7 Takeaways from New York Knicks' Christmas Day Win over Boston Celtics

The New York Knicks ended an eight-game losing streak to the Boston Celtics with a 106-104 win today. Both teams led by double digits in the second half, but the matchup was not over until Kevin Garnett missed a jumper at the buzzer.

Even with Paul Pierce on the bench with a sore heel, the Knicks played a competitive, resilient Celtics team that is sure to be competing in the playoffs come May.

Here are seven notes to take away from the Knicks victory this afternoon.

Melo's Team

There is no 1A and 1B on the Knicks. Carmelo Anthony has solidified himself as the team's first offensive option with 37 points today (20 in the fourth quarter and eight of the Knicks' last nine) to go along with eight rebounds.

Melo's plus-minus of 15 was also the best for any player on the court, in part because he was essentially unguardable.

What To Take Away

The Knicks' awkward transition period near the end of last season when Melo came aboard is clearly over, with defined roles now set. Although the Knicks have some new pieces, the Knicks seem organized for a solid run, mainly because they have a superstar who will make a case this season to be called a top-five NBA player.

Melo is the man in crunch time. STAT will do his thing and be a threat from the outside or inside. Everyone else will either assume their main roles to hustle and play serious D, or chill out from the outside and wait for the shot following a kickout.

Amar'e Taking Threes as a Stretch 4

Amar'e Stoudemire wasn't exaggerating when he called himself a "stretch four" in a preseason television interview that aired on MSG Network. STAT hit both his three-pointer attempts today, energizing a hot MSG crowd and proving that this weapon could be a key component of the Knicks' arsenal down the line.

Stoudemire will keep receiving those open looks, but furthermore, did you notice how much they swung momentum in the Knicks' favor? Unless STAT posterized Garnett during the game or hit a buzzer beater, it's hard to see what Stoudemire could have done more to fire up the fans. Keep an eye on this shot going forward.

What To Take Away

Great, Stoudemire showed he can stick the three-pointer, but the fact that he tried those shots symbolized a new Amar'e. He clearly played second fiddle to Carmelo today, even taking fewer shots than Iman Shumpert.

Put it this way: I don't know if the Knicks are going to contend for the title if Amar'e is averaging 21 and six (his numbers today). He needs to be involved more than he was today, but that's not really his fault...

Backcourt Woes

Toney Douglas took the most shots for the Knicks today (19). Iman Shumpert was third with 13. Combined, they shot 11-of-32, and neither had a chance to stop Rajon Rondo (31 points, 13 assists, five rebounds, five steals), who just played the game of his life. No other words are needed to explain that performance.

Furthermore, part of the reason the Knicks gave up a 12-point lead was due to the matador offense, where a typical possession involved one person holding the ball for more than 10 seconds and the sequence ending with either a rushed shot or turnover. The game snowballed from there, leading to the Celtics' 35-17 third-quarter advantage.

What To Take Away

Hard not to love the energy Douglas and Shumpert bring to the table, but it's now very hard not to see Baron Davis leading this team in the playoffs as long as he's healthy. Douglas and Shumpert are more well-suited as bench scorers and energy guys, especially come playoff time when everyone's legs are going to be dead tired following a grueling 66-game schedule.

However, and this is partially the reason why Stoudemire's relatively quiet game isn't a huge deal, none of these guys have developed chemistry with him just yet. When MSG fans were chanting Amar'e's name for MVP last year, it was in large part to since-departed point guard Raymond Felton's ability to find Stoudemire in the best spots on the court, specifically after a pick and roll. That chemistry took a few weeks to develop; will a guard step up in Felton's place?

Next Man Up

According to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News, Jared Jeffries is out for one to two weeks (he hurt his right calf), and Iman Shumpert will be sidelined for two to four weeks following injuries sustained today. Alan Hahn of Newsday reports that Shumpert has a sprained MCL.

