Filip Tomic
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Eastern Conference rivals New York and Boston clash for the 4th time this season as they lock horns tonight at MSG. Tipoff is at 8:30 pm ET on ABC and I have prepared a +535 odds Same Game Parlay for the action. Continue reading below to see it.
Head over to our NBA picks page for predictions on the side and total for the rest of Saturday’s 3-game slate.
Let’s dive into my SGP bet now!
New York Knicks +7 (-110)
Jalen Brunson Over 6.5 assists (-118)
Bojan Bogdanovic 2+ made 3s (-230)
Kristaps Porzingis 2+ made 3s (-184)
Same Game Parlay odds: +535
New York Knicks +7 (-110)
On paper the obvious pick to win tonight’s game is Boston. The Celtics own the NBA’s best record and have the best Net Rating at +10.4 points. However, something tells me the Knicks will be a tough nut to crack at home, especially by 7 points which is the spread set by the oddsmakers here. The absences of Julis Randle and OG Anunoby are huge, but New York has shown they’re capable of winning without their big guy with a 5-5 SU record in 10 games this season.
I’m expecting the crowd at Madison Square Garden to also be a factor, we’ve seen the likes of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown shrink a little bit under pressure in certain environments this season. Boston might have won all 3 meetings this season, but prior to that New York was on a 3-game winning streak in head-to-head meetings. They might not win the game in the end, but I’m counting on the Knicks to keep it close, so let’s back them plus the extra points.
Jalen Brunson Over 6.5 assists (-118)
Boston has done a solid job at shutting down Brunson scoring wise, in the 3 meetings so far this season he’s averaging just 21.3 points on 40% shooting from the field and 30% from downtown. That’s way down from the 31.6 points and 47% he’s averaging in his last 9 outings overall, so instead of trying to play hero ball here I think he will resort to getting his teammates more involved. That did wonders for the team in the Thursday win over Philadelphia when Brunson finished with 12 assists. He is averaging 6.9 assists per game in the month of February and has cleared this line in 4 of his last 6 for New York. Boston’s defense has slipped a little when it comes to keeping the opponents ball movement under control, teams have averaged 28.3 assists per game against them in their last 3 games which is down from the 25.1 they normally average. Fingers crossed Brunson takes advantage of his new teammates and finds them for a few wide open looks.
Bojan Bogdanovic 2+ made 3s (-230)
The Croatian sharpshooter had his best game as a Knick on Thursday as he led the team in scoring with 22 points in the win over the Philadelphia 76ers. En route to those 22 points, he went a perfect 6-for-6 from downtown and I think he will continue being productive for the shorthanded Knicks in the foreseeable future. Randle and Anunoby account for 24 and 15.6 points per game, so the Knicks reserves will have to come up with an extra 40 points to compensate for their absence. In comes Bogdanovic, who is known to be one of the better three-point shooters in the NBA. It’s all about opportunity for this guy, if he gets enough shots he can average 20+ points in his sleep. He’s not phased by the Celtics at all, in the last 8 meetings he’s averaging 19.4 points per game against them and has also made multiple threes half of those games. Let’s hope he gets it going early and drains a couple of shots.
Kristaps Porzingis 2+ made 3s (-184)
Being the 3rd fiddle on the team has worked wonders for the confidence of Kristaps Porzingis. He is having arguably one of his best seasons as an NBA player and as the season progresses he is finding ways to even get better. Facing his old team is always a thrill for him – in the 3 meetings so far this season he’s at 24 points per game, while shooting a mesmerizing 56.4% from the field and 52.4% from downtown. He’s averaging a consistent 2 triples per game for 3 months now and has cleared this number in 6 straight. Depending on how many shots he gets here, I wouldn’t be shocked if he drained more than 2 threes — but I’m sticking with just 2 for a bit of extra security. New York’s opponents are at 39.5% made threes in their last 3 games, that ranks them in the bottom 8 of the NBA.
