The Boston Celtics (3-1) and the New York Knicks (1-4) will renew their rivalry when the two Atlantic Division foes meet in Beantown on Friday, November 1st, 2019. Broadcasted on MSG with a scheduled tip-off time of 7:30 PM ET. The Celtics have won six of the last seven meetings between both parties and have covered in the last three games between these two rivals. The Knicks and Celtics last met six days ago in New York, where the C’s would march past the Knickerbockers 118-95 to cover easily as a five-point favorite.
New York Knicks at Boston Celtics Key Injury Concerns
Celtics Center Enes Kanter will be unavailable for this game as he continues to battle a knee contusion in Boston’s season opener. Knicks Point Guard Elfid Payton will also be unavailable due to a sore right hamstring.
New York Knicks at Boston Celtics Overview
New York Knicks
New York comes into this game off a 95-83 loss in Orlando against the Magic, which saw the Knicks fail to cover as a 10-point underdog. This was especially disconcerting for the public who was all over the Knicks with the points.
Boston Celtics
Boston comes into this affair off a high-profile win against the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday. Closing as a 3.5-point home underdog, the Celtics rallied from 20 back to defeat the Deer 116-105 and get some revenge for Milwaukee ousting them in last season’s playoffs. Boston has now covered in three straight games.
Reasons To Back New York
There are two zig-zags taking shape in this market. The first of which we will discuss with the Knicks. As mentioned already, the Knicks were a public dog on Wednesday when they were up against the coverless Orlando Magic. As a result of New York failing to take advantage of the points, the public will be more inclined to head in the other direction, especially given who New York’s opponent is and what they have done both against the Knicks and in their most recent match against Milwaukee. This creates value on the Knicks, who are now likely working with inflated points.
Reasons To Avoid Boston
Against Milwaukee, no one gave the Celtics a chance of covering, let alone defeating the Deer. However, Boston proved that what happened last season is what happened last season, and the public has jumped all over the Celtics as a result of their upset. There is little question that New York is an improved team compared to last year’s edition, and the market is playing results, not the actual match-up. Though Boston won and covered against New York in the Big Apple six days ago, the Knicks actually at one point had built a 12-point lead against the Celtics. This shows that New York can play with Boston and can certainly offer up a much more competitive result this time around.
- Get more details: Knicks at Celtics NBA Match-up Stats
