This isn’t a new issue for the Knicks.
They struggled with containing offensive rebounding last round, too, but the Celtics taking — and missing — so many shots the opening two games has magnified it.
Entering Saturday’s Game 3 at the Garden, with the Knicks holding a 2-0 lead in their conference semifinal series, Boston has collected 35 offensive rebounds and possesses a 13-rebound advantage in that category, even with Mitchell Robinson, Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns all healthy.
The Knicks hold the lowest defensive rebounding percentage among the four remaining Eastern Conference teams (66.3) and the seventh-lowest among the eight remaining teams in the postseason.
Somehow, they’ve avoided disaster.
The Celtics have only collected a plus-13 margin in second-chance points.
But it’s an area the Knicks know they need to clean up, one of the mistakes they can only get away with against the defending champions for so long.
- CHECK OUT THE LATEST NBA STANDINGS AND KNICKS STATS
“I feel like they’ve been getting to the offensive boards quick and so we are aware of that,” Jalen Brunson said after the Knicks practiced Friday in Tarrytown, “but it’s a different thing in-game when in-game they are taking a lot of long shots and a lot of long rebounds. The natural thing to do is to go in around the restricted area, but with long shots, we have to not be as far in the restricted area.”
The Pistons collected more offensive rebounds than the Knicks in four of their six first-round games, and the Celtics’ five-out offense added another wrinkle.
Smaller players in their lineup can get a “running start” from the perimeter, coach Tom Thibodeau said.
The Knicks need to shake their habit of ending up so close to the restricted area when crashing the basket, Brunson said — and given how the Celtics have rebounded, he acknowledged, “It’s something we have to adjust to quickly.”
Follow The Post’s coverage of the Knicks in the 2025 NBA Playoffs
- Knicks stun Celtics with more fourth-quarter magic in wild run to take improbable 2-0 series lead
- Heroes, zeros of Game 2: Celtics star has another nightmarish night
- Why the Knicks are still underdogs at one sportsbook despite 2-0 lead
- Vaccaro: Knicks and their fans got to hear sweetest sound of all
Sports+ subscribers: Sign up for Inside the Knicks to get daily newsletter coverage and join Expert Take for insider texts about the series.
Still, there have been other instances where the Celtics grabbed rebounds near the blocks.
Early in the fourth quarter of Game 2, Kristaps Porzingis scooted around Hart near the left block, collected a Jayson Tatum miss that just grazed the rim, converted a second-chance layup and drew a foul.
In the first half, Jaylen Brown crashed from outside the 3-point line after Jrue Holiday attempted an open look off a Knicks turnover, and moments later, Brown drained a 3 to capitalize on the additional possession.
What’s happening on and off the Garden court
Sign up for Inside the Knicks by Stefan Bondy, a weekly exclusive on Sports+.
Thank you
More than anything, Towns said, it comes down to execution.
To “just finding a body and boxing out” — and then doing it over and over and over again for 48 minutes.
The Knicks’ weakness didn’t disappear once the postseason continued, and their ability to advance again might require fixing it on the fly.
“We’ve watched the film, we’ve seen our mistakes and we’re just trying to clean it up as much as possible so we can be a better version of ourselves than we were in the first two games,” Towns said.
