NBA Betting Predictions - New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics
by Tim Furious
It’s really hard to find good value in this game. As bad as the Knicks have been on the betting line, the Celtics have been insanely unreliable at home. It’s as if they’ve stopped caring about the regular season. In the wake of the Celtics’ indecision, the Boston betting faithful have been getting caught under a landslide.
That’s not to say that New York is a team you can depend on when they’re traveling. The Knicks are just 3-10 SU in their past 13 games on the road. However, in their past 5 games overall, they’ve shown some resiliency. They’ve gone 3-2 SU overall and are 3-1-1 ATS, which really isn’t bad considering how skewed the betting lines have been against them.
Still, success on the road in Boston has been hard to come by for the New York Knicks. In Boston they’re winless in five games, and in the past 6 they’ve gone just 1-4-1 ATS. With a heavy line to play tonight, you have to choose between the Knicks’ recent success as a betting spread pick or their historical ineptitude against the Celtics in Boston.
Wednesday, March 17th --- TD Garden --- 7:30pm EST
: Boston -9 (211)
Despite winning 6 of their last 9 games straight up, Boston has gone just 2-4 ATS in their most recent match ups. And as I’ve been beating you over the head these last few weeks, Boston continues to be one of the bigger stay-away bets when they’re playing at home. With a 3-13-1 ATS record in their past 17 games, you can definitely see why.
I will say this about Boston – something about that huge loss to LeBron and the Cavs woke this team up. They dismantled the Detroit Pistons 119-93 just two nights ago, clearing a similar 9-point line. It may not be enough for you to justify siding with them, but I have more faith in Boston playing at home coming off a big win against a floundering team then I ever will betting on the Knicks at home. At least for tonight, anyways.
If Boston has indeed been “resting” for the playoffs, now is about the time you want to start ramping it up so you can peak appropriately in the playoffs. It may be too early to catch the bandwagon, but due to the popularity of the Celtics in the betting public, this is a ride you need to catch early because the oddsmakers won’t fall asleep on the Celtics for long.
