The Boston Celtics’ hold on the top spot in the Eastern Conference has gotten precarious. In order to hold off the Raptors, the Celtics will need to start playing better ball. They are only ahead by one game in the standings but can remain atop the conference with a win next time out against the New York Knicks.
The Celtics are the better team and are playing at home so they figure to be pretty solid favorites in this one. The Knicks have played quite poorly on the road this season and will need to flip the script on that or they could be in danger of being blown out.
Boston has struggled lately and will aim to right the ship with a convincing win over an inferior opponent. If New York can sneak back into the playoff picture this is a possible preview of a first-round matchup.
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Odds Analysis
The Knicks are 22-28 straight up and 26-24 against the spread. New York has covered in 11 of 26 attempts on the road this season. The Knicks are 18-19 against the spread as the underdog.
The Celtics are 36-15 straight up and 30-19-2 against the spread. Boston is 13-11-2 against the spread at home. The Celtics are 20-18-2 covering the spread as the favorite.
Scheduling Situation
The Celtics are heading back home after a four-game road trip which ended on Monday night in Denver. Boston was on the West Coast during the swing, and all of that travel may take its toll.
The Celtics have not played very well of late. They lost two of four on the trip and have dropped five of their past seven overall.
Boston still has a solid record and leads the East, but the Raptors have a superior point-differential and have been consistently gaining ground lately. The Celtics would love to secure the No. 1 seed in order to have home court advantage up until the NBA Finals.
If the Cavs finish as the No. 3 seed, it would also allow Boston to avoid them until the Eastern Conference Finals if the matchup happened. The Celtics have a talented team but there is no question they have hit a lull, and all of the travel could be a contributing factor.
Key Stat
Three. That’s the number of games the Knicks trail the Philadelphia 76ers for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Detroit Pistons are currently in between them and just traded for Blake Griffin, so it could be tough sledding for New York to make the playoffs.
New York is going to need to play much better on the road in the second half of the season if it has any designs of making a postseason push. Kristaps Porzingis has emerged as an All-Star but he will need some other players to give him some help.
One guy who may be on his way out is power forward Joakim Noah, who is reportedly clashing with the team and may be traded. Noah has had minimal impact this season and is not going to play in this game, but that’s not much of a chance from what he has been contributing this season.
Free NBA ATS Picks
The Celtics could be jet-lagged after a long trip home, and facing off against the under-.500 Knicks doesn’t exactly lead to a ton of motivation. Boston is a much better team so it should be able to fight through and get this win, but it may be a slog.
Take the Knicks to keep this game closer than projected and cover the spread. The “under” should be a consideration as this one figures to be sloppier than most games.
NBA Odds: Celtics 105, Knicks 98
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