Getty The Boston Celtics didn't have to make a splash at the NBA trade deadline.
The dust has settled after the NBA’s February 8 trade deadline. As expected, the Boston Celtics, owners of the best record in the league, didn’t make any significant moves, adding a pair of role players, Xavier Tillman and Jaden Springer, to solidify their depth.
Meanwhile, the New York Knicks continued to bolster their squad. A month after acquiring forward OG Anunoby from the Toronto Raptors, the Knicks made some more trade noise at the deadline. They acquired Bojan Bogdanovic and Alec Burks from the Detroit Pistons, making them arguably the deepest team in the Eastern Conference.
“If Mitchell Robinson returns from injury in time to make a playoff run, there’s a world where the Knicks could be Boston’s toughest competition in the playoffs,” Boston Sports Journal’s John Karalis wrote on February 8. “Milwaukee, even with their issues, remains the biggest threat because they have the best two players and a winning history, but [the] Knicks have surpassed the Cavs and Philadelphia right now as [bigger threats] to Boston in the East.
The Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks Rivalry Just Got Rekindled
The Knicks were regarded by many as the biggest winners at the deadline with the additions of Bogdanovic and Burks, who will provide some serious scoring off the bench.
ESPN’s Marc J. Spears said on the February 8 episode of “NBA Today” that the revamped Knicks “can challenge them for sure. But you have to wait until this Knicks team is healthy.”
ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins was high on the Knicks before they made the move to get Bogdanovic and Burks. He issued a warning to the rest of the Eastern Conference — Celtics included — after the deadline.
“I was talking about the Knicks and how they’re actually contending right now,” Perkins said on “NBA Today.” “Adding these two pieces — when you add Bogdanovic and when you add Alec Burks — the only thing the Knicks were missing was depth. Right now, they’re deeper than the Pacific Ocean.
“Everybody else in the Eastern Conference needs to get life jackets, including the Boston Celtics. This New York Knicks team is a legitimate title contender this season. If anybody else say anything different, they they haven’t been watching the Knicks play.”
Knicks & Bucks Are Headed in Different Directions
The Celtics did what they had to do at the deadline. With arguably the best starting five (and top six) in the NBA, Boston simply needed to tie up a couple of loose ends with their bench and did just that with the additions of Tillman and Springer.
While the Celtics are the clear favorite in the Eastern Conference, the Bucks were widely considered Boston’s biggest threat. Milwaukee picked up Damian Lillard in a deal with the Portland Trail Blazers before the season, but Milwaukee has found out the importance of the defense it lost when they included veteran guard Jrue Holiday in the deal. The Bucks tried to compensate for that defensive loss by acquiring Patrick Beverly on deadline day.
Although they have identical records of 33-19, the Knicks and Bucks are headed in different directions. The Knicks, although battling through injuries that had them without four starters in a 122-108 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday, February 8, have a plan in place. The Bucks are in panic mode, trying to find themselves.
Milwaukee fired rookie coach Adrian Griffin last month despite a 33-10 mark. They’ve gone 3-6 since and have shown no signs of getting themselves together under new coach Doc Rivers. With apologies to the Bucks, the red-hot Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Joel Embiid-less Philadelphia 76ers, it appears that the Boston/New York rivalry could get heated when the postseason begins.
“Right now, they’re deeper than the Pacific Ocean and everybody else in the Eastern Conference needs to get life jackets!”
@KendrickPerkins is all in on the Knicks’ trade deadline moves 📈
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After the Trade Deadline, the Boston Celtics May Have a Bigger Rival in the East