Game Preview - Maine at Westchester

Game Details: 

Matchup: Maine Celtics (0-1) at Westchester Knicks (1-0) 

Location: Westchester County Center; White Plains, N.Y. 

Tip-off: 3:00 PM EST  

Streaming: NBAGLeague.com 

The Maine Celtics started out strong in the season-opener, but ultimately fell to the Capital City Go-Go in the nation’s capital. Next up; a Sunday matinee with the Westchester Knicks. 

Westchester defeated the defending-champion Delaware Blue Coats on the road by 32 points in its season-opener, with Two-Way guard Duane Washington Jr. dropping 26 points and Brandon Goodwin putting up 25 points and 12 assists to lead the charge. The Knicks scored 66 points in the paint against Delaware while holding the Blue Coats to 35.4% shooting as a team. 

The scoop on Westchester: 

The Knicks received strong contributions from Washington’s fellow Two-Way players, Charlie Brown Jr. and Jacob Toppin. Brown, a four-year G League veteran, spent last season with the Blue Coats. Brown is an energetic defender, strong rebounder for the guard position and a confident shooter from deep – on Jan. 14, 2023 against the Celtics, Brown dropped 26 points on 10-17 from the floor and 4-9 from range. In his pro debut, Toppin finished with nine points, six rebounds and four assists. The rookie forward found ways to impact the game in areas besides scoring despite an inefficient shooting night. 

Veteran talent is a theme throughout the Knicks rotation – Brown, Goodwin, Mamadi Diakite and UMass-Lowell alum Obadiah Noel have years of experience in the G League, and Washington, Isaiah Roby and Dylan Windler are seasoned NBA players. Toppin was the only player in the rotation for game one that hadn’t spent at least a season in the G League. The Knicks have the upper hand in age and experience against a Celtics squad that features six rookies. 

The Celtics bigs again match up well with the opponent, though – Two-Way big Nathan Knight matches up well with Roby, who boasts a similar physical build but lacks the perimeter skills Knight possesses and doesn’t threaten defenses as a spot-up shooter. Kylor Kelley matches up against a 7-footer in Knicks backup center Dmytro Skapintsev, but Kelley’s mobility and athleticism are a notable advantage. The connection Kelley has developed with Maine’s ball-handlers was apparent early in the season-opener; look for that to continue developing throughout the year. 

Three Keys: 

Stay out of foul trouble: Knight was limited to 18 minutes against Capital City due to foul trouble, and Jordan Walsh finished with four fouls himself – partially due to Maine extending the game via free throws in crunch time, but the Celtics still gave the Go-Go 22 free throw attempts. Keep the Knicks off the line and make sure the best group of five is on the floor as much as possible. 

Consistency is key: Maine came out of the gates hot on Friday, making eight of the first 14 3-point attempts. From then onward, the Celtics shot 9-28 from downtown as the Go-Go began to heat up themselves. On the game, Maine shot 40% (17-42) from deep, which is still a great number overall, but bridging the gap between the hot start and cold spell would allow for a more consistent game flow. 

Crash the glass: Having a 7-footer in Kelley, a 6-foot-8 bruiser in Knight and a handful of strong rebounders on the perimeter puts the Celtics in position to win the rebounding battle any given night. Maine collected 16 offensive boards and scored 20 second-chance points last time out. Controlling the offensive glass is an easy way to free up the host of spot-up shooters and intuitive off-ball cutters for clean, comfortable looks.