Jeffries' minutes will be replaced by a mixture of Josh Harrellson and Renaldo Balkman. Both have excellent motors but do not have Jeffries' length and, therefore, defensive versatility.

While Mike Bibby will now back up Toney Douglas at point guard (he sat out today with back spasms), the Knicks will need to find someone to fill minutes at shooting guard. That someone will be Bill Walker, who finished today with four fouls, three turnovers and a missed three-pointer in 15 minutes. Yikes.

What To Take Away

Expect the Knicks to come out unscathed in Jeffries' absence. Harrellson and Balkman will find ways to raise hell, and the former can even stick the corner three-pointer.

However, Shumpert could be a bigger loss. The veteran Bibby will be more offensively efficient, but he'll have difficulties guarding the team's opposing point guard. Furthermore, Walker just looked lost today, though he's been out with a strained groin and is presumably still trying to find his stride.

Bassmaster Classic

No Shaq. No Kendrick Perkins. No problem?

Brandon Bass rudely introduced himself to New York today. First, Bass and Rajon Rondo looked like they played with each other for 10 years as opposed to less than a month. That's mainly because Rondo just played the game of his life and found open men in dire situations (Rondo's behind-the-back pass to Bass in the frontcourt wasn't fair, at all).

Secondly, Bass nearly posted more offensive rebounds (five) than the entire Knicks team (eight). Behind Rondo and Carmelo Anthony, he was the third-best player on the floor. The Knicks need to do much better on the boards; it was a thorn in their side during their eight games against the Celtics last year and it nearly led to their downfall today.

What To Take Away

If Kevin Garnett needs to rest during this truncated, rushed NBA schedule, the Celtics may not miss a beat with Bass starting. The Atlantic Division title between the Knicks and Celtics will probably go to the last week.

Smarter, More Efficient Offense

Who else used to grimace after the Knicks finished a game going 10-for-39 from three-point range last season, or some other ridiculous percentage? The Knicks wheeled and dealed far too often last year, leading to a hit-or-miss offense that led to a hit-or-miss, average season.

Today, the Knicks shot "only" 20 three-pointers (how did the C's only take five?), and while their offensive efforts stagnated at times, they took many smart shots and weren't looking to knock down threes on every possession. Take out Iman Shumpert's ugly numbers (the rookie went 3-for-13, but if he knocks down some of those close-range bunnies his night is a different story), and the Knicks went 32-for-61 from the field.

What To Take Away

Any Knicks fan will sign up for the performance they saw tonight. The Knicks scored 106 points without sprinting down the floor on every possession. Yes, that was largely due to another excellent Carmelo Anthony performance, but the Knicks are just playing smarter ball than last year.

Ruthless Aggression

Let's be frank: This is a completely different game if the Truth, who has simply been a Knicks killer in recent seasons, steps on the court. It's also a different game if Baron Davis is manning the point, but nonetheless, the Celtics sorely missed his presence.

However, the emotion shown by both teams today means that Paul Pierce's December 2010 statement, where he claimed that Celtics-Knicks was not a rivalry, may prove to be false, mainly because the Knicks now have a large number of aggressive, hungry players.

Here's a comparison of last season's opening Celtics-Knicks game and this year's.

Knicks Rotation in 2010:

Starters: Amar'e Stoudemire, Timofey Mozgov, Danilo Gallinari, Landry Fields, Raymond Felton. Bench: Roger Mason, Ronny Turiaf, Toney Douglas, Bill Walker, Wilson Chandler.

Knicks Rotation in 2011:

Starters: Stoudemire, Fields, Carmelo Anthony, Douglas, Tyson Chandler. Bench: Iman Shumpert, Josh Harrellson, Bill Walker, Jared Jeffries, Renaldo Balkman.

What To Take Away

Note the infusion of energy and adherence to defense players like Tyson Chandler, Shumpert, Harrellson, Balkman and Jeffries bring to the table now.

As said before, Knicks-Celtics is going to be a fight to the finish, and that's the biggest takeaway from today's game.