Sunday, March 31, 2013
New York Knicks vs Boston Celtic March 31, 2013
The New York Knicks are in third place in the Eastern Conference, but they sit just half a game behind second-place Indiana.
Neither the Knicks nor Pacers has the time and steam to catch the Miami Heat, but securing the No. 2 seed and the homecourt advantage will be important should the Knicks encounter a tough Pacers team in the second round of the NBA playoffs (the Pacers are 29-8 at home).
New York has been very good at home, too. The Knicks have won 26 of 36 at Madison Square Garden. Sunday night's game against the Boston Celtics could potentially bolster that record, but the Celtics have won two straight and are also engaged in a battle for positioning with the Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls and Milwaukee Bucks for the final four spots in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The Knicks are without Tyson Chandler, who they've encouraged to take his time recovering from his neck injury since the playoffs are of greater importance than the team's final position in the Eastern Conference standings.
As for Boston, it should be able to retain the No. 7 spot at least—but moving up to as high as fifth is a possibility. Should it do so, the Celtics would play the fourth-seeded Brooklyn Nets, against whom they are 1-2 this season. They also would avoid Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks, a tough Pacers defense and a Miami Heat squad that no one wants to face. Only if the Celtics are overtaken by eighth-seeded Milwaukee would they be forced to play the Heat in the first round.
So, this game is of great consequence for both teams. Boston has battled injury problems, and Kevin Garnett has been sitting with knee issues. That has only compounded the depth issue for Boston, as it was already without playmaker Rajon Rondo and standout rookie Jared Sullinger.
Called into duty has been Chris Wilcox and Shavlik Randolph, who just turned in arguably the best game of his pro career, scoring nine points, grabbing 13 boards and blocking two shots, all in 22 minutes of action, in Friday's 118-107 victory over Atlanta.
While Randolph isn't the most awe-inspiring athlete, his work ethic, size and hustle will help the C's plug the gaps for the remainder of this season, whatever it turns out to be.
Boston is now nearly five years removed from its 2008 championship, and though the main pieces are intact from that squad (minus Ray Allen), they're older, slower and further removed from their waning primes. While Paul Pierce is still playing at a high level, KG is battling injuries and the youngest of what became a Big Four (Rondo) is injured, as well.
Thus, while ostensibly the Celtics are much the same squad they were during their title run, they are also far different. They have different role players—and perhaps most importantly—have lost their championship swagger.
They'll try to regain some of that in one of the NBA's most storied venues Sunday night. But few analysts consider the Celtics true contenders without the league's leading assist man in an Eastern Conference held firmly by its throats by LeBron James and the Miami Heat.
