The New York Knicks' master offseason plan is working out perfectly against the Boston Celtics.
After losing to the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the New York Knicks entered the offseason with seemingly two goals. First, it was clear that the Celtics needed to add more top-tier talent to take some of the heavy pressure off the shoulders of Jalen Brunson. Secondly, the Knicks needed to build a team to put them in a position to take down the dominant Boston Celtics.
With how Boston cruised through last year's regular season and playoffs en route to an NBA Champinoship, it was clear that any team that wanted to contend in the Eastern Conference needed to build a team that could, at the very least, keep pace with the Celtics. New York, with their big moves during the offseason, built a team to beat the Celtics. And through two games of their Eastern Conference semifinals with the Celtics, that plan is working perfectly.
The Knicks may have successfully built a team to beat the Celtics
During the offseason, the Knicks added Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges as a way to match up with Boston's overwhelming depth and talent. On paper, the Knicks were one of the few teams in the league that could go talent for talent with Boston. Even though the results weren't there during the regular season, New York always seemed like the one team that could potentially dethrone the defending champs.
For Jrue Holiday, the Knicks had Brunson. For Jaylen Brown, the Knicks had Bridges. For Jaylen Brown, the Knicks had OG Anunoby. For Derrick White, the Knicks had Josh Hart. For Kristaps Porzingis, the Knicks had KAT. New York purposely built a team that could go toe-to-toe with the defending champs.
That's playing out perfectly through the first two games as the Knicks have taken a surprisingly 2-0 series lead over the Celtics. The most impressive part of New York's start to this series is the fact that they've won both games on the road. As the series shifts to New York, the Knicks are sitting in a great position to punch their ticket to the Eastern Conference Finals while knocking off the defending champs.
This series is far from over, no matter how much the odds may stack against the Celtics. But if the Knicks simply take care of business on their home floor and avoid a complete breakdown, it does appear that New York's plan to build a team to beat the Celtics is going to prove to be successful.