Dynasties are effectively dead in the Apron Era. The team that had to learn that the hard way was the Boston Celtics.
After steamrolling all of basketball to coast to their 18th championship in 2024, they
were the standard in the NBA. Years of finetuning a core around Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum had finally yielded an unstoppable force, one that bombarded you with three-pointers and didn’t field any defensive weaknesses. An absolute juggernaut. If not for the Cavaliers’ remarkable regular season last year, they would’ve coasted to a second straight top seed in the East.
In the regular season, they tore the Knicks apart. A team that was built to topple this monster was getting ground to a pulp. Entering the second-round playoff series, many expected the Celtics to steamroll the Knicks just like they did in the regular season. Only this time, the Knicks had an answer for Joe Mazzulla’s perfect formula.
Two (three?) thrilling comebacks, some lucky breaks, a back-breaking injury for Boston, and a joyous beatdown in Game 6 at MSG completed the biggest playoff series victory for the franchise in the 21st century. In the aftermath, Boston encountered a long rehab for Tatum and a crippling luxury tax, electing to tear down their roster and use 2025-26 as a transition year.
This sets up an interesting dynamic. For the first time in a long time, the Knicks will go into the season expecting to be better than the Celtics. What a difference a year makes.
Knicks’ Record vs Boston in 2024-25: 4-6 (but 4-2 when it counted, baby!)
- October 22, 2024: Celtics won 132-109
- February 8, 2025: Celtics won 131-104
- February 23, 2025: Celtics won 118-105
- April 8, 2025: Celtics won 119-117 (OT)
- ECSF Game 1: Knicks won 108-105 (OT)
- ECSF Game 2: Knicks won 91-90
- ECSF Game 3: Celtics won 115-93
- ECSF Game 4: Knicks won 121-113
- ECSF Game 5: Celtics won 127-102
- ECSF Game 6: Knicks won 119-81
There’s no point in talking about the regular season series here. It was three blowouts that saw the firebombing Celts make 65 total threes and completely neutralize Karl-Anthony Towns. Good signs were shown in the final meeting of the regular season, where the Knicks had the win snatched out of their hands by a clutch Tatum triple at the death before falling in overtime.
In Game 1, the Celtics threatened to run the same play as they had all season, blitzing the Knicks to a 75-55 lead in the third quarter. However, a common theme of the 2025 Knicks playoff run was rallying back from improbably deficits. They managed to come all the way back, squander a six-point advantage, and prevail in OT thanks to the defensive heroics of Mikal Bridges.
Game 2 was the exact same script. Boston sprinted out to an early 13-point lead and got it up to 20 with 15:12 to go in the game. Just like last game, a defensive masterpiece late, along with a fourth-quarter barrage by Bridges, stunned the reigning champs. It was Bridges (again) who forced the game-winning stop.
Game 3 was a good ol’ fashioned Boston beatdown. All those misses that led to huge comebacks in Beantown were drained in the World’s Most Famous Arena. Another poor offensive game for the Knicks, coupled with a 20-for-40 performance by the Celtics, led to a blowout win for the visitors.
Game 4 saw another double-digit Boston lead vanish, this time in hostile territory. Jalen Brunson put up a superhero performance, dropping an efficient 39 and going shot-for-shot with Tatum before he blew out his Achilles as the Knicks headed for a 3-1 lead. Tatum’s injury took him out for the series and will cause him to miss most (if not all) of the 2025-26 season.
Boston rebounded to blow the Knicks out of the water while shorthanded in Game 5, but that inspiring effort at TD Garden was their last gasp. A 48-minute rout led to a prolonged celebration in the entire second half, as the Knicks led by as much as 41 to advance to their first Eastern Conference Finals in 25 years.
Knicks vs. Celtics — 2025-26 Schedule:
- Fri, Oct 24, 2025: Celtics @ Knicks (7:30, Prime Video)
- Tue, Dec 2, 2025: Knicks @ Celtics (8:00, NBC/Peacock)
- Sun, Feb 8, 2026: Knicks @ Celtics (12:30, ABC)
- Thu, Apr 9, 2026: Celtics @ Knicks (7:30, Prime Video)
Zero games on MSG. Two of them are not even on television. Sports in 2025.
Boston’s Offseason Moves:
In:
- Chris Boucher (FA)
- Luka Garza (FA)
- Josh Minott (FA)
- Anfernee Simons (trade)
- Hugo Gonzalez (draft)
- Noah Penda (draft)
Out:
- Jrue Holiday (Blazers)
- Luke Kornet (Spurs)
- Kristaps Porzingis (Hawks)
- Georges Niang (acquired from Hawks, dealt to Jazz)
- Torrey Craig (unsigned)
- Al Horford (unsigned/Warriors)
The Celtics lost a ton of high-end talent, especially when factoring in the Tatum injury. The second apron stops for nobody. Only Simons figures to be playing a big role, with the others filling out as depth while the Payton Pritchard’s and Sam Hauser’s of the world step into the vacancies.
Projected Starters
PG: Payton Pritchard (BOS) / Jalen Brunson (NYK)
SG: Derrick White (BOS) / Deuce McBride (NYK)
SF: Jaylen Brown (BOS) / Mikal Bridges (NYK)
PF: Chris Boucher (BOS) / OG Anunoby (NYK)
C: Neemias Queta/Luka Garza (BOS) / Karl-Anthony Towns (NYK)
Goodness gracious. Compare this to the Holiday-White-Brown-Tatum-Porzingis lineup with Horford, Kornet, and Pritchard off the bench that they featured in the playoffs only five months ago. It’s astonishing.
For the record, I think Mike Brown will have Robinson as his fifth starter, but McBride makes more sense for this suddenly small Celtics team. Pritchard is my early favorite for Most Improved Player, mostly because he will get a significantly larger role. Boucher is the only guy with size that makes sense for the four, while the decision between Queta and Garza will come down to whether Mazzulla still thinks they can bombard threes with this suddenly ragtag group.
The X-factor? Are the rumors of Tatum’s Achilles recovery true? If he somehow came back in astonishing time, it transforms the lineup.
Knicks’ Predicted Record vs Boston this season: 3-1
As long as the Knicks are healthy, they should be able to win the season series against Boston and snap a skid of losing 8 of 9 to them the last two seasons. If Tatum returns sooner than expected, those later meetings could feature a real challenge.
After two years as the sport’s standard, it feels like the Celtics will be battling to even avoid the play-in tournament.
