GAMES. There will be actual NBA games played today starting at noon. To get you pumped, ready, and primed for the start of the 2011-2012 NBA season, we give you five things to keep an eye on today in Celtics-Knicks.
To get you pumped:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB9yYIUOylQ&w=640&h=360]
Not just an old-fashioned love song.
The Knicks didn’t put up much of a fight against the Celtics in last year’s playoffs. They were thin, injured, and burned out from pushing just to get into the Sweet 16. So it doesn’t seem like there’s much bad blood. But expect this to get chippy early and often. The Celtics have to bully the Knicks in order to maintain a mental edge because, in reality, the Celtics are long in the tooth and short on the bench. They need help and their attitude is the best thing they have going for them. But the bigger issue is the Knicks are trying to change their culture. Tyson Chandler was brought in to make them a bigger, meaner, tougher team, and that’s going to filter through. It doesn’t take much for Melo to start swinging. This thing could turn ugly early in the kind of thing the NBA wants to avoid. If it doesn’t, whoever winds up the bully wins the game.
Good luck with that, rook.
Presumably, Iman Shumpert will get significant playing time behind Landry Fields at shooting guard. Which means Shumpert will be tasked with defending Ray Allen. That’s nerve-wracking enough on its own, but that also means Shumpert has to bust through the 700 screens the Celtics set for Allen, often moving, and often as brutal as they come. Shumpert’s got the usual rookie frame on him, so this will likely be a learning experience in how much he’s going to need to spend time in the weight room. As for Fields, his length and athleticism isn’t great, despite being a decent enough defender. The key with him will be sticking with Allen until the possession ends. Often times Allen sneaks out to the corner after offensive rebounds or loose balls wind up in the Celtics’ hands. That leaves him open. You have to have constant mindfulness. Like Buddha.
Landry Fields needs to be like Buddha.
Go big or go home.
Remember when the Celtics won Game 2 almost entirely because of Jared Jeffries getting blocked by Kevin Garnett? That will be Tyson Chandler this time. Good luck, KG. Garnett is expected to play minutes at the five spot with Jermaine O’Neal limited by age. That seems like a pretty dangerous setup considering Garnett’s no spring chicken himself. He’s got to save himself for a long season. Then again, it’s not like Tyson Chandler just hopped off the factory truck or is without injury issues either. If the Celtics can get Chandler in foul trouble, they can run small ball, and surprisingly, here, that helps them. Anything that involves moving Stoudemire to the four helps both in terms of offense, getting fouls on STAT, and taking away his energy on offense.
The Amazing Rondo.
Here’s what Rajon Rondo averaged last year versus the Knicks. 11 points, 6 rebounds, 16.7 assists. Good night, nurse. Rondo has been unstoppable against the Knicks. He’s back, health, and in a bad mood from trade rumors. Rondo flourishes playing against Mike D’Antoni’s up and down style. If the Knicks can’t find anyone to get a handle on him, Rondo himself will destroy the Knicks and leave their stockings empty.
Paul’s not dead, but he is injured.
Paul Pierce is not expected to play Sunday due to a bruised foot. He made the trip with the team, so it’s possible he could give it a go, but he’s not full strength. Great start for the C’s. The bigger issue with Pierce’s absence is it means Marquis Daniels will be guarding Carmelo Anthony, if not Brandon Bass sliding up from power forward. Anthony torched the Celtics in Boston during the playoffs, with the C’s narrowly surviving his onslaught. Melo is reportedly thinner and stronger, so it will be a tough matchup with or without Pierce. The Celtics need their captain badly.
