New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics Predictions, Picks, Odds

Michael Crosson Sports Betting Expert

4 minute read

Nationally televised NBA coverage will resume on Saturday night with the second of a two-game set between the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics. Coverage begins from TD Garden at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV.

SCORE PREDICTION

Celtics 116, Knicks 105

BEST BETS

Celtics -6.5 (-110) at BetMGM

NEW YORK KNICKS VS. BOSTON CELTICS PREDICTIONS

After finishing fourth in the East with a record of 41-31 SU last year, New York briefly kept that same ball rolling with an excellent start to this season, as the Knicks kicked things off with an impressive 7-4 SU and 6-5 ATS run– which included tough victories over the Sixers (2), Bucks, Celtics, Bulls.

The Knicks have looked like a shell of that squad since their opening stretch though, considering New York dwells at 12-16 SU and ATS across the last 28 games – despite getting tagged as favorites in 16 of those contests.

On the other hand, Boston stumbled out to a head-scratching start to the new season, as the Celtics opened with a 7-8 SU and 9-6 ATS aberration, considering Boston was favored in nine of those matchups, lost eight of them SU – yet still managed to claim nine victories ATS during that timeframe.

Evaluating the Celtics has only become more complex as of late though, considering Boston is just 11-13 SU and 10-12-1 ATS across the last 23 games, despite posting upset victories in three contests – and getting tagged as favorites in 15 events during that span.

I’ll lay the points with Boston here, as the Celtics blew a 25-point lead at Madison Square Garden this past Thursday – and they’ll likely claim vengeance at home on Saturday night.

NEW YORK KNICKS VS. BOSTON CELTICS BETTING ODDS

More Odds | Futures Odds

NEW YORK KNICKS VS. BOSTON CELTICS BETTING RESOURCES

• Matchup: Atlantic
• Date: Saturday, January 8, 2022
• Venue: TD Garden
• Location: Boston, Massachusetts
• TV-Time: NBATV - 7:30 p.m. ET
• Injury Report

NEW YORK KNICKS BETTING ANALYSIS

Straight Up - SU, Against the Spread - ATS, Over-Under (O/U)

• SU: 19-20
• ATS: 18-21
• O/U: 17-22

New York’s outstanding success may have been the biggest surprise in the league last season, as the Knicks finished fourth in the East with an impressive tally of 41-31 SU – before getting completely outmatched by Atlanta in the first round of the playoffs.

The Knicks haven’t caught anybody off guard this year though, considering the Knicks rank 10th in the East SU with a record of 19-20 SU and 11th ATS with a record of 18-21 – despite getting tagged as favorites in 24 of those matchups.

BOSTON CELTICS BETTING ANALYSIS

Straight Up - SU, Against the Spread - ATS, Over-Under (O/U)

• SU: 18-21
• ATS: 19-19-1
• O/U: 17-21-1

After finishing seventh in the East with a record of 36-36 SU last year, the Celtics posted a similarly underwhelming start to this season, as Boston kicked things off with a pedestrian 7-8 SU and 9-6 ATS run – and seemingly remain trapped in that rut, considering the Celtics are just 11-12 SU and 10-12-1 ATS since their opening stretch.

The Celtics can’t snap out of their slump unless their shooting improves though, considering Boston ranks 20th in offensive efficiency and 23rd in effective field-goal percentage (1.059 OE, 51.3% EFG) – resulting in a meager average of just 107.9 PPG.

NEW YORK KNICKS VS. BOSTON CELTICS HEAD-TO-HEAD

The Knicks won two-of-three regular-season matchups against Boston last year, with all three of those contests staying well under the total set for Saturday’s affair at an average of 189.3 PPG.

New York is also 2-1 SU against Boston so far this season, but all three of those contests went over the total at an average of 235.3 PPG – but make note, this past Thursday’s event was the lowest-scoring of the bunch, as the Knicks erased a 25-point second-half deficit to sneak away with a 108-105 home victory.

KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH

• NYK: Julius Randle - PF (19.6 PPG, 10.1 REB, 4.9 AST)
• NYK: RJ Barrett - SG (15.6 PPG, 5.5 REB, 2.3 AST)
• BOS: Jayson Tatum - SF (25.7 PPG, 8.5 REB, 3.9 AST)
• BOS: Jaylen Brown - SG (24.2 PPG, 6.1 REB, 2.6 AST)

NEW YORK KNICKS VS. BOSTON CELTICS BETTING CONCLUSION

After blowing a 25-point second-half lead at MSG on Thursday night (L, 108-105), the Celtics enter Saturday’s contest as narrow home favorites over the visiting Knicks – marking just the second time New York has been an underdog across the last ten games.

I’ll lay the points with Boston here, as the Celtics let one slip away in the Big Apple on Thursday – and I doubt they’ll let it happen again at home on Saturday night.

NEW YORK KNICKS VS. BOSTON CELTICS BETTING TRENDS

• The Knicks are 4-2 ATS in their last six matchups against Boston.
• The Celtics are 12-6 SU in their last 18 matchups against New York.
• The total has gone UNDER in five of the last seven Knicks' games.
• The Celtics are 1-5 ATS in their last six games.

Michael Crosson

Michael Crosson began his time at VegasInsider as a freelance NBA writer back in 2019 while he continued to study Psychology and Biology at James Madison University. Following his graduation in 2021, Michael joined the team full-time, and he's been with VI ever since. Michael still writes NBA, NFL, and MLB for VI, as well as gambling industry news. He's also become a crucial part of our editorial production team. More from Michael Crosson