Two original franchises continue their seventy-two-year-old rivalry when they meet for the first time this season in Boston on Tuesday night. The level hasn’t been the same for last few years, but the New York Knicks would love to steal one from the shaken Boston Celtics in their house and play the spoiler’s role. The Celtics have the talent, better coaching and the home crowd behind them – they just need to go out at prove that they are in a better position right now.
Knicks at Celtics
Spread: Boston -8.5 (-110) at BetDSI Sportsbook
Total: o/u 210.5 points (-110)
The Knicks squander away big lead in home opener
The new star of the franchise is Kristaps Porzingis. The Knicks go as he goes, but even with him playing at a high level, there’s little help from the side. Porzingis scored 21 in the first half of the game versus Detroit, when New York led by 21 in the second quarter before settling for a 13-point lead at halftime. He finished with 33 points, and Enes Kanter added 17 of his own, but it wasn’t enough. The Knicks have once again disappointed fans in Madison Square Garden, introducing them properly in what’s to be a common thing this season – losing.
Blame it on whomever you want, but the offseason moves are quickly backfiring on the Knicks. Starting backcourt is unsurprisingly no good, and they wouldn’t be challenged by the back-ups, as there’s no one who can really play. Sessions was never a shooting threat, and Tim Hardaway Jr. reverted to his old Knicks days, and is yet to see a bad look to launch a shot. Two guards combined to hit only 6 shots out of 24 attempts, and the reserves Jack and Ntilikina didn’t even get in the game. The Knicks coach Hornacek used only 9 players and they ran out of steam by the game’s end, losing all of their lead in the fourth quarter and ultimately the game. It was not all bad, though. Frontcourt did their jobs on the offensive end, being aggressive and getting to the free throw line. The Knicks enjoyed 31-15 disparity from the line and committed just 12 turnovers. They are never going to be a tough defensive team with Porzingis and Kanter protecting the paint, but they did a fair job outside, allowing just 30 percent shooting from the three-point range against the Pistons, who admittedly aren’t the best perimeter shooting team around.
New York doesn’t play again until next Friday, so there’ll be enough time to soften the edges in practice. The new offensive system will need a bit of time, and the Knicks are already ahead of schedule in that department, poor shooting aside. A win in Boston would lift their spirit as well, but it’s not a doom if they lose another, as long as they play competitive ball.
Place: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Date/Time: Tuesday, October 24th, 2017. 7:30 PM ET
TV Coverage: NBCSB, MSG
Boston beats the Sixers for the first win
Nobody panicked in the Celtics organization after the initial two losses. The coaching staff and the players were saying all the right things, remained focused, and understood that the season is not a sprint, but a marathon. Tough schedule and tough luck lead to close defeats to the Cavaliers and the Bucks, but the Celtics calmed any anxious fans with a solid win in Philadelphia on Friday night. It wasn’t a smooth wire-to-wire win, but the Celts can take more positives than negatives out of it.
After a close first half, the Sixers made a push and opened up a 9-point cushion early in the third. The Celtics kept their composure, chipping away from the lead and turning it around completely with a dominant fourth quarter performance. Reserve guards Terry Rozier and Shane Larkin provided a timely punch, scoring 24 points between them, and the starters finished the job. Irving was a high point man with 21 points. He’s still struggling to understand how much do his teammate need him, and his efficiency is still down, but it’s coming along slowly. Horford was much more aggressive, always a nice sign for the Boston fans, but struggled with his shot as well. He connected on only 5-of-16 field goal attempts, and three of those hits were from outside the arc. He finished with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Jaylen Brown has surely been the best Celtics player of the young season, but he had an off game shooting the ball as well. Brown missed all of his 3 free throws and went 4-of-13 from the field. He does make it up with his hustle, rebounding and strong defense, so keep an eye on him.
The Celtics were playing without the usual motor Marcus Smart, on top of Hayward’s and Morris’ being out for longer periods. Smart rested bad ankles, but it’s unclear how long will it take until he returns. He’s questionable to play against the Knicks – since he didn’t do any court practice, it’s more likely he’ll sit again. On Friday, coach Stevens used Aron Baynes as a starter against Embiid, and it worked out in a win. More notably, Al Horford guarded Ben Simmons and it kind of worked out. The Knicks play two bigs, so a repeat starting lineup is likely.
New York Knicks at Boston Celtics Game Trends & Prediction
The New York Knicks have played only two games in Week 1 of the new NBA season and lost both of them. They last played on Saturday, when a loss to Detroit slipped their against the spread record to 0-2. Unlike the first game, when their poor shooting led to an under, this time the total points were eclipsed, so their O/U record stands at one apiece.
The Boston Celtics have lost their first two games straight up, but did manage to cover as a small dog in Cleveland. They finally erased that zero from the win column with a comfortable victory in Philly, again playing as an away underdog. They come into this game well rested, having not played since Friday, and with a positive ATS score of 2-1. Each of the first three games featured both sides shooting rather poorly (and defenses did have a say in it), leading to a 1-2 record against the over/under.
A unique ranking system – AdmiRank helps you understand how good NBA teams are on a scale to 100. It’s still too early to understand the effects of Hayward’s injury, and the Celtics bounced back with a win, so they retain their previous ranking. The Knicks are way below, losing games and playing poorly.
Losing Hayward may have hurt the Celtics chances of contending for the title (or getting to the Finals), but they are still a good team. The Knicks are not on the same level, and the only way they can stay in this game is to shoot a high percentage of tough shots and stop Kyrie Irving. If the first games are any measure, it’s highly unlikely that they can do either, and certainly not both.
The Knicks will be aided by 8.5 points the bookmakers have awarded them for this game, but I don’t find that number scary. The Celtics have been a bit overlooked since the Hayward’s injury and not even having Smart watch from the sideline would justify such a low spread. Go after the home jolly here. The books have done much better job with the total points line, setting it to 210.5. It’s a number to make you want go after the under, but the math doesn’t allow it. My estimations show a fair number of 209, but I do admit that the teams have changed much and that a look at the archives won’t give you more than a blurry image. Still, I’m inclined to pass on any under bets as I’ve seen that Boston games end in under mostly due to a poor shooting that won’t last too long.
My Pick: Boston -8.5 (-110)
Total: (no wager on the total points)
