The Celtics are the better team. They're deeper, they're better defensively, and they're loaded with playoff experience. They expect to go deep in the playoffs again in 2011, and that confidence will take them a long way.

But they can't get overconfident. The Knicks have three proven winners and a few decent role players surrounding the star nucleus, and if the Celtics overlook them, they'll be sorry.

The temptation is there to look ahead to future rounds, where Miami, Chicago and the Lakers may await. But first the Celtics need to focus on dispatching New York in round one.

Here are six ways how.

Don't get caught up in their pace.
When you go up against Amare Stoudemire and Mike D'Antoni, you've got to be quick on your feet. The "seven seconds or less" attack will be in full force against the Celtics. But the C's don't want to get caught up in matching Amare shot for shot — rather, they should look to slow the game down and control the flow. Playoff basketball is a game of superior execution, one possession at a time. The C's are the superior team defensively, and the smarter team on the offensive end. They don't want to get too reckless and lose sight of those advantages.

Everyone must rebound.
One of the Knicks' strengths is that everyone can rebound. It's not just the bigs. For a point guard, Chauncey Billups is one of the best. For a shooting guard, Landry Fields may be the absolute best in the game, right up there with Kobe Bryant. Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony are also solid. The C's need to close out possessions by crashing the boards, and they can't rely on Kevin Garnett and Jermaine O'Neal to do all the work themselves. The effort on the glass will be vital.

Attack Chauncey Billups.
Billups is one of the best. He's a Finals MVP. He's also 34 years old. Rajon Rondo has a tremendous advantage athletically, and he needs to exploit it. Every time Rondo gets a defensive rebound or a steal, he can outrun Billups. Every time Billups is caught off-balance for a millisecond, Rondo can pounce. The Knicks are a young, athletic team for the most part, but point guard is the one exception, and it's the one area where the C's can really push their edge. There's a chance for Rondo to take over this series.

Get Ray Allen going.
Ray's numbers in April have been really underwhelming. In the six games he's played, he's averaged only 11.7 points, on only 8.7 shot attempts per game. He's 7-of-20 from 3-point range, or 35 percent. He's capable of being way better than this, but it's got to be a complete team effort. He needs good screens to get him open, and he needs perfect passes to hit him in the right spots at the right times. Ray's 3-point shooting can be a tremendous difference-maker in this series, but only if his teammates enable him.

Get quality minutes from the bench.
This might be the Celtics' biggest advantage of all. Their bench is way deeper and way better than the Knicks'. Doc Rivers has Glen Davis, Jeff Green and Delonte West at his disposal — D'Antoni has Toney Douglas, Jared Jeffries and Shelden Williams. Remember Shelden Williams? He barely even cracked Doc's rotation in Boston last year. There will be stretches in this series of "second unit versus second unit," and it's imperative that Boston totally dominate these stretches. If they do, it'll translate to wins.

Step up in the fourth quarter.
Once the Knicks send in their crunch-time five for the final minutes, they're capable of beating anyone. Chauncey has ice in his veins, and Carmelo is arguably the game's best closer. The Celtics need perfect execution if the game is close in the late minutes — they can't put themselves in a vulnerable spot for the Knicks' stars to beat one. They need a cohesive team effort on the defensive end, and they can't jack up any "hero ball" shots on offense.

The Celtics got here by being smarter and more composed than anyone else. That's also how they can move on.

The week ahead will be a chance for the C’s to establish some consistency, taking on a familiar batch of Eastern Conference foes. It starts Friday night at Madison Square Garden, where the C’s take on a Knicks team that has a winning record for the first time since Nov. 22, 2008. (They’re 1-0.)

When and Where

Knicks at Celtics
Friday, Oct. 29, 7:30 p.m. (CSNNE)
TD Garden, Boston, Mass.

Head to Head

The Celtics and Knicks are two holdovers from the original NBA, as it was created in 1946, and they’ve been squaring off ever since. The C’s have a 269-170 all-time record against the Knickerbockers; last season, they went 3-1. The one loss came on the road on April 6, in the midst of a late-season funk that threatened to derail the Celtics’ season.

Key Matchup

Kevin Garnett vs. Amare Stoudemire
The Celtics got one look at Amare the Knick this preseason, and they saw the new $100 million man go off for 30 points, aided in no small part by 15 trips to the free-throw line. They also saw KG ejected. Think there’s a connection? The Celtics need KG in the lineup to curb the threat of Amare as an athletic shot-creator and pick-and-roll machine. If KG doesn’t bring his best game defensively, Amare can beat the Celtics by himself.

