Jaylen Brown on if it’s motivating to see the Knicks and Cavs sign guys with the purpose of defending him and Jayson Tatum

Last season, the Knicks found themselves in an awkward position. They finished second place in the Eastern Conference standings behind the Celtics, but it was a distant second.

Boston won 14 more regular-season games than New York, and beat the Knicks four of the five times they met in the regular-season. The Knicks ran out of gas and healthy bodies during the Eastern Conference semifinals against Indiana, losing in seven games.

So, they reloaded. They traded five first-round picks to Brooklyn in exchange for Mikal Bridges, a versatile wing who is a career 37-percent 3-point shooter and was a First Team All-Defensive team selection in 2022. They resigned OG Anunoby to a five-year $212 million contract extension. Then, they acquired Karl-Anthony Towns in a three-team trade that sent Julius Randle and Donte Divincenzo to Minnesota.

The series of moves was designed to bring the Knicks closer to the Celtics’ level, but the Celtics have won all three of their matchups with the Knicks this season, and remain four games in front of third-place New York.

Celtics forward Jaylen Brown said those moves, especially the ones teams have made involving wings such as Bridges in an attempt to match up better with him and Jayson Tatum, have been a source of motivation.

“Absolutely,” Brown said when asked if the moves affected his motivation level.”I don’t think I need to explain why, but it does. So, we’ll be ready. Just the playoffs, we want to be healthy. The Cavs, the Knicks, they’re good teams, so anything can happen. We’ve got to focus on the details, but I’m looking forward to it.”

Cleveland, which holds the NBA’s best record (46-10) and the top spot in the Eastern Conference, traded for 6-foot-8 wing DeAndre Hunter who has averaged 14.8 points per game in his career. He’ll be another scoring threat and lengthy body on defense for Boston to deal with.

Opponents adding pieces to challenge the defending champs is nothing new, Tatum said.

“It’s just the responsibility that you have when you win the championship,” he said. “When the Warriors were going on their run, teams were their team to compete with them. When Denver won the championship, Minnesota built that team to kind of beat Denver.

“So, there is a responsibility that comes with — when you’re the champs and you’re the standard,” he added. “Guys or teams try to build their team to compete with that style of play or whatever it may be.”

The Celtics have the third best record in the NBA. Cleveland and OKC have consistently been at the top of the standings.

The Celtics are 2-1 against Cleveland this season. They lost their first matchup against OKC by 13, and are scheduled for a rematch on March 12.

When they’re at their best, the Celtics are really tough to beat. They’ve been up-and-down, particularly at home. They are focused on bringing the best out of themselves, Tatum said.

“The most important challenge that we have is just focusing on us,” Tatum said. “There’s no guarantee who are are going to play in the playoffs, but we’ll be up for the challenge whoever we play. Our biggest motivation is with ourselves and being the best version of us and trying to get a little bit better every day.”