BOSTON — Bring on the Celtics!
Amar’e Stoudemire believes the Celtics — not the dreamers from Miami — are the team to beat in the East and didn’t discount a Knicks victory tonight on the parquet.
The 1-0 Knicks go from facing arguably the East’s worst team (Toronto) to arguably the East’s best at the new Boston Garden.
“We’ll see how we match up with them [tonight],” Stoudemire said. “We’re trying to make our mark. It will be a great matchup. We know what kind of team Boston is, [but] we got a chance to win.”
If Stoudemire steers the Knicks to the eighth playoff seed, he expects the Celtics waiting for them as the East’s top dog.
“Absolutely, for the simple fact they were in the Finals last year,” said Stoudemire when asked if the Celtics were the team to beat in the East. “You can’t undercut that. And they got stonger. They got better.”
The Knicks pulled out a road victory Wednesday on a giddy opening night in Toronto, edging the Raptors, 98-93, holding them to 38 percent shooting. But the Raptors may own the East’s least-imposing attack.
The Knicks could get humbled in their season debut on US soil, which leaks into tomorrow’s Garden home opener against Portland.
“Boston is good, man,” Stoudemire said. “They got All-Star-caliber players at every position in their starting lineup. They’re a team to be reckoned with and Coach [Doc] Rivers is a great coach.”
Stoudemire’s arrival gives the Knicks hope they can restore the rivalry with Boston. Stoudemire enjoyed an intense rivalry in Phoenix with the Lakers. The Knicks and Celtics still dislike each other, but the Knicks have to be respectable for it to matter.
Stoudemire said yesterday he left the Suns mostly because he didn’t see a franchise committed to restocking for a championship, since some of their standouts were aging.
“From my standpoint, it was longevity, being able to build a team for a championship,” Stoudemire said. “That was my goal in Phoenix. I knew Steve [Nash] had two, three years. Grant Hill one, two years.
“I wanted to make sure we were looking forward to the future to bring other star players to help win a championship. I felt like it wasn’t going to happen in that situation. I wanted to go to a team that’s willing to build a championship-quality team.”
The Knicks captured the opener with Stoudemire often bottled up. He still lifted the club with a fourth-quarter flurry and finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Coach Mike D’Antoni said Stoudemire will need to adjust to the defenses now keying on him.
” I don’t think I’m going to face a 1-on-1 all year,” Stoudemire said. “I have to be a good facillitator. Become a playmaker.”
Stoudemire did not force the issue Wednesday when the Raptors sent two, three defenders at him.
“When he started to make a move, they converged,” said D’Antoni. “That’s something he’ll have to be ready to deal with. When they converge you got to pass it. He’ll get better at it and trust his teammates.”
When Stoudemire dominated preseason, teams did not show their real defense.
“Now when they prepare, they’ll have his name on the first 10 items,” D’Antoni said. “It was the same in Phoenix, but Steve had the ball. It’s different. He’ll have to adjust.”
The Celtics dominated the Heat in Tuesday’s opening night but they suffered a stunning loss to the LeBron James-less Cavaliers Wednesday.
“They’ll be ticked off because they got beat the other night,” D’Antoni said. “It’s a good early test for us.”
Wilson Chandler excelled as sixth man (team-high 22 points), rookie Landry Fields flourished as starting shooting guard and backup center Ronny Turiaf infused the club with energy, blocks and rebounds.
But tonight they’ll need perfection, need struggling Danilo Gallinari to get off and more from Russian rookie center Timofey Mozgov, whose NBA debut became a foul-plagued, scoreless, eight-minute disaster.
Now Mozgov gets Shaquille O’Neal — the new Big Shamrock and “Other Green Monster.” And Stoudemire gets Kevin Garnett.
“It’s always fun to play the best,” Stoudemire said.