Knicks vs Celtics Odds, Picks, Predictions & Player Props (Game 1)

• The Boston Celtics are big favorites over the New York Knicks in Game 1 on Monday night
• The Celtics won all four regular-season meetings and are 8-1 against the Knicks over the last two seasons
• See the Game 1 Knicks vs Celtics odds, picks, predictions, and player props on May 5

The Boston Celtics (61-21, 28-13 home) continue their quest to repeat as NBA champions on Monday night when they host the New York Knicks (51-31, 24-17 away) in Game 1 of their best-of-seven series in the second round of the NBA playoff bracket. The Knicks and Celtics tip-off from TD Garden at 7:10 pm ET with TNT providing broadcast coverage in the USA and TSN in Canada.

The Celtics are heavily favored to win Game 1 in Monday’s NBA odds

New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics Odds (Game 1)

Boston, which opened as an 8.5-point favorite, is now laying 9.5 points. On the moneyline, the Celtics are short -400 favorites, giving the C’s an 80% implied win probability. The Knicks come back as +310 road underdogs, which gives New York just a 24.39% implied win probability. The game total is sitting at 212.5, which is down a full five points from where it opened last Saturday.

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In the four regular-season meetings between New York and Boston, the teams averaged 233.75 PPG and hit three overs. The lowest-scoring game was a 118-105 Celtic victory (223 points) in Boston on Feb. 23.

Jayson Tatum (31.3 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 5.3 APG postseason) led Boston in scoring in the first three wins over New York, and had 32 points, seven rebounds, and five assists in the fourth on April 8. Altogether, Tatum averaged 33.5 PPG, 6.8 RPG, and 7.0 APG against the Knicks in the regular season.

Tatum was all-world in the first round against Orlando, though did miss Game 2 due to injury. Jrue Holiday, who missed the final three games of the first round due to a hamstring injury, is no longer listed on the Boston injury report. The Knicks don’t list any players on their Game 1 injury report, either.

The Knicks advanced in a hard-fought six-game series with the Pistons thanks largely to the heroics of Jalen Brunson (31.5 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 8.2 APG). who battle through an ankle injury to score 30-plus in five of the six games, including a 40-burger in the decisive Game 6, a narrow 116-113 victory. New York won all three games in Detroit during the first round but went just 1-2 on their home court.

Boston was 3-2 ATS and 3-2 O/U in the first round while New York was 4-2 ATS and 3-3 O/U against Detroit.

NYK vs BOS Game 1 Player Props

The Tatum and Brunson lead their respective teams with point totals of 27.5, though Tatum is -120 to hit the over while Brunson is -120 to stay under that number. Karl-Anthony Towns (19.7 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 1.7APG postseason) has the highest rebound total of the night at 11.5, two higher than Tatum and teammate Josh Hart (11.8 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 5.8 APG).

Knicks vs Celtics Game 1 Picks & Predictions

• Celtics race to 20 points (-170) at Caesars
• Over 212.0 points (-115) at BetMGM
• Tatum over 27.5 points (-110) at FanDuel

The Celtics dominated the early proceedings in three of four games against New York this season, including both home games. Boston won the race to 20 by a score of 21-12 on Oct 22nd, 22-9 on Feb 8th, and 22-10 on Feb 23rd.

Boston showed that same penchant for fast starts in the first round against Orlando, winning the race to 20 in Games 1, 2, 3, and 4 before Orlando finally beat them to 20 in Game 5.

I’m also going to back Tatum to hit the over on his total of 27.5. As mentioned, he averaged over 33 points per game against New York in the regular season and he was at the peak of his powers in the first round against Orlando. Meanwhile, New York came out of round one with just a 109.4 D-Rating, fifth among the eight remaining teams.

Sascha Paruk’s playoff betting record: 18-23 (-5.6 units)