The Celtics are in big trouble in this eastern conference semifinals series as they find themselves down 0-2 to the Knicks.

My biggest takeaway out of all of this is Kristaps Porzingis is needed in this series. It’s that simple. When he was on the court, the Celtics’ offense ran more smoothly. KAT was forced to stay out on the perimeter as every Celtics player was a legitimate shooting threat. However, with Luke Kornet in, and Sam Hauser out with an ankle injury, the C’s aren’t going to shoot that well.

That’s not to blame it all on the poor shooting. The 10-for-40 deep shooting the Celtics displayed was similar to game 1 in which they shot 15-for-60. It’s been the shot selection down the stretch that has hurt the Celtics. They’re used to going on strong runs so they’re hoping the shot would fall but it hasn’t.

Jayson Tatum has been absent in this series. He scored just 2 points in the first half and finished 13 and 14 rebounds. He’s been not only settling when forced to do something offensively, but doesn’t look to be completely there energy-wise. Perhaps his wrist is bothering him more in this series.

Credit to the Knicks, they kept the game close and went on runs at the end of quarters. Timely baskets by Mikal Bridges, OG, Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson have put the C’s in trouble. They’ve been pushing the ball up the floor off of long misses. For the Celtics, guys need to either rebound and keep the Knicks in the paint or get back to half court when a 3 ball goes up. Guys are sitting on the perimeter hoping for a second chance 3.

Nobody including myself saw this coming. Not sure what the future holds for the C’s season and moving forward. One thing I do know is game 3 is a must win for Boston.