Boston Celtics vs New York Knicks April 23, 2013
The Boston Celtics visit the New York Knicks in Game 2 of an Eastern Conference first-round series on Monday night.
touches and better shots in the postseason (this after he had a quiet Game 1, offensively). How does Garnett get himself easier looks? "Just play basketball, man," he said. "Our sets are called and our plays are designed for, obviously, movement, opportunity. Within those opportunities, I've just got to be aggressive with those, without coming out of formality or what we've been doing since this point. When I get baskets it's because I've taken advantage of options within the offense and I haven't over-stepped or anything outside of that. So I'm going to stick with that, but obviously being more aggressive with the opportunities that I do get."
The Celtics were plagued by 21 turnovers in Saturday's Game 1 loss. What's more, many of those turnovers were what Paul Pierce dubbed "boneheaded" plays. Celtics coach Doc Rivers thinks it's as simple as making better decisions with the ball -- and lowering the degree of difficulty on some passes. "I thought most are turnovers were forced, guys were trying to do too much with the pass," said Rivers. "The good news is they were trying to pass, the bad news is they were trying to pass. Some of the passes, really, should have just been down the sideline and to the post, instead of the guy with the ball was trying to make the pass. Again, they are correctable, but give the Knicks credit, some of those turnovers were forced by Kidd and some by their hands."
The Boston Celtics enter Game 2 in Madison Square Garden with plenty of reason to believe they can tie the series at one game apiece. Boston held the Knicks to 85 points in the first game, but their lack of offensive punch was on display. The Celtics made only 27 of their 65 field goals but lost by just eight points -- a margin that can easily be overcome if they tighten up their offensive decision-making and take advantage of the Knicks' defense.
New York's half-court defense focused on Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, but Boston can take advantage of the Knicks' overcommitment by slowing down the remaining "big two." Here are a few areas that Boston can exploit the Knicks and open up their offense.
