A year ago, the New York Knicks weren’t in a very favorable position while the Celtics had clawed themselves to the NBA Finals behind Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Boston was one game away from making it back to the Finals for a second straight year, but the Celtics collapsed after winning three straight games to tie the series at 3-3.
Before the start of the 2022-23 season, Ime Udoka was suspended for the entirety of the season for “multiple violations of team policies.” Joe Mazzulla stepped in as the interim head coach and was named head coach at the start of All-Star break when the Celtics sat in first place in the East with a 42-17 record.