Game Preview - Maine vs. Westchester - March 21, 2024

Game details:                       

Matchup: Maine Celtics (18-12) vs. Westchester Knicks (9-20) 

Location: Portland Expo; Portland, Maine   

Tipoff: 7:00 PM EST                       

Streaming: NBC Sports Boston, ESPN+ 

The Maine Celtics face the Westchester Knicks for their final home game of the regular season – but if all goes well, tonight won’t be the last chance for fans to catch the Celtics at the Portland Expo this year. 

Maine finishes the year on a three-game road trip, but currently sit in prime position to earn a home playoff game. Maine can clinch a playoff spot tonight with a win AND losses from both Motor City and Cleveland. As of today, the Celtics are in second place, which would also earn them a first-round bye on top of the second-round home game. A win tonight over a Westchester team that Maine beat by 30 just a few weeks ago would go a long way towards securing a top seed in the Eastern Conference. 

Breaking down the Knicks: 

The Knicks are among the bottom-10 teams in offense and bottom-five in defense – as a result, they are the last-place team in the East and have the third-fewest wins in the entire G League, ahead of only Iowa and Ignite. Westchester is also rounding out an eight-game road trip that began with the loss in Maine way back on Feb. 25 – the Knicks have gone 3-5 on the trip, which saw them essentially traverse the North American continent over the last month. 

The Knicks have a mixture of statistical deficiencies that tie into their 9-20 record. Despite boasting fourth-lowest true shooting percentage and worst field goal percentage in the league, Westchester takes good shots – the Knicks are second in the league in field goal attempts at the rim (39.5) per game and they take the second-most threes (41.3), they just shoot them at a very low clip considering the volume. The only players currently on the Knicks’ roster that shoot above the league-average from deep: Jaylen Martin (40.4%) and Duane Washington Jr. (38.1%). 

Here's some good news for Maine; DaQuan Jefferies, who also missed the last matchup between the Celtics and Knicks, is currently on a 10-Day with New York and not a part of the Westchester roster. Mamadi Diakite is on a 10-Day with the big club as well, stripping the Knicks of some key pieces as they close out a near-month-long road trip.  

Keys to the game: 

Second chances: The Celtics are the #2 offensive rebounding team in league – meanwhile, the Knicks allow 15.9 opponent second-chance points per game. That’s a good matchup for Maine, which has a notable size advantage and is far better finishing at the rim. 

End on a high note: Everyone wants to end things the right way – of course, the Celtics have a strong chance at earning a home playoff game as things stand, but closing out the regular-season home schedule with a win is always the preference.