The New York Knicks are going into their series with the Boston Celtics as an underdog, especially after the defending champions grabbed wins in all four regular season meetings between the two teams.
Though the Knicks are an underdog, the Celtics have a lot of respect for their opponent, and they recognize how much of a challenge they can be in this second round series.
Celtics guard Jrue Holiday looks at his foil on the Knicks, Josh Hart, as someone who can change the series with his play.
“Even though people might say, like, he doesn’t shoot the ball well enough or do whatever, he makes plays, and he makes the game easier for everybody else based off his play,” Holiday told The Athletic insider James Edwards III. “And it’s not just his effort. He’s really smart. He gets to the basket. He offensive rebounds. Things that guys don’t really want to do, he’s excellent at it.
“Guys who really take that to heart and can really play that type of game, I feel like you can be in the league as long as you want to if you play that way.”
Holiday can be an X-Factor for the Celtics. If Holiday plays well on top of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, they are that much more difficult to stop. The same can be said for Hart. If Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns are hitting their shots, and Hart makes plays to help them out, the Knicks become a different team.
“When Hart is playing well, you know that the Knicks are really good,” Holiday said via Edwards. “I think guys like that, I guess they call us ‘Glue guys’ … he’s that heartbeat. They kind of go as he goes because of all the things that he does for the team.”
Hart has to play well for the Knicks in the series if they want a shot at dethroning the defending champions.
