Figuring out how to slow down the Boston Celtics offense is not an easy task. The New York Knicks know this all too well.
Through four games against Boston during the regular season, New York surrendered a 130.2 offensive rating, which was the third-worst mark in the league, trailing only the Portland Trail Blazers and Phoenix Suns, each of whom played Beantown just twice. That is...not great.
So much brain power is being dedicated to the Knicks' biggest offensive issues. That is fair. Getting buckets is supposed to be their identity, and they run cold and flat and disjointed far too often for a squad that, in theory, deploys five-out spacing and tons of weapons.
Still, defense will be critical to any scenario in which New York beats Boston four times en route to the Eastern Conference Finals. And to be sure, this isn't about entirely stopping the Celtics. It's about slowing them down. The Orlando Magic provided a roadmap to doing just that, running Boston off the three-point line in the first round. Whether the Knicks are built to mirror that approach is debatable. But head coach Tom Thibodeau has another card he can play: put a big on Jrue Holiday.
The Knicks must coax the Celtics into going away from their primary stars
Jalen Brunson received a lion's share of the reps against Holiday during the regular season, which makes sense. New York wants to insulate him as much as possible. Without having Brunson guard a big, Holiday is the best option. He isn't knocking down threes with his usual efficiency, and his true usage—which measures scoring, turnovers, and assist opportunities—was the lowest it's been for his 16-year career, according to BBall Index.
This provides a good "hiding spot" for Brunson, in both theory and practice. Boston generated 1.06 points per possession on plays in which JB defended Holiday, which is noticeably lower than the team's season average of 1.17. But this same philosophy can work by flipping matchups.
Let's say Thibs puts Towns on Holiday. This should let the big man roam a little more when he's away from the ball, at least more than it would if he's guarding Kristaps Porzingis. Beyond that, it may also entice the Celtics into having Holiday initiate more pick-and-rolls.
That is an instant victory for New York. Among all of Boston's non-bigs, only Jaylen Brown averaged fewer points per possession than Holiday out of pick-and-rolls. This isn't meant to imply the 34-year-old two-time champion is trash. He just isn't as natural of an off-the-dribble shot creator as some of his teammates, and can also be thrown off balance more by length and size.
Certain teams have already experimented with using their part- or full-time centers to guard Holiday. The Milwaukee Bucks did it with Giannis Antetokounmpo, though that's not a perfect analog. Jaren Jackson Jr., Jarrett Allen, and even Julius Randle spent time on Holiday as well. Those are better examples. They also happened to work. With the caveat we're talking about small sample sizes, the Celtics as a team averaged 0.90 points per possession this year when Holiday was guarded by one of the aforementioned three.
Should the Knicks try this, and if so, when?
Caveats and all, this approach is clearly worth at least attempting. Anything that gets the ball out of Jayson Tatum's hands, frankly, is a massive W.
Hashing out when to deploy guarding Holiday with a big is more complicated. If Thibs does it with Brunson on the floor, he needs to find another spot for the superstar floor general. Perhaps the Knicks can get away with stashing him on Al Horford. This way, at least if the Celtics put both KAT and Brunson in the pick-and-roll, they're using a Horford-and-Holiday combination that feels less lethal than others, and that also lets Brunson and KAT defend their natural positions on potential switches.
This is also worth trying out with Brunson on the bench, and certainly when the Knicks go to the Towns-Mitchell Robinson frontcourt. Sticking Robinson in Holiday gives him more freedom to roam and protect the backline.
Thibs could also still use Towns on Holiday during these minutes. Assigning Robinson to Porzingis in this scenario limits his ability to rove around, but it also might dissuade the Celtics from leaning so heavily on KP in screening actions. After all, they presumably won't want to go after Robinson, at least not with so many other more tantalizing alternatives on the floor.
None of this easy, or even partially guaranteed to work. It is all worth trying. Relative to the Knicks' lack of success against Boston so far this year, anything is worth trying, really.
Dan Favale is a Senior NBA Contributor for FanSided and National NBA Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Bluesky (@danfavale), and subscribe to the Hardwood Knocks podcast, co-hosted by Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes.