At Karl-Anthony Towns’ previous stop, the pervasive perception was that the Minnesota roster was created to topple one team, in particular.
“They’re built to beat us,” Nikola Jokic said in May, just before his Nuggets were eliminated by the Timberwolves.
Now, Towns has switched conferences, and so has the Larry O’Brien trophy — transferring from Denver to Boston.
That championship is the backdrop to the Knicks season opener Tuesday night in Boston, where Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Co. will be presented their diamond-laced title rings.
“Good for those guys,” Mikal Bridges said. “But I’m ready to play. Nothing else.”
Conventional wisdom suggests the path to the next NBA Finals will go through the Celtics, and the Knicks, on paper, seem to match up well because of their top-flight wing defenders running counter to Tatum, Brown and Derrick White.
As Jalen Brunson said after the Knicks acquired Bridges and re-signed OG Anunoby, “We’re all chasing Boston.”
But Towns said focusing on one team is too closed-minded.
“For us in Minnesota, we were just building to win a championship. So for us, we can’t just be worried about one team,” Towns said. “We got to be worried about the whole Eastern Conference. For us to accomplish what we want to do and what this city is yearning for us to do, we need to be able to be a team that not just beat Boston but find a way to beat every team in the East. So limiting ourselves and boxing ourselves into a philosophy of beating just one team is not going to get the job done.”
Towns has a point.
The Timberwolves, who emphasized size with one of the NBA’s tallest lineups, eliminated the Nuggets in the second round last season but were bounced by the Mavericks in the Western Conference Final.
They achieved a goal but not the goal.
The Knicks, who haven’t advanced to a conference final since the Clinton administration, aren’t in a position to overlook the Sixers, Cavaliers, Pacers, Bucks, Heat and Magic.
But it’s hard to recite New York’s starting lineup without believing Leon Rose had the Celtics in mind.
The Knicks match up well. Towns’ 3-point shooting can keep Kristaps Porzingis (who is currently injured) away from the basket; Anunoby, Bridges and Josh Hart can switch on either Tatum or Brown without giving up much; Brunson has experienced enough success against Jrue Holiday to feel decent about that head-to-head, especially with Holiday at 34 years old.
The Knicks were overwhelmed last season by the Celtics — going 1-4 with three defeats by double-digits — and have an opportunity for a Day 1 statement with their revamped roster.
“I think it’s a great challenge against a team like that,” Bridges said. “But I feel like they’re motivated. Hearing the coaches and their guys, coming off a championship, I feel like they’re still very motivated. And maybe feel slightly disrespected in a way. So I know they’re ready. And it’s great challenge for us. That plane ride is coming.”
Bridges clarified that his “disrespected” comment was more about the Celtics fighting the perception that championship teams tend to relax immediately after finally winning.
But Boston’s top players have reasons to feel slighted.
Brown was snubbed for a selection on the U.S. Olympic team and blamed it on his beef with Nike.
Tatum was benched for much of the Olympics and returned with a worse reputation despite winning gold.
They are champions but without all the validations.
“I’m extremely motivated for obvious reasons,” Brown said recently, “and I’m ready to get after it.”
So are the Knicks. After all, their roster was built for matchups like Tuesday.
“Just to get the job done,” Towns said. “There’s nothing else to think about but that. So just figuring out how we could put ourselves into winning spots and keep tallying ones on the left side [of our record].”
