-
Jeremy Perry
Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks Prediction, NBA Odds
Boston ended their pre-season with an embarrassing 21-point loss to the Miami Heat, while the Knicks squeaked out a two point victory over the Washington Wizards. Will the Celtics new head coach, Ime Udoka, grab his first career win with Boston, or will the Knicks spoil his debut?
New York is a 2-point favourite to win on the NBA odds, with a total of 216.5.
Celtics vs. Knicks NBA Betting Odds
The Celtics are 8-2 straight up in their last 10 games played on the road against the Knicks and 7-3 against the spread in those same games. The under really seemed to be consistent between these two teams the last couple of years. It has cashed out seven times in their last 10 meetings.
On the other hand, the Knicks have split their last 10 games ATS dating back to last year, going just 5-5 in that span. New York has a 20-8 record in their last 28 when entering the game as the favourite in the contest like they are here.
Boston Celtics
The Celtics could be a pleasant surprise this season after a somewhat successful off-season that mostly flew under the radar. They grabbed Al Horford (once again) to try to get their defensive pressure back and nabbed Dennis Schroder for pennies on the dollar after he turned down a massive deal from the Los Angeles Lakers.
That duo should give the superstar duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown some much needed help in this game as they work to pick up their first win. Tatum is probably going to be the X-factor, coming off a season where he averaged 26 points, seven rebounds and four assists per game. The main question for the Celtics is, have they replenished the depth?
New York Knicks
The Knicks are coming off one of their best seasons in quite a long time. They made a playoff appearance and there is genuine optimism for the future for the first time in a while. It wasn’t a superstar filled off-season but they grabbed Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier at reasonable prices to improve their already playoff-caliber roster. Julius Randle and RJ Barrett are both expected to take another leap in their development this year and, of course, having Derrick Rose as a sixth man always provides a scoring punch.
New York will be without sharpshooter Reggie Bullock after he left in free agency but Walker and Fournier are more than enough scoring to fill the gap left behind. New York was known to be stellar defensively last season. It will be interesting to see how they fare with more offensive minded players. If Walker gives this team some pop offensively, they might be one of the top teams in the East.