Starting Lineups

Celtics
Point guard: Rajon Rondo
Shooting guard: Ray Allen
Small forward: Paul Pierce
Power forward: Kevin Garnett
Center: Shaquille O’Neal

Knicks
Point guard: Raymond Felton
Shooting guard: Landry Fields
Small forward: Danilo Gallinari
Power forward: Amare Stoudemire
Center: Timofey Mozgov

Stat Sheet

Celtics

• Kevin Garnett has 25 rebounds in his first two games. He averaged just 7.3 boards per game last season, his lowest output since his rookie year in Minnesota.
• Rajon Rondo played a total of 80 minutes in the C’s first two contents. He’s tied with LeBron James and Brandon Roy for the NBA lead in minutes.
• The Celtics lead the NBA in turnovers with 39.

Knicks

• Amare Stoudemire led the NBA in scoring this preseason with 25.7 points per game.
• Raymond Felton played 17 games against the Celtics as a member of the Charlotte Bobcats. He averaged 12.6 points and 6.4 assists.
• Timofey Mozgov led the Russian national team with 13.0 points per game at this summer’s FIBA World Championships. Russia finished seventh in the event.

Black and Blue

Celtics

• Semih Erden has experienced shoulder soreness recently. He has yet to make his Celtic debut.
• Avery Bradley remains inactive as he struggles back from offseason ankle surgery.
• Kendrick Perkins has a torn ACL and is months away from returning to the Celtics.

Knicks

• Anthony Randolph has a sprained ankle and is expected to miss a week or two.
• Timofey Mozgov is day-to-day with a bruised hip.
• Kelenna Azubuike is recovering from knee surgery and could be out until 2011.

Outlook

The Amare era is underway in New York, and the Knicks suddenly have the potential to be a playoff team. No longer can the Celtics take them lightly. The C’s learned a lesson in Cleveland on Wednesday night — they can’t overlook anyone on any night, because everyone brings their A game to take down the Eastern Conference champions. No more “trap games” — it’s time for the Celtics to bear down and work for their second win of the 2010-11 season.

On Wednesday night, they'll get their first look at each other.

The Celtics travel to Madison Square Garden on Wednesday for their first meeting with the New York Knicks, who spent millions this offseason gutting their roster and rebuilding with title contention in mind. They'll run into a C's team that already knows a thing or two about playing for a championship.

The Celtics will field a starting five on Wednesday night whose youngest member, Rajon Rondo, will turn 25 midway through this season. The other four are on the wrong side of 30. The Knicks counter with a raw five-man unit whose senior citizen, Amare Stoudemire, is 27. Most of Stoudemire's teammates are still too young to rent a car.

The Celtics have run with the same four-man nucleus of Rondo and their veteran Big Three for over three years now, ever since the trade that brought Kevin Garnett to Boston in July 2007. The Knicks have scrapped everything, rebuilding around two new free agents (Stoudemire and Raymond Felton) and an unheralded rookie center out of Russia (Timofey Mozgov).

The Celtics have won two Eastern Conference titles in three years, and they're one of maybe three teams with a legitimate shot to represent the East in the Finals next spring. The Knicks haven't made the playoffs in six years — but they have their sights set on that goal now.

Over the course of this upcoming season, we'll answer a lot of questions about these enigmatic Knicks. How good are they? How big of a step forward can they possibly take after last year's 53-loss abomination? How much better is Stoudemire than David Lee, who was less flashy but gave the Knicks all the energy and rebounding ability they could ever ask for? How ready is Felton to reach the postseason with a second team in a second consecutive season? How strong is this supporting cast?

All this and more, we'll find out in due time.

One way to test these Knicks is to pit them against the Celtics, the three-time defending Atlantic Division champions, and see what they can do. We'll find out how Stoudemire does when matched up with Garnett, the toughest defensive power forward on the planet. We'll get a look at Felton versus Rondo, the masterful on-ball defender. We'll see if Mozgov is up to a matchup with Shaquille O'Neal, who made his NBA debut back when the Russian was six years old.

The Knicks are likely the Celtics' stiffest competition in the division this season. It'll be good for the C's to get a good look, up close and personal, at what they're up against.

The C's are 3-1, having just lost 103-92 to the Sixers for the first blemish on their preseason record. The Knicks are 1-1, with a loss to the Timberwolves and a win over Olimpia Milano, the Italian team for which D'Antoni once played.

Both teams are entering a rough stretch of preseason games — for the Celtics, this game is the third of five over seven days in five different cities, and for the Knicks, this is the first of six contests in 10 days.

Neither side will be at full strength, and neither will be in ideal game shape for the regular season. But both teams will be raring to go for this one nonetheless — it's Boston, it's New York, and it's a great contrast between two of the most intriguing teams in the NBA.