In the New York Knicks’ first-round series against the Detroit Pistons, they were met with some serious physicality from Detroit that embodied the grittiness of the 1990s “Bad Boys” Pistons’ squads, or at least they attempted to do so. Nevertheless, the Knicks were still able to come out on top, but it was a dogfight until the end.
Knicks need to adjust to Celtics’ physicality in this series
In Game 1 against the Boston Celtics, the Knicks saw similar physicality from them, and initially, it seemed to be too much for them. They found themselves trailing by 20 halfway through the third quarter before Jalen Brunson and company climbed back to steal Game 1 on the road in overtime.
The physicality did hamper some of the Knicks players, however, especially Karl-Anthony Towns. The All-Star center got into foul trouble early and scored just 14 points in 31 minutes of action, which is very unlike his usual numbers.
Following Game 1, Towns described how he needs to adjust to the Celtics’ style of play after a hard-fought series against Detroit.
“Just a different physicality than the Detroit series, so we’ve got to adjust. I’ve got to adjust, especially,” Towns said, via SNY.
Towns will make a big difference for the Knicks
The Celtics are certainly a tough matchup for Towns, as Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford have been known to be solid defenders and capable of stopping perimeter scoring bigs. Towns’ three-point attempts have come very scarcely this postseason, which is not ideal given that Towns’ strength is three-point shooting.
If the Knicks can find a way to get Towns more clean looks, they’ll be able to better match the intensity of the Celtics on offense, which could give them a much better chance of winning the series. The Knicks will look to gain an unprecedented 2-0 advantage in the series Wednesday night.