The Boston Celtics and New York Knicks squared off four times this season. Though the final game went to overtime, the Celtics were still victorious, bringing the season total to 4-0 in favor of Boston. Despite Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns’ best efforts, they weren’t able to best Jayson Tatum and company.
Fast forward to now, and the Knicks, fresh off a first-round series win over the Detroit Pistons, are slated to take on the Celtics in Round 2 of the postseason. Brunson had an amazing series against Detroit, capped off by a game-winning shot to close out Game 6.
But the Celtics have a plan to stop Brunson.
How is Celtics defense vs. Knicks different from Pistons defense vs. Knicks?
The Pistons guarded Brunson with Dennis Schroder and Ausar Thompson for most of the series, but the rest of their matchups weren’t ideal. The Knicks were able to run a Towns-Brunson pick-and-roll because nobody the Pistons could put on Towns was fully capable of sticking with Brunson.
That’s not the case for Boston. Tatum has been the primary defender on Towns for most of this season, meaning if the Knicks were to run that same action, the Celtics could simply switch Tatum onto Brunson. His combination of perimeter defense and length would be enough to bother the Knicks guard.
The reason Tatum guards Towns is that the Celtics like to stick their big man, Kristaps Porzingis (or Luke Kornet for the bench unit), on Josh Hart. This allows them to help off of Hart and affect shots in the paint. But since Brunson wants to get a mismatch, that leaves the Knicks to run Brunson-Hart pick-and-rolls so the Celtics’ bigs will be in the action.
When New York does this, however, the Celtics simply drop their bigs back to take away shots in the paint. Since Hart isn’t a true three-point threat, they’d rather take away Brunson’s drives than fully guard him behind the arc.
Brunson ends up getting some solid three-point and mid-range pull-ups, but the Celtics are okay with contesting late on those and trying to make him uncomfortable.
But the real key to Boston’s Brunson plans is simple—don’t foul.
Celtics avoid fouling Jalen Brunson at all costs
Against the Pistons, Brunson shot 9.0 free throws per game. He lived at the line. They were very aggressive guarding him, and he made the most of it. The Celtics avoid fouling him at all cost.
In four regular-season matchups against the Celtics, Brunson attempted 18 total free throws… but 13 of them came in the same game. Boston was undisciplined in that game. Across the other three contests, they held Brunson to five total free throws.
The Celtics accomplish this feat by keeping their hands down, contesting late, and closing out to the side. Sometimes, this leads to Brunson earning awkwardly open shots. When he goes up, he’s open, but Boston’s late contest is aimed at throwing him off balance. But the Celtics’ end goal is accomplished regardless—no free throws for Brunson.
He shoots over 82% from the line, meaning the likelihood of him making a pair of free throws is around 67%. However, his shooting percentages from three and the mid-range are far lower than that. It’s a math game for Boston.
The bonus of Celtics' defense vs. Jalen Brunson
Plus, by keeping the Brunson coverage to a two-person affair—just the two guys involved in the pick-and-roll—the Celtics avoid letting him get his teammates involved. Since they are okay contesting late, they don’t have to send help. And if Hart is the one setting the screen, that means Towns, Mikal Bridges, and OG Anunoby are being smothered off the ball. Brunson can’t find passes, so he takes the shots himself.
By keeping Brunson off the free-throw line and almost forcing the Knicks to run Brunson-Hart pick-and-rolls, the Celtics have limited his effectiveness (and the effectiveness of New York’s total offensive package).
