To better understand how Karl-Anthony Towns’ trade might impact the Celtics’ defense, let’s revisit the last time the Knicks came to Boston. In April, the Celtics employed two schemes to (try to) stop Jalen Brunson’s heliocentric offense.
Roaming
The first scheme aimed to keep Kristaps Porzingis near the rim by ignoring a non-shooter on the Knicks. If Kristaps Porzingis’ matchup set the screen, this turn into drop coverage. With Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson as the centers, this was a simple scheme in theory — both are non-shooters who could be disregarded beyond the three-point line.