The Boston Celtics are set to take on the New York Knicks in Game 1 of their 2025 NBA Eastern Conference Semifinals second round series against their Atlantic Division rivals on Monday (May 5) evening. What can we expect from this series given how the four tilts both teams played one another in went in the 2024-25 regular season?
Which of the two teams will advance to the Eastern Conference Finals to face the winner of the Cleveland Cavaliers – Indiana Pacers series also about to begin? And how many games will the series end up going before a winner is decided? To get a bead on the answer to these questions and the general contours of the Celtics – Knicks East Semis more generally, the Celtics Wire reached out to some of our other site editors in the NBA Wires network.
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Let’s take a look at what our consensus is about this New York – Boston series, with Game 1 soon to begin.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 08: Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the New York Knicks tries to get past Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics in the first half at Madison Square Garden on April 08, 2025 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
This series between two old Atlantic Division foes deserves to be a better rivalry than it is — and likely will be. The Knicks have come a long way towards returning to relevance after a few abortive stabs in the last decade, and have mostly made good moves and decisions while doing so. But the rest of the NBA never stands still, and doing so in the shadow of the repeating champs might just mean their hopes to advance past the second round will have to wait until the second apron hurts Boston’s roster more than anything New York can cook up.
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This won’t be a walkover of a series by any measure, but it will be a quick one in terms of the number of games with what he Celtics can do (and have done) to the Knicks.
Prediction: Celtics in five.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 08: Derrick White #9 of the Boston Celtics heads for the net as Mikal Bridges #25 of the New York Knicks defends in the fourth quarter at Madison Square Garden on April 08, 2025 in New York City. The Boston Celtics defeated the New York Knicks 119-117 in overtime. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
This will be the East semifinal series that receives all the headlines. The Celtics and Knicks are two historic NBA franchises with some of the largest fan bases. Boston cruised past the Magic sans a hiccup, while the Knicks battled it out against the Pistons in a grueling series.
Give me the Celtics to win this pretty comfortably. New York is 0-10 against the NBA’s best three teams this season. They could put up a fight, but will get gentleman swept.
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Prediction: Celtics in five.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 08: Karl-Anthony Towns #32 of the New York Knicks and Kristaps Porzingis #8 of the Boston Celtics talk in the first half at Madison Square Garden on April 08, 2025 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
This series should be competitive on paper. The Knicks have a playoff superstar in Jalen Brunson and a big man in Karl-Anthony Towns who can do it all on offense. Both are coming off strong performances against the Pistons in Round 1, but I can’t see them doing a thing against the Celtics.
New York couldn’t buy a win against Boston in the regular season, and didn’t look particularly great in any of those matchups. The Knicks barely scraped by a vastly inexperienced Pistons team. Imagine what the Celtics are about to do to them.
Prediction: Celtics in four.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 08: Jayson Tatum #0 of the Boston Celtics tries to keep the ball from Mitchell Robinson #23 of the New York Knicks in the second half at Madison Square Garden on April 08, 2025 in New York City. The Boston Celtics defeated the New York Knicks 119-117. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
This article originally appeared on Celtics Wire: How will the East Semis series between the Celtics and Knicks go?
