#3 Boston Celtics (56-26) vs. #6 New York Knicks (42-40)
2011 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs – First Round
Series Price: Celtics -350 / Knicks +290
Series Schedule
Game 1 – Sunday, April 17, New York at Boston, 7:00 pm, TNT
Game 2 – Tuesday, April 19, New York at Boston, 7:00 pm, TNT
Game 3 – Friday, April 22, Boston at New York, 7:00 pm, ESPN
Game 4 – Sunday, April 24, Boston at New York, 3:30 pm, ABC/R
Game 5 * Tuesday, April 26, New York at Boston, TBD, TBD
Game 6 * Friday, April 29, Boston at New York, TBD, TBD
Game 7 * Sunday, May 1, New York at Boston, TBD, TBD
All Times Eastern
* if necessary
A year from now, this first-round playoff matchup between the third-seeded Boston Celtics (56-26) and the sixth-seeded New York Knicks (42-40) would have a much better chance of living up to the hype. While the Knicks are back in the playoffs for the first time since 2004, they have about the same chance against the Celtics as they did back then when they were swept by New Jersey in the first round.
That being said, New York could win one game in this series and give its fans some hope for the future. A victory against the defending Eastern Conference champions should be considered somewhat of a success, and getting swept again could ultimately end up costing head coach Mike D’Antoni his job. There have been rumors circulating that Kentucky coach John Calipari is next in line to replace him, so there is pressure in the Big Apple to produce as soon as possible.
D’Antoni’s formula of running and gunning on offense simply does not work in the playoffs, when defensive teams thrive and the half-court set takes over the final minutes and sometimes much more of just about every game. His Phoenix teams were built for the regular season before flaming out in the postseason against better defensive squads like San Antonio.
Boston did not been play well by any means down the stretch of the regular season, but head coach Doc Rivers knows many of his players are battle-tested and made it all the way to Game 7 of the NBA Finals a year ago despite being the fourth seed in the East. The big difference this year is the team’s lack of quality depth inside after dealing center Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City for swingman Jeff Green. That weakness will not show up against a Knicks team that has similar issues on the interior, but it could keep the Celtics from making it much further (they are 15-12 without Perkins).
These teams met four times in the regular season, with Carmelo Anthony only playing in one of the games for the Knicks after arriving in a blockbuster trade from Denver. That game resulted in a 96-86 Boston win at Madison Square Garden on March 21 and summed up what kind of a team New York is heading into the playoffs. The Knicks led 51-37 at halftime but fell apart in the second half, especially the fourth quarter when the Celts outscored them 33-17.
New York has dropped eight of the last nine meetings in the series but has gone 5-3 against the spread in the past eight. Boston was favored in all of those games and will probably be chalk in every game of this series as well considering how well the team plays on the road. The Celtics will be highly motivated to prove themselves as legitimate contenders to win the NBA championship against the Knicks, who give them an ideal matchup and will not expose their weaknesses.
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