A big game for the Celtics tonight, but an even bigger one for the Knicks when they face off at Madison Square Garden at 7 pm. The two hottest teams in not just the Atlantic division, but in the Eastern Conference are a combined 19-1 in their last twenty games and the Celtics will be looking to push their win streak to 11 games. Amare Stoudemire has scored 30+ points in eight consecutive games, however the key to this game will be Stoudemire's defense, as well as the pace of the game. The Knicks and Celtics have opposite mindsets on the court, and sport opposite strategies as the Knicks love to points up as many points as fast as possible in an attempt to outrun and outscore their opponent, while the Celtics are mainly dedicated to defense and a smooth, organized, steady paced offense. The Knicks are young, extremely athletic, and stacked with offensively talented players who can all take on the scoring load when given the opportunity. The Celtics are stacked with all-star veterans who are all playing great right now due to their tough consistent defense, and explosive playmaking ability of Rajon Rondo. All eyes will be on the surging Knicks to see if they can keep their winning streak alive against Boston's Eastern Conference Champs, and prove that they could still be near the top of the conference come playoff time. Carmelo's eyes certainly will be.
The Celtics need to set the pace for this game, and make sure that their focus is to score more points than the Knicks rather than scoring as many points as possible. The Knicks outran and outplayed many mediocre teams with their ability to put up points in bunches, with huge performances from players like Stoudemire, Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, and rookie Landry Fields. Their most recent victory against Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets proved that they can even beat playoff teams when they get into big scoring battles, and made Carmelo express interest in joining the Knicks after the high scoring game, which featured 254 points. However, unlike the Nuggets, Boston's veterans as well as Rajon Rondo will slow down the pace of this game in order to run their offense effectively, as well as to prevent New York from scoring over 100 points.
The Knicks will be gunning to score, and Amare will be looking to put up 30 for the ninth consecutive game. However, even if he does, the Celtics should come out on top for this one because they will be able attack the dismal defense that is the New York Knicks' from so many different angles. This game is largely a display of great offense vs. great defense, and anyone playing for Doc Rivers will be the first to tell you that defense wins championships. The Celtics really just need to go out and execute the way they do every night, slow down New York's offense, and attack the paint on offense. The Knicks often let their opponents score practically at will in the hopes that they can make it up on the offensive end, and Boston should be able to take advantage behind the playmaking of Rondo, and scoring ability of the Big Three. The Garnett-Stoudemire matchup should be interesting, and I expect both to put up a lot of points as Stoudemire is too explosive for Garnett to single-handedly contain, and Stoudemire does not play enough defense for Garnett to not take advantage of. Keep an eye on Semih Erden in the middle, who will probably be helping out a lot on Stoudemire. Erden plays extremely tough, contests every shot, and is great at making his presence known in the paint. With Erden starting at center last game, the Bobcats only put up 62 points against the Celtics, and Erden played 40 solid minutes with 4 blocks and a game-high plus/minus of +34. If Amare's point streak ends tonight, it will be largely because of Erden's tough play and ability to contest nearly every shot in the paint. In this battle of offense and defense, the Celtics' tough veteran defense should prevail, while their offense will have no problem putting up points against the Knicks.
