Will the Celtics even the series?
What is going on in the East? After the Cavs, the Boston Celtics also lost their Game 1 at home against the New York Knicks. Based on the odds for Celtics vs. Knicks, this was even more of a surprise. Will this repeat itself in our Boston vs. New York prediction for Game 2?
Hard to imagine. In Game 1, the Celtics reached overtime despite only hitting 25% of their three-pointers. A figure they exceed in 99% of their games. We expect this to happen again on Wednesday and therefore see Boston as the clear favorites.
However, it was noticeable that, as so often in these playoffs, this matchup was once again a defensive battle. We expect the same in Game 2, which could lead to low scoring and make it difficult to predict the winning margin for Celtics vs. Knicks.
However, we expect a clear win for the home team, who should be able to get OG Anunoby under control much better. Their defense won’t surprise them again, and the Knicks are likely to struggle to break the 100-point mark.
Boston Celtics – Statistics & current form
Shit happens! That’s how the headline should read from the Celtics’ perspective for Game 1. However, they shouldn’t get too worked up, because it took a disastrous day for their shooting percentage to lose this home game.
While they hit 36.8% of their three-point attempts over the season, on Monday they only managed 25.0%. Only 15 of 60 attempts found their way into the basket from outside. Even their incredible 19 offensive rebounds didn’t help much. The overall field goal percentage of 35.1% wasn’t much better either.
Nervousness must be put aside
It almost seemed as if the Celtics were getting nervous towards the end of the game because they wanted to win Game 1 at all costs. Their two stars, Tatum and Brown, were particularly ice-cold from outside, hitting only 4/15 and 1/10 of their shots respectively.
That should change in Game 2, where the start of the game will now be crucial. If the first shots go in, we’ll see a different picture than in Game 1. Boston could then end up winning by well over ten points.
Celtics tips are a good bet
The scheduled handicap of -10.5 is very high, but still playable. Nevertheless, it is not our number one tip. For Boston vs. New York, we are betting on under 209 total points. In Game 1, only 200 points were scored (without overtime), and the Celtics’ defense is likely to step it up a notch now.
This means that the odds for under 100.5 points for New York should also be added to the Celtics vs. Knicks betting slip. We don’t expect them to score more points than in Game 1, and we don’t see another overtime period happening here either.
There is still a small question mark over the availability of Kristaps Porzingis, who was only able to play for just under 13 minutes in Game 1. Without him, the under points tip remains unchanged, but the handicap tip should be set a few points lower.
Key Players:
- PG: Jrue Holiday
- SG: Derrick White
- SF: Jaylen Brown
- PF: Jayson Tatum
- C: Kristaps Porzingis
New York Knicks – Statistics & current form
“Knicks” was the name of the game for the Celtics on Monday in Game 1 of the series. The Celtics regularly found themselves struggling against Jalen Brunson and, surprisingly, OG Anunoby. Few would have expected Anunoby to deliver his best playoff performance in Boston of all places.
Incidentally, his over/under for Game 2 is still only 16.5, which makes Anunoby over 16.5 another top option for Celtics vs. Knicks. We would be less inclined to bet on Brunson scoring in the upcoming game, as he is likely to draw most of the Celtics’ defense.
Knicks need to block better
Although the Knicks had the clearly better shooting percentages in Game 1, they still came within a hair’s breadth of losing the game. Why? Because they repeatedly failed to block shots under the basket. They allowed Boston an impressive 19 offensive rebounds – the highest total of the entire season.
They can’t afford to do that again in the series, because Boston ended up with ten more shots than the Knicks. That wouldn’t have worked out well under normal circumstances. And it won’t work on Wednesday either. Because we’re sure that New York won’t hold the Celtics to a field goal percentage of less than 36% again.
So our prediction for Boston against New York is a home win for the Celtics, who could then tie the series at 1-1. For those who already want to predict the final outcome of the series, we also have a tip: 4-2 in favor of the Celtics.
Key Players:
- PG: Jalen Brunson
- SG: Mikal Bridges
- SF: OG Anunoby
- PF: Josh Hart
- C: Karl-Anthony Towns
Boston Celtics – New York Knicks Head-to-head comparison / H2H record
The Knicks’ victory in Game 1 came as a surprise for another reason. Eight of the last ten head-to-head matches in this matchup went to Boston. Six of those victories were by double digits.
Perhaps, like the Cavs, the Celtics were simply a little rusty after having a few days off after round 1. They should have shaken off that rust in Game 2 on Wednesday.
As a result, the odds for a home win in Boston vs. New York are significantly better than for the men from the Big Apple. Even a handicap of up to -10.5 is still playable here. However, we would not go any higher than that due to the low number of points expected.
Boston Celtics – New York Knicks Tip
The Celtics allowed the Knicks only 100 points in regular time and still lost. That shows how defensive Game 1 was. And this approach is likely to continue in Game 2. After all, it’s the NBA playoffs.
So, for Celtics vs. Knicks, a bet on under 209 total points is our pick. This number was only narrowly exceeded in Game 1, despite a 5-minute overtime. We also expect an even tougher Celtics defense on Wednesday night.
An alternative would be over bets on Anunoby and Pritchard. Since the main focus of the defense will again be on Brunson, Towns, Tatum, and Brown in Game 2, these two players could be the beneficiaries.
