An Eastern Conference rivalry resumes on Tuesday as the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics lock horns for the second time this season. New York dominated the first meeting by double-digits; can Boston get revenge?
Tune into NBC at 8:00 pm ET for the tip, and I’ve prepared a +714 odds Same Game Parlay to enhance your viewing experience. Don’t forget, we will also have NBA picks for every single game being played this Tuesday. The second part of NBC’s double-header sees the OKC Thunder take on the Golden State Warriors.
Let’s get into my Knicks vs Celtics bet now!
Under 230.5 (-110)
Mikal Bridges Over 22.5 points + rebounds + assists (-120)
Anfernee Simons Over 11.5 points (-102)
Same Game Parlay odds: +714
Under 230.5 (-110)
Points were hard to come by in the first meeting of the season between these 2 teams, as we saw a total of just 200 points scored. This has been the general trend over the past 3 regular-season meetings, with an average of just 209.6 points per game scored and the O/U numbers going 1-2 during that stretch. If we expand our search to the last 10 head-to-head, the numbers do increase a bit — but are still way under what the oddsmakers are projecting on Tuesday. An average of just 215.9 points have been scored in the last 10 meetings and the under has cashed 5 times in that span. Coming into Tuesday’s game, the Knicks and Celtics rank just 27th and 29th in pace of play, respectively, averaging 99.2 and 96.7 possessions per game. Both teams also rank in the upper echelon when it comes to defensive efficiency, so we could be in for another slower-paced game. I can definitely see the score ending in the low 220s, but that’s about it. Back the under with confidence.
Mikal Bridges Over 22.5 points + rebounds + assists (-120)
The NBA’s iron man has had a very productive season for the Knicks so far, despite his minutes taking a slight dip compared to last year. He has upped his efficiency both from the field and from 3, doing more both in the rebounding and assists departments. More often than not Bridges will fill up the stat sheet, doing a bit of everything but also excelling at certain things whenever it’s needed from him. So far this season he has cleared this line 12 times in 19 games played, which equals to a 63% success rate. In first meeting between these 2 teams the Knicks led by as many as 24 points before winning by 10 in the end. I expect Tuesday’s game to be a lot closer, which should hopefully result in Bridges playing more minutes and contributing a lot more than the 12 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists he had in that game.
Anfernee Simons Over 11.5 (-102)
Simons was one of the main contributors in the Celtics’ recent upset win at Cleveland. He finished the game with 18 points on 8-for-14 shooting, knocking down a pair of 3s in the process. Derrick White missing that game allowed for more playing time for Simons, who was able to log 27 minutes off the bench. There is a chance White might not play on Tuesday, as well, which could open the doors for Simons to have another big game. His last 10 games have seen his efficiency numbers increase quite a bit, especially from 3-point land — where he is knocking down 43.1% of his shots. That’s especially encouraging given that the Knicks aren’t known for their 3-point defense. Opponents are making 37.8% of their attempts from deep, which ranks the Knicks only 25th in the NBA. On top of that we also know that the Knicks allow the third-most threes to opposing shooting guards, so I’m feeling quite confident Simons will score enough points to go over his total.
Click here to add us to your Google preferred sources and never miss a story
