A Mountaineer matchup is on the horizon in the NBA.
The New York Knicks and Boston Celtics both won the fourth game of their series on Sunday, putting each up 3-1 in the series. The Celtics, helmed by Joe Mazzulla, will head back to Boston on Tuesday in efforts of knocking out the Orlando Magic just one hour after the Knicks, led in part by guard Deuce McBride, will look to do the same to the Detroit Pistons in Madison Square Garden.
Mazzulla and McBride’s matchup would be the first between the former Mountaineer guards. Last season, McBride’s Knicks fell one win shy of taking on Boston in the second round. Mazzulla’s squad would go on to win the NBA Championship, making Mazzulla the youngest head coach to do so since 1970.
On the court, Mazzulla’s Celtics are the third highest scoring team in the postseason thus far, despite a drastic decrease in three-point production. In the regular season, distance shooting became Boston’s identity, averaging 17.8 made threes per game on 48.2 attempts on average. Against Orlando, the Celtics are down to 11.5 makes on 33 attempts per game, putting them at 11th among postseason teams in makes.
McBride has seen his role fluctuate against Detroit, with fellow bench guard Cameron Payne taking the spotlight from him in Game 1 and star Jalen Brunson’s Game 4 injury putting McBride in the driver’s seat temporarily. Brunson quickly returned to finish with 32 points in the one-point win.
Overall, McBride is averaging 14 minutes per game in the postseason, which is significantly down from his 24.9 minutes per game in the regular season. In his limited role, he has still made significant contributions scoring eight points on 3-for-7 shooting from the field and 2-for-4 shooting from three in a Game 2 loss. He will look to make a similarly efficient impact on Tuesday night to advance out of the first round.
Miles McBride’s New York Knicks tip off against the Detroit Pistons at 7:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday before Joe Mazzulla’s Boston Celtics do the same against the Orlando Magic at 8:30 p.m. ET. Wins for both teams will set up the former Mountaineers for a second round playoff series.
