Knicks vs. Celtics, Game 2: Things to watch

Ronny Turiaf, who will start in Game 2 for the Knicks, held Kevin Garnett to 4-of-12 shooting in Turiafs 29 minutes on Sunday. (Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)

Game 2 in Boston might not be a must-win for the Knicks, but another loss would put them in a hole few escape.  Here are a few things I’ll be watching for Tuesday night:

• The Ronny Turiaf/Shawne Williams trade-off

The Knicks have only one reliable big man in Amar’e Stoudemire, and he has not fared well guarding Kevin Garnett. That presents coach Mike D’Antoni with an interesting dilemma. Turiaf, who will start, gave the Knicks fantastic defense in Game 1. He defended Garnett for almost all of his 29 minutes on the floor, holding the Celtics’ power forward to 4-of-12 shooting in that time and sparing Stoudemire the burden of defending KG. Turiaf was an active cutter on offense, but that does not change the fact that he is a liability on that end.

As Gian Casimiro demonstrates wonderfully via video, the Celtics’ big men, particularly Jermaine O’Neal, helped liberally off Turiaf to the point that New York was almost playing 4-on-5 with Turiaf on the floor. When Carmelo Anthony got the ball near the elbow, Turiaf’s guy would sometimes leave Turiaf and creep over to ‘Melo’s side of the floor, deterring a possible drive. And when the Knicks ran a pick-and-roll with Amar’e, Turiaf’s man darted over to cut off Stoudemire’s roll without worrying about the consequences.

The Knicks burned Boston a couple of times by hitting Turiaf with quick passes, but the Celtics are tough to score on when you let them play this way.

The obvious alternative is to use Williams, a capable three-point shooter, especially from the corners. But Williams does not have Turiaf’s bulk or shot-blocking ability, and playing him and Stoudemire together opens things up in the post for Garnett and Glen Davis. (And, man, does Glen Davis ever need to get going in the post.) Jared Jeffries and Shelden Williams are also options, but Boston will treat them as it did Turiaf.

•Toney Douglas, New York’s backcourt and Rondo’s defense 

As SI.com’s Chris Mannix points out, Tuesday will be a big night for Douglas, who will almost certainly start at point guard in place of the injured Chauncey Billups (knee strain). Douglas and Billups are very different players on both ends, but the focus here will be defense, since D’Antoni’s core strategy against Boston has long been to have his point guard play several feet off Rajon Rondo in order to muck up Boston’s spacing.

Billups is an ideal fit for that kind of style; he’s bigger than Rondo and much slower, and he can be a savvy helper in passing lanes. Douglas doesn’t fit quite the same way. He’s 6-foot-2, just a tad taller than Rondo, and he thrives as a defender because of his quickness, his willingness to get chest-to-chest with point guards, his ability to chase them over screens and the (sometimes dangerous) chances he takes in passing lanes.

Douglas is capable of defending Rondo the same way Billups did, but he may not be as effective. I wouldn’t be surprised if D’Antoni has Douglas guard Ray Allen for stretches and gives a piece of the Rondo assignment to Landry Fields and Jeffries. Fields did a nice job chasing Allen around in Game 1, but he should also be able to duplicate Billups’ defense against Rondo.

• Countering the anti-Rondo defense

Boston is well-versed handling this style of defense, but it has never figured out a way to score consistently against it in the half-court. Look for coach Doc Rivers to encourage his team to push the pace, and for Boston to run more Rondo/Paul Pierce pick-and-roll plays designed to force switches.

Rondo was very active all over the place in Game 1, and he’ll have to make himself an available target off-the-ball if the Knicks ignore him. He likes to lurk for passes around the baseline, and if the Celtics find him there, he must be a willing shooter. And it would really help the C’s if Rondo could out-shoot Shaq’s career mark from the foul line.

• Boston’s rebounding

The Celtics this season put up one of the lowest offensive rebounding rates in league history, but against the Knicks, they often turn into an offensive rebounding machine. Boston grabbed a whopping 42 percent of its misses in Game 1, a number that would have led the league by a long shot. The Celtics will need those extra chances again if their offense sputters as it did on Sunday. The Knicks have to protect the glass.

• Who, if anyone, should isolate?

Stoudemire ate up Garnett off the dribble in Game 1. He looks to be a better isolation option than Anthony, who too often settles for long jumpers and had some trouble getting good looks against Pierce. If Stoudemire has more success against Garnett on Tuesday, it will be interesting to see if the Celtics send help — and how aggressively they send it.

In general, Anthony and Stoudemire did a good job running the offense and playing off each other for the first 40-plus minutes of Game 1. The Knicks didn’t run anything complicated, but they had Stoudemire repeatedly set back screens for Anthony near the foul line, freeing him up to cut toward the hoop (or the corner) while Amar’e popped out above the elbow. They also ran one of their favorite sets: One of the stars cuts down the lane after setting a quick screen, forcing multiple defenders to sag in, and the other curls around from the corner toward the open area above the foul line.

Again: This is simple stuff, but it gets the defense moving in ways that create open spaces on the floor. New York is very dangerous when it plays this way.