The Boston Celtics (18-20) play the first game of a back-to-back set with the New York Knicks (18-20) Thursday at Madison Square Garden with a 7:30 p.m. ET tip-off. Below, we look at the Celtics vs. Knicks odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions and bets.
Boston had its two-game win streak snapped Wednesday when the Celtics lost to the San Antonio Spurs 99-97 as 7.5-point favorites.
The Celtics are 2-4 straight-up (SU), 2-4 ATS and 3-3 O/U over the past two weeks with the 19th-ranked non-garbage time net rating at minus-0.1 points per 100 possessions, according to CleaningTheGlass.com (CTG).
New York broke a two-game losing skid Tuesday by defeating the Indiana Pacers 104-94 as a 3.5-point home favorite.
The Knicks are 4-3 SU, 4-3 ATS and 2-5 O/U in the last 14 days with the 16th-ranked non-garbage time net rating at plus-0.7 points per 100 possessions, per CTG.
The Celtics-Knicks are 1-1 in two meetings this season with the home team winning and covering both games and the Over cashing in each contest.
Celtics at Knicks odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated at 12:50 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Celtics -125 (bet $125 to win $100) | Knicks +102 (bet $100 to win $102)
- Against the spread (ATS): Celtics -1.5 (-115) | Knicks +1.5 (-107)
- Over/Under (O/U): 207.5 (O: -107 | U: -115)
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Celtics at Knicks key injuries
Celtics
- None.
Knicks
- C Nerlens Noel (reconditioning) questionable
- PG Kemba Walker (knee) out
- PG Derrick Rose (ankle) out
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Celtics at Knicks odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Knicks 108, Celtics 101
Money line
BET the KNICKS (+102) because I think homecourt makes the difference between these otherwise similar teams.
New York’s defensive efficiency has regressed year-over-year but the Knicks still do a good job of defending what the Celtics do frequently, which is mid-range shooting.
Boston’s All-Star wings Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown like to operate in the mid-range and in isolation, but New York has the third-best defensive field goal percentage versus mid-range jumpers, per CTG.
The Knicks are also much deeper or at least get a lot more production from their bench, and typically role players perform better at home.
New York’s bench scores fifth-most points per game (38.1 PPG) and has the second-best plus/minus whereas Boston’s bench scores third-fewest PPG.
Finally, there’s a line freeze in the betting market as roughly 70% of the money is on the Celtics but the line hasn’t budged off the opener according to Pregame.com. It seems like oddsmakers are comfortable with taking more pro-Boston bets.
BET the KNICKS (+102).
Against the spread
PASS unless New York’s spread goes north of +2.5 then I’d sprinkle the Knicks outright and bet New York plus the points heavier.
However, at the current number, the Knicks +1.5 (-107) just doesn’t provide enough insurance for our money line wager.
Over/Under
PASS with a slight “lean” to the Over 207.5 (-107) as a fade of the extreme line movement with this total. The Celtics-Knicks look-ahead total was set at 212 and has already been steamed way down.
The sharp money is apparently hitting the Under 207.5 (-115) but I don’t like either side of the total enough to wager on it.
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