NBA Opening Night 2023–24: Nw York eKnicks vs. Boston Celtics: Expected Lineups and Injury Report
The 2023–2024 NBA season has finally arrived after what seems like a lifetime, and the Boston Celtics will take on their Atlantic Division rivals, the New York Knicks, at Madison Square Garden to begin their new campaign.
While a few well-known players left the team during the summer, the locker room is now even more star-studded thanks to some noteworthy additions. Can we win on opening day and maintain our preseason form?
Here’s how both teams might lineup, along with the reasons and players that might be out by injury.
How may the starting five of the Boston Celtics look in their first game of the season after going 4-1 in the preseason?
Derrick White had to establish himself during the preseason given the abundance of starting five choices available to Joe Mazzulla, and he succeeded in doing so. While everyone’s attention was focused on Jrue Holiday of the Portland Trailblazers arriving, Derrick White kept performing at an
Depending on Mazzulla’s choice of frontcourt, we could see Holiday or Jaylen Brown in the backcourt alongside White. But I think small-ball will be the strategy from the off and Horford will be limited to a rotating position, which will allow Holiday and Brown to both start. I believe that Holiday’s greatest game is still ahead of us, but as his rapport with the other players develops, we’ll understand why the Celtics acquired the All-Star guard.
It seems unlikely that Mazzulla will switch up the guard positions for this season’s opening game given how well the All-Defensive backcourt tandem has played throughout the preseason. Can White as well as
The first two players in my projected starting lineup for the Celtics season opening are the All-Star wing duo known as the “Two Jays,” Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, as I’m sure most fans will anticipate throughout the season.
As he has done in every year of his career thus far, Tatum made yet another breakthrough last season, solidifying his place in the MVP discussion. He has firmly established himself as one of the league’s top performers after averaging an amazing 30.1 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 4.6 APG, 1.1 SPG, and 0.7 BPG, and the analysts appear to agree. Tatum is named No. 6 in the top 100 by ESPN, No. 7 by CBS Sports, and No. 7 by The Ringer.
As previously said, I anticipate that Tatum and Brown will both start the first game of the new season against the Knicks. Brown has to start this campaign acting as though the $304 million contract extension has no weight at all, despite having been granted both the blessing and the potential burden of it.
Brown gave us hints of what to expect from the two-time All-Star throughout the preseason—that is, performance at the elite level that he has so far shown during his career.
Given their superior skill set, Tatum and Brown should be starting combinations for the most of the season—that is, if they are both healthy. The appearance of the Celtics locker room has changed.
The center position is the final one, and because Robert Williams is no longer a Beantown resident, there is only one player that stands out as being ready to assume this starting role: the recently acquired Kristaps Porzingis.
With the Boston Celtics, Porzingis has been playing in the preseason and has looked flawless, poised for the regular season. Porzingis participated in all four of the Celtics’ preseason victories and had a fantastic game. Fans have been fully on board with him from his initial 3-pointer to his alley-oop slam and his steady shooting. It stung to lose Williams, but if Porzingis can stay healthy, he can replace the vacuum created by his departure.
While the most of his career
I anticipate that the Celtics will stick with their more small-ball lineup from their last two preseason games, making the most of their All-Star wing combo, All-Defensive backcourt tandem, and their recently acquired, sharpshooting big man.
It will be difficult for any team to gain any offensive momentum with this lineup’s defensive prowess, and it will be difficult to stop them once the momentum starts to build because there are so many shooting and scoring possibilities.
The Boston Celtics are looking better than they have in a long time. Do you believe that this team can win a championship?
Will the New York Knicks, who were 1-3 in the preseason, alter anything significant for the regular season?
Jalen Brunson hasn’t played as much as he could have during the Knicks preseason, which has prevented us from seeing the kind of play we know he is capable of. Brunson made significant progress the previous season and carried that success into the summer FIBA World Cup, when he played for Team USA. Should he maintain his current upward trajectory, he has the potential to develop into a valuable asset and be instrumental in helping the Knicks achieve their long-awaited success.
Despite his outstanding play in the previous season, Brunson was left out of the All-Star game. He says this didn’t worry him and that he was glad to see his teammate selected. Brunson’s inclusion in the 2024 All-Star game is a real possibility if he keeps up his recent trend of improvement.
The Boston Celtics All-Defensive guard tandem will have their work cut out for them if Brunson plays like he did last season, but I have faith in their ability to succeed. Brunson is expected to start for them on Wednesday night. The issue still stands: Can Brunson be the Knicks’ main player and catalyst for success?
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