Knicks vs. Celtics Odds & Betting Predictions - October 22, 2024

Read full writeup on X: https://x.com/PicksOffice Boston’s Porzingis is out, weakening their interior defense, allowing Towns to exploit the paint. Brunson’s offense and Bridges' elite defense will challenge Boston's scorers. The Knicks’ defensive upgrades and Boston’s championship distractions give New York the edge to cover in a tightly contested game.

4.53% ev and projection leans to the over

The Huddle got it first 🤝 The New York Knicks are diving into the new season with Jalen Brunson as the clear head of the snake in this take on heliocentrism. With the acquisition of Karl-Anthony Towns, aka KAT, aka Bodega KAT, aka the Big Purr, this offense is going to be high octane while optimizing the spacing between these two stars. While it’s pre-season, there are some key takeaways from the Knicks’ gameplay. One of which is that the Brunson - KAT Pick and Roll will be a featured component of this offense. Per Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer), Brunson and KAT ran 68 pick-and-rolls during the preseason and no other pair of teammates ran more than 42 P&R’s and those PnRs resulted in an excellent 1.320 points per possession. (https://x.com/TommyBeer/status/1847755201450516553) KAT averaged roughly 0.71 points per minute during the preseason, which was admittedly against some weaker defenses (aside from Minnesota); however, this is an offensive spot where he should cook with Brunson’s gravity and his ability to return to playing the 5. Last season, when KAT played alongside Gobert, he saw a 5.82 points per 100 possessions reduction - he averaged 30.8 with Gobert, and 36.7 without him. The spacing matters. When the Wolves and Celtics played last year in January, neither Gobert nor Porzingis played. In that spot, KAT lit them up for 25 points, 13 rebounds, and 6 assists and that was without a true PG running the offense. Now, he’s paired with Brunson in the opener where Boston will be without Porzingis, and he should see plenty of minutes against Luke Kornet and even Xavier Tillman. I’m backing KAT in his New York debut.

New York and Boston both ranked top 10 in defensive rating and top 5 in points allowed per game. The Knicks easily played at the slowest pace last season, while Boston ranked 19th. RotoGrinders projects these squads to be among the 5 slowest teams this year. New York's defense stumbled at times without OG Anunoby last season, but he's fully healthy and ready to go. Anunoby will team up with Mikal Bridges to form the most imposing wing-defending duo in the league. It's almost like this defense was built to slow down a certain team. Boston's offense will certainly miss Kristaps Porzingis, as he was the key to unlocking the full potential of their offense last season. Al Horford, Luke Kornet, and Xavier Tillman will fill those minutes, which is likely a positive for Boston's defense and a negative for their offense.

Big line for Tatum in the opener. No Porzingis (and he was under in 11/22 without him last season), but this should be a brutal spot against the wing defense of the Knicks. He’ll draw the OG matchup - he’s under this line in 5/6 vs OG over the last three seasons.