The New York Knicks (0-2) head to TD Garden for Tuesday night action against the Boston Celtics (1-2). Both teams should enter the game well-rested as the Knicks last played on Saturday, while Boston hasn’t suited up since Friday.
New York will look to bounce back after blowing a 21-point lead Saturday to the Detroit Pistons. The Knicks were outscored 75-50 for the rest of the game after having a commanding 57-36 lead.
After an 0-2 start, the Celtics got into the win column by defeating the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday. Kyrie Irving led the way with 21 points while Al Horford chipped in with 17 and nine rebounds.
Projected starting lineups
Knicks starters: PG - Ramon Sessions, SG - Tim Hardaway Jr., SF - Courtney Lee, PF - Kristaps Porzingis, C - Enes Kanter
Celtics starters: PG - Kyrie Irving, SG - Marcus Smart, SF - Jaylen Brown, PF - Jayson Tatum, C - Al Horford
Team stat leaders
Knicks leaders: Scoring - Kristaps Porzingis 32.0, Rebounding - Enes Kanter, Kyle O’Quinn, Kristaps Porzingis 8.5, Assists - Ron Baker 4.5
Celtics leaders: Scoring - Kyrie Irving 20.0, Rebounding - Jayson Tatum 9.0, Assists - Kyrie Irving 5.7
Injury report
Knicks: Out - Frank Ntilikina (ankle), Joakim Noah (suspension)
Celtics: Out - Gordon Hayward (leg), Marcus Morris (knee), Questionable - Marcus Smart (ankle)
What Knicks fans should watch for
With Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose no longer on the team, Kristaps Porzingis has capitalized with 64 points in the team’s first two games.
While he has excelled, it is hard to say that anyone else on the team has stepped up as the second fiddle.
Nobody else on the team has more than the 27 points Enes Kanter has scored. Never known for his defense, the Knicks are -30 in the 46 minutes he has played.
Tim Hardaway Jr.’s large contract that he received this offseason was scrutinized by many, and through two games he hasn’t done much to silence the critics.
He is just 7-26 (26.9%) from the field.
The Knicks’ other starters haven’t exactly been shooting well either. Starting point guard Ramon Sessions is just 3-11 (27.3%) and starting small forward Courtney Lee is 6-17 (35.3%). As a team, New York is shooting just 27.8% on threes.
Also, the Willy Hernangomez watch continues. Hernangomez was a Second Team All-Rookie member last season, but has been out of head coach Jeff Hornacek’s rotation to begin the season.
After playing four minutes of garbage time in the season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder, he did not see the court in Saturday’s loss to Detroit.
History of Knicks/Celtics
The two Atlantic Division rivals have a history dating back all the way to 1946. They have met 467 times in the regular season with the Celtics holding a 287-180 edge in the win column.
Boston won three of the four matchups with the Knicks last season. It was the third straight season that the Celtics went 3-1 against New York.
