BOSTON — The best predictor of Knicks success or failure in the regular season sits front and center in this series.
It’s 3-point defense.
The Knicks were terrible at defending the trey in games they lost, the worst in the NBA, actually. It’s why the Celtics matchup feels so daunting beyond the obvious difficulty of facing the defending NBA champion.
Joe Mazzulla and Brad Stevens built their roster and identity around creating and burying 3s. Tom Thibodeau built the Knicks defense for years around protecting the paint, leaving the outside vulnerable. That changed a bit this season with the addition of Karl-Anthony Towns, who is hardly the same imposing presence at the rim as Isaiah Hartenstein or Mitchell Robinson.
