoffs since then, the last time being a first round matchup in 2013, that was won by the New York Knicks in six games.
Both teams had struggled to make any noise in the post season since then, but things have been turning around at the right time for both organizations.
Last season, the New York Knicks won their first championship in over 50 years, behind the high scoring duo of Derek and Noah Baldwin. Future Hall of Famer, Derek, wanted to serve as a mentor and play alongside his nephew, Noah, who was riding high off a dynamic rookie season and having led the Knicks to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost to Derek and the Brooklyn Nets in six games. The Knicks finished with a record of 81-1 and a title to cap off last season.
This season, Noah has shouldered the burden of leading a team back to a championship alongside big man, Chet Holmgren. Holmgren has found himself injured on and off this season, most recently missing Games 4 and 5 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against New Orleans. Holmgren averaged 11.5 points and 9 rebounds per game in the first three games of the series. New York expects him to return for Game 1 against Boston.
“We wanted him back at one hundred percent for this series,” said Knicks starting point guard, Noah Baldwin. “We had three opportunities to close out and those were good odds to us.”
The reigning back-to-back MVP has shown that he is worthy of the title as he has averaged 30.9 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 6.5 assists per game throughout the first two rounds of these playoffs.
Boston has done a complete 180 this season with the drafting the number one overall pick out of Kentucky, Jackie Robinson. Not only did they secure a number one pick in Robinson, but they also signed DeAndre Ayton during free agency, bringing in much needed help for 14 year veteran Jayson Tatum.
As good as this team looked on paper, the Boston Celtics did not come together overnight. Injuries plagued them during the first three months of the season, making it difficult for the team to nail down a consistent lineup. Ayton was getting used to a new system, averaging just under 14 points per game until March when he began to average 17.2ppg. He’s averaging 15.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game in the playoffs. Robinson is averaging 14.3 points per game in the playoffs. While the veteran Tatum is averaging 12.8 points per game.
The unsung hero of this Boston team is point guard Reggie Reed. Reed was drafted out of North Carolina with the 8th pick of the 2028 NBA Draft, twelve spots ahead of Noah Baldwin. He was one of Boston’s three first round picks which included Bryce James (California) and Greg Whittman (Miami), who were drafted second and sixth, respectively. Reed was a finalist for Rookie of the Year, finishing second to Baldwin.
“There were a lot of big names in the draft that year, so I tend to take a little personal considering that I was a lottery pick, but I’m not talked about as much as some other guys.”
Reed is more than happy to let his game do the talking.
These two teams have given their fans a lot of exciting basketball during the regular season, splitting the season series at two game each. Both teams took a win on their opponent’s floor. The first matchup saw New York dominate with a 17 point win, the next two wins were decided by less than 10 points and Boston evened the season series with a 20 point blowout in April.
It’s safe to say that this series is expected to go the distance. For New York, not only is Holmgren’s return paramount, but their role players will need to step up as well. Michael Mitchell has struggled with his three point shooting in the post season. He’s averaging 32%, down from his average of 42% during the regular season. Second year point guard Anthony Howard has struggled in all four games against the Celtics. Boston will throw everything that they have at New York, so they will need to pull it together if they expect to return the NBA Finals.
Strap yourselves in, folks.
