Celtics to Play Knicks in Conference Semifinals

 

Last night, the New York Knicks beat the Indiana Pacers, 116-113, and won their First Round series in six games. The Knicks will advance to face the Celtics in the Conference Semifinals. Game 1 is Monday night.

This will be the 16th head-to-head playoff series between Boston and New York and the first since 2013. Two of the original NBA franchises, they have played 498 regular-season games in their storied histories, the most between any two teams in the league. 

The Celtics are 8½-point favorites in Game 1. Boston has won eight of the last nine games against New York over the last two seasons, including blowout wins of 23 and 27 points this year. But anything can happen in a seven-game series and last night, Knicks fans were chanting "We want Boston!" outside Madison Square Garden. Careful what you wish for.

The two teams are evenly matched offensively, with both scoring an average 119 points per game. The Celtics have a big advantage in 3-points shots made, 1457 (best in the NBA) to the Knicks' 1031 (24th). The Celtics also have a big lead in total rebounding and blocked shots. However, the Knicks have the higher field goal percentage, 48.6% (fourth in the NBA) and a slight advantage in assists.  

It took the Celtics five games to beat the Orlando Magic in the First Round, so I'm predicting it will take them six games for them to beat Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and the rest of the Knicks.

The Celtics are four wins down and 12 more to go to repeat as NBA champions. Let's make in eight-and-eight with this Semifinal series.