The New York Knicks go on the road to take on the Boston Celtics on Saturday night in an Atlantic Division clash between two teams who are separated by just one game in the standings.
Wow, how things have changed since the last time these two teams faced off in the season opener at Madison Square Garden.
In what was an electric game between two teams looking to assert themselves as playoff teams in the Eastern Conference, suddenly, both teams have faltered and are clawing their way from the outside looking in.
New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics betting odds
According to WynnBet, the Knicks are 4.5 point road underdogs with the Celtics being 4.5 point home favorites.
The Celtics Moneyline is -190 with the Knicks at +170.
The over/under for this game is set at 210 points.
We knew the Celtics were going to be the favorites.
Right now, the Knicks have been one of the teams rocked by COVID the hardest. Among the Knicks players out due to COVID health and safety protocols include: RJ Barrett, Obi Toppin, Immanuel Quickley, Kevin Knox, and Quentin Grimes. It seems as though every time a player has a big game, they enter the safety protocols the next day.
Derrick Rose is questionable for this game with an ankle injury. That leaves Julius Randle, Evan Fournier, Mitchell Robinson, Taj Gibson, Nerlens Noel, Alec Burks, Wayne Selden, and… Kemba Walker.
New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics prediction
It seems pretty wise to bet on a Celtics team that will have the majority of their roster intact.
Still, it feels like this game is going to be close and gritty. These games with a lot of players out due to injury never go the way people think. I would take the under on this game for total points. Taking the Celtics +4.5 seems easy enough but shouldn’t be any sort of lock.
This will be the second game of a back-to-back for the Celtics — they lost to the Golden State Warriors the other night.
So while Boston rightfully deserves to be favored in this game, I think it’s going to be ugly.
Jayson Tatum should have no problem lighting the New York Knicks up. They’re going to be down just about all of their good perimeter defenders.
Expect a gutsy effort from the Knicks who will keep it close but just don’t have the firepower to take down the Celtics in Boston.