Do Knicks Actually Have Chance vs. Celtics?

The New York Knicks are seen as the underdog by virtually every NBA pundit against the defending champion Boston Celtics, and it shouldn't be a surprise.

The Celtics are the defending champions and have been in six of the last eight Eastern Conference Finals, while the Knicks haven't been to that stage in 25 years.

The Athletic insider Fred Katz thinks that the Knicks have a chance to make it past the Celtics, but it won't be easy.

"All must go right for the Knicks just for them to stand a chance," Katz wrote.

"They need A-plus performances from Brunson and Towns, which includes figuring out how to stop the Celtics from slicing New York’s center up in pick-and-rolls. They need more from Miles “Deuce” McBride than they received in the Pistons series. They need lockdown defense from Anunoby, Bridges and Hart. But let’s concentrate on one smaller game within the game that the Knicks have to win: The possession battle."

"The Celtics shoot more 3-pointers than any other team in history. The Knicks, meanwhile, were 28th in 3-point attempt rate during the regular season. There will be a wide gap, even if the Knicks close it some, from beyond the arc during this series, which means New York can’t turn it over. It means Towns, Robinson and Hart must gobble up rebounds on both sides of the court.

"A team that loses the 3-point game as well as the possession battle won’t survive."

It will take a lot for the Knicks to win one game in the series, but the problem is that they need four to beat the Celtics in the series, which makes it an even taller task.

The Knicks need to take things one game at a time, beginning with Game 1 at TD Garden.