After Having Their Way With The Knicks, There's A Very Real Possibility The Boston Celtics Still Run The Eastern Conference

Brian Babineau. Getty Images.

Heading into this season, when the topic of Eastern Conference Contenders would come up, you heard a lot of the same teams be mentioned. Teams like the Cavs, Knicks, Pistons, Magic etc were the ones that many believed were the best in the conference and would ultimately represent the East in the Finals. 

And while that still may happen, all I know is if they're the cream of the crop in the East, well then what am I supposed to do with this?

Through the first 21 games, we've already seen the Celts beat the Cavs twice and the Magic twice, both at home and on the road. Shit, the second Cavs win even came on a B2B. They just ended the Pistons 13 game winning streak, and now last night it was the Knicks' turn to get the belt. 

Mind you, this is all happening without Jayson Tatum, maybe you've heard of him. As it stands today, the Boston Celtics have the 2nd most wins in the entire NBA against teams .500 or better (7). None of these other teams gets to add a perennial All NBA player to their roster, which is why all of them should be very, very nervous. You better not fumble this opportunity with Tatum sidelined, because once he's back, it's a wrap for you. That's how it's been this entire decade really in the East, which is why I can't shake what we've just witnessed this last week or so. It's basically like how the Bills blew their chance in the AFC now that Drake Maye exists. You had your opportunity to win, and you fumbled.

This whole start to the season we've been trying to figure out which team this is. Are they the barely over .500 team that's in the Play In? Or, are they the 50+ win team their win profile suggests? It's starting to feel more and more like it's the latter doesn't it? I'm looking around, and I see the Knicks are 5-5 against good teams, the Heat 5-7, the Cavs 4-9, the Sixers 4-8, the Bucks 3-9. Meanwhile….

And let's be honest, given how things went in the postseason and then in the first meeting between BOS/NYK, we were long overdue for a game/win like this. If nothing else but for our collective mental health, the time had come to stop losing to the Knicks.

Thankfully, that time was last night. Let's dive in.

The Good

- Few players on the roster entered the season with more eyeballs/pressure on him than Jaylen Brown. Sliding into the #1 spot, a role that he had been very vocal about in the past, he not only had to perform, but he had to perfom at an All NBA level on a consistent basis. Not here and there. Not every other game.

Every. Single. Night.

That's what comes with being "The Guy" in the NBA. Everyone's good. Everyone can go off on any given night. It's the consistency that separates players and roles. Well, I feel confident in saying that not only has Jaylen Brown met the challenge, he's absolutely THRIVING

The beauty of last night for me at least was the fact that it could not have started worse for Jaylen. His quality of play in the first quarter was a legit disaster. Brutal turnovers, awful fouls, it was the exact opposite of the play the Celts needed from their best player. But from the 2nd quarter on? 

A massive 18 points on 7-9 shooting (with 0 TOs) in the 2nd quarter to completely flip the game. In those 12 minutes Jaylen nearly outscored the entire Knicks team by himself (20). In the 3rd quarter, it was more of the same with a massive 15 points on 6-8 shooting. The shotmaking continues to be on another planet, and as the game went on Jaylen got so much better and being prepared for the strong side defender stepping over and trying to reach in on his drives. Once he solved that problem, he got wherever he wanted. When it came time to make the right play and trust his teammates in the high leverage situations down the stretch, that's what he did. There was no forcing his shot just because he's the #1 option. He played the right way, trusted his teammates and the team was rewarded. 

To me, this game shows the exact type of growth that you have to love as we continue to watch this version of Jaylen. He didn't let his early struggles remove him from the game mentally like it often did in the past. He was never out of control and never really forced things offensively. Once the team decided it was time to hunt Jalen Brunson, Jaylen got whatever he wanted.

In 11 possessions against Brunson, Jaylen finished with 14 points on 6-7 shooting. All it took was a little high screen to force the switch and boom, death. 

- I'm not even remotely joking when I say that Jordan Walsh, Josh Minott, and Hugo Gonzalez were some of the most impactful players in this win. Yes, the young unproven wings went out and gave the Knicks hell. It started with Hugo, who came in early in the 2nd quarter and whose defense COMPLETELY changed the game. It was very obvious the game needed his chaos, Joe also realized it and the next thing you knew the entire game flipped.

We saw Hugo legitimately guard all 5 positions. He guarded both KAT and Robinson, he guarded the wings, he guarded Brunson, all at an extremely effective level. I'll remind you, he's a 19 year old rookie. Whatever he gives you on offense at this point is a bonus, because his defense is already a weapon. The same way he came in and immediately changed the momentum against the Cavs, he did it again last night. 

Then you had Josh Minott, who continues to have his own incredible season. Did you know he's currently 11 for his last 17 from deep (64%)? His rebounding was great which was huge considering the Celts often went small in this game, and when it came time to make big time shots in high pressure situations, Minott delivered

And finally, there was Jordan Walsh. Few things make me happier this season than watching what is currently happening with Jordan Walsh. Not only has he cemented himself as a starter, he's impacting winning at an insane level right now.

The decision making by both Walsh and Minott down the stretch of this game was as close to perfect as you could possibly get. I LOVED how the second Jaylen was doubled Walsh found himself at the nail and used his giant ass wingspan to make himself an easy target for Jaylen to find. Then, once he had the ball there was zero hesitation as to what to do with it, which shows us his growth at reading the game and understanding what he's supposed to do. Then you add in the offensive rebounding and it's getting harder and harder to ignore what type of player he's turning into. We're watching him turn into a real rotation piece right before our eyes, and he's 21 years old. That is MASSIVE

This win wasn't just about Jaylen going to 40 or DWhite snapping out of his funk. This win was also about the young wings showing you signs of what's to come, and it looks pretty fucking good to me.

- Having said that, it was great to see Derrick White get back to looking like Derrick White again on the offensive end of the floor

I'll take 22/5 on 8-16 (4-12) including some massive late 4th quarter makes. That's really how you know he's back to his old self, once the back breaking late game 3PM show up, all that's left is the crying. It's why I'll never complain about his shot profile or his decision making, because I know what he's capable of. On a night where Payton Pritchard couldn't really make a shot, it was vital that Derrick step up and provide the scoring boost next to Jaylen, and thankfully that's exactly what happened because really they needed every point.

I didn't exactly love the 4 TOs, but I'll look past it if it means the shooting is starting to come back. 

- Below are some things I most definitely did not expect to happen in a game against the Knicks, but they did:

The Celtics won the rebounding battle 38-33, and Queta only played 21 minutes.

The Celtics won the points in the paint battle 56-42

The Celtics won the 2nd chance points battle 16-15

The Celtics only allowed 17 total FTA, with Jalen Brunson only taking 3 (!!!!!!)

The Celtics won a game despite being -18 in the 3PM math

The Celtics won a game in which they only had 18 AST, yet shot 56% from the floor

This team man, very very hilarious group of individuals.

- I'd say this was now the second straight game that the Celts got good Anfernee Simons minutes, and they were once again important. His shotmaking helped them separate early, the defense wasn't horrendous, and he took care of the ball in his 23 minutes. I'll take 12 points on 5-9 in 23:50, and while I didn't always love his shot selection in his 4th quarter minutes, overall he gave you playable minutes which is all I'm asking for in his role. His job was to match/outscore the Knicks bench scorers, and that's exactly what he did

- The Celts small ball lineup with Walsh/Minott in the frontcourt is starting to really produce. High energy, high effort, this may actually be the solution to the Celts rebounding issues. I know that sounds silly, but watching that group play together they seem to be able to rebound/defend at a higher level than just having 1 big on the floor. 

Did you know the Pritchard/White/Brown/Walsh/Minott group has a 142 ORTG / 85 DRTG this season? I didn't until I looked it up but I'd say that matches the eye test.

The Bad

- Not the best Payton Pritchard performance we've ever seen, especially early. His jumper was slightly off, defensively he was having his issues early, and it's no surprise Joe didn't close with him down the stretch, which is fine. That's what we need at this point. Understand the flow of the game and react that way, which is what Joe did. He pulled ALL the right levers last night, and sometimes that means keeping one of your starters on the bench if it's just not their night or if there is a different group on the floor that's working.

Considering a handful of Payton's jumpers were about 95% of the way down, this performance is mostly whatever, but I did find it noticeable how Joe decided to close the game.

- It's hard to start this game off any worse than what the Celts put up, which made no goddamn sense. I believe they turned it over 3 of their first 5 possessions or some shit and before you knew it were down 17-4. For a team that never turns it over (finished with just 10), that was annoying as hell. Mostly because they were all the bad TOs you can't afford to have. Jaylen dribbling off his leg, Derrick turning it over, lazy passing. Add in the fact that Josh Hart started 3-3 from deep, things were just very annoying for the first 12 minutes of this game. The Celts were trading 2s for 3s, couldn't make a shot or take care of the ball, and as a result dug themselves an early hole.

- It was unfortunate that the only appearance for Amari Williams was for him to intentionally foul Mitchell Robinson, mostly because if he's up with the main club and they are playing a team with size, I wanted to see how he'd do. Perhaps Thursday against the Wizards will be another opportunity for him, because it's not like there isn't a positional need. 

The Ugly

- If there's one thing we know, it's that the most dangerous thing this team can have is a big lead. An 18 point 4th quarter lead? Ha, the Celts may as well be down 5 when that happens. Every single bit of that 4th quarter felt like we were reliving the 2025 playoffs, even to the point of Mikal Bridges being the one that couldn't miss. In the playoffs, it was from the midrange. Last night, it was from deep. A total of 8 3PM? OK man, whatever. Every single time the Celts got even the slighest bit of separation, the Knicks came right back down and hit a 3PM. I don't know what it is, but every game it feels like whenever the Celts are up 6-7 points in the final 90 seconds, the other team suddenly decides to never miss a 3PA. We saw it against the Clippers and Cavs, and last night was more of the same. 

What's up with that? Why can't things just be normal? Why do I have to stress about an 18 point 4th quarter lead? Can we not? Please?

- Can't say I loved watching a 12 point 4th quarter lead get chopped in half in just a single possession. How many times have you seen a 6 point possession? It took just 2 possessions for the Knicks to turn a 12 point hole into a 3 point hole after the flagrant on a 3PA, a OREB putback AND1, and then another 3PM. That, was infuriating. 

In the end, the Celts once again alllowed another 41 point quarter in that 4th, which is I believe their 4th time this season allowing at least 40 in a quarter. For reference, they only allowed 3 all of last year. You'll remember it was the 41 point quarter in the 2nd quarter that did the Celtics in when these two teams played each other the first time, and thankfully this time they scored more than 17 points or whatever to ensure it didn't result in another loss.

The point is, as good as the offense has been these last 10 games, the defense has been pretty shitty (20th). The Celts can't keep giving up 40 point quarters and over 115+ points a night. That's not sustainable. If you don't defend, more often than not you die. 

But you know what? Enjoy the win. It was exactly the type of win you want to see. Jaylen and Derrick playing well, the young guys all making a real contribution towards winning, and you took down another conference favorite.

Maybe just maybe, the real best team in the East still resides in Boston. Just a thought.