The playoff series many NBA fans expected to see last season will tip off Monday night at TD Garden:

Celtics-Knicks, meeting in the postseason for the first time since 2013.

“It’s a great stage for basketball,” Jaylen Brown said Saturday as the defending champion C’s prepared for the Eastern Conference semifinals. “… Boston versus New York, you don’t get too much better than that.”

Indeed. Here’s a closer look at what to expect in this rivalry renewal:

Celtics offense vs. Knicks defense

After slugging its way through five games against the Orlando Magic’s elite, hyper-physical defense, the Celtics’ offense now faces a much more favorable second-round matchup. The Knicks’ D was respectable during the regular season (13th in defensive rating) but was shredded in four games against Boston, allowing 132, 131, 118 and 119 points.

Despite seemingly constructing their roster with the specific goal of limiting the Celtics’ superstar wings, the Knicks had no answer for Jayson Tatum, who averaged 33.5 points per game across the four meetings while shooting 53.5% from the field and 47.8% from 3-point range. Tatum especially tormented Mikal Bridges, whom New York traded five first-round draft picks to acquire last offseason, going 13-for-19 and 4-for-7 from three when matched up against the defensive-minded veteran, per NBA player tracking.

The Celtics averaged 1.33 points per possession when Tatum was defended by Bridges. OG Anunoby split that assignment and had more success against the Celtics star, holding him to 4-for-16 and 3-for-12 shooting and Boston to 1.03 points per possession.

Tatum has been on a tear since returning from the wrist injury he suffered in Boston’s postseason opener, averaging 36.0-10.3-5.7 over his last three games while shooting 44.0% from deep and making all 37 of his free throws.

The matchup to watch, though, doesn’t involve Bridges, Anunoby or Josh Hart. The primary goal of Boston’s “killer whale” offense likely will be frequently targeting Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns, who aren’t nearly as formidable defensively as they are at the offensive end.

Overall, the Celtics’ plan to dissect the Knicks — which included the liberal use of Tatum pick-and-rolls aimed at exploiting Towns’ defensive shortcomings — worked wonderfully during the regular season. Boston’s 130.2 offensive rating against Tom Thibodeau’s squad was seven points better than any other Knicks opponent.

The C’s also should be able to return to their preferred 3-point-heavy approach after Orlando largely neutralized that in Round 1. They averaged 48.3 3-point attempts per game against the Knicks this season and made 43.5% of them.

Celtics defense vs. Knicks offense

Brunson is an elite three-level scorer and a foul-drawing master. Towns is one of the smoothest-shooting big men in recent NBA history.

With those two likely All-NBA selections driving the bus, the Knicks posted the NBA’s fifth-best offensive rating this season, trailing only Cleveland, Boston, Oklahoma City and Denver.

Brunson was the NBA’s Clutch Player of the Year this season and proved why in the first round, burying a series-winning 3-pointer to cap a 40-point performance in Game 6 against Detroit. Only Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo has averaged more points per game in these playoffs than Brunson’s 31.5.

Jrue Holiday, Derrick White and Brown all spent ample time defending Brunson this season, and that joint effort should continue in this series, assuming Holiday is healthy enough to play (more on that below).

The Knicks’ point guard is a high-level shot-maker, but one key to limiting his impact — one that Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla repeatedly emphasized this week — is keeping him off the foul line. Antetokounmpo was the only player who drew more fouls per game than Brunson, both this season since the playoffs began, and Boston committed the second-fewest fouls per game.

Towns’ performance was a bellwether for New York against Boston this season. In the teams’ first two meetings, the former Minnesota Timberwolf scored 21 total points, and the Knicks were blown out by 20-plus in both. In the third, he racked up 19 points after halftime, and New York got to within four points in the fourth quarter before fading late. In the final regular-season clash, Towns had 34 points and 14 rebounds, and Boston won 119-117 in overtime.

Tatum was the Celtics’ primary Towns defender, with the 6-foot-4 Holiday logging the second-most matchup time against the 7-footer, per NBA player tracking. Boston rarely defended Towns with its own top big, Kristaps Porzingis, but that will be a matchup to watch if the two clash inside.

Porzingis had an inconsistent first-round series and an especially difficult time against Magic star Franz Wagner. He defended Wagner for just eight minutes across the five games, per NBA player tracking, but Wagner went 17-for-24 (70.8%) from two-point range on those possessions and scored 43 points.

Health report

The biggest injury-related question mark for Boston is Holiday’s status. He missed the final three games of the Orlando series with a hamstring strain, and the timetable for his return is unclear. Mazzulla said Holiday is “day to day” and improving, and the 34-year-old participated in Saturday’s practice. Expect de facto sixth starter Al Horford to slot into the lineup for Game 1 if Holiday is unavailable.

Brown (knee) and Tatum (wrist) also played through injuries in the first round. Fortunately for the Celtics, their five-game series closeout gave them five days off before the conference semifinals begin.

The Knicks enter the series at full strength — a stark departure from last postseason, when they lost a slew of key players en route to a second-round exit — but Brunson’s right ankle will be worth monitoring. A late-season sprain caused him to miss most of March, and another ankle injury briefly sent him to the sideline in New York’s Game 5 loss to Detroit.

Boston was at full strength for just one of the teams’ four regular-season matchups. Porzingis missed the first two, Holiday missed the second and Brown was heavily limited in the fourth.

Celtics X-factor

Holiday. The Celtics won’t designate one specific player to guard Brunson or Towns, but Holiday — one of the NBA’s most versatile defenders — will be a key cog in both of those efforts if he’s able to go.

Knicks X-factor

Mitchell Robinson. The center missed the first three Celtics-Knicks matchups but was effective in the fourth, blocking two shots and grabbing four offensive rebounds in 15 minutes. Thibodeau leans heavily on his starters, especially in the playoffs (all five averaged at least 37 minutes per game against Detroit), but Robinson can add a different element with his rim protection and presence on the offensive glass. He’s a horrid free-throw shooter, however (26.7% so far this postseason; 52.2% for his career), which Boston could exploit when he’s on the floor.

Did you know?

The Celtics weren’t the only top-tier team to give the Knicks problems. New York, which finished with the NBA’s fifth-best record, went 1-11 against the four teams ahead of them, including 0-10 against the top three championship contenders (Oklahoma City, Boston and Cleveland).

Prediction

Celtics in five.