New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics Expert Pick And Predictions – April 11, 2024

NEW YORK KNICKS VS. BOSTON CELTICS EXPERT PICK AND PREDICTIONS – APRIL 11, 2024 — Greetings, basketball fans. Welcome back to our NBA coverage here at Godzilla Wins. One of the games on tap from tonight’s slate features the New York Knicks (47-32 SU, 43-35-1 ATS) taking on the Boston Celtics (62-17 SU, 40-35-4 ATS).

Here is a look at which squad has the edge going into this matchup and why.

Tipoff

When: Thursday, April 11, 2024 @ 7:30 PM ET

Where: TD Garden, Boston, MA

TV: TNT

New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics Odds

Odds courtesy of DraftKings

New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics– Regular Season Stats & Betting Trends

Can The Knicks Overtake Milwaukee For The No. 2 Spot In The East? 

New York Knicks Season Stats:

• Scoring Offense: 112.7 PPG – 20^TH
• Offensive Efficiency: 121.0 points per 100 possessions – 8^TH
• Scoring Defense: 108.1 PPG – 2^ND                       
• Defensive Efficiency: 116.1 points per 100 possessions – 10^TH

The Knicks have climbed to the third spot in the Eastern Conference and trail the second-place Milwaukee Bucks by just 1.5 games in the standings.

New York has posted six wins in its last 10 outings, and they come into this matchup riding a two-game winning streak. This includes victory over the Bucks on Sunday (122-109) and a 128-117 win against the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night.

In the win against the Bulls, all five of the Knicks starters scored in double figures. Jalen Bruson led the way with 45 points on 13-for-24 shooting from the field and 7-for-12 from beyond the arc. He also tallied eight assists and three rebounds, marking the second straight outing in which he topped the 40-point mark.

OG Anunoby finished with 24 points and three rebounds. Donte DiVincenzo added 21 points and six assists, while Josh Hart contributed 17 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.

The impact of Brunson’s 10^th 40-point performance this season was a point of emphasis for head coach Tom Thibodeau after the game.

 “More importantly, they’re not empty stats,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said, via CBS Sports. “It’s impacting winning in a great way. And so, to be a leading scorer in the league, to do it with the amount of pressure that he’s had on him in terms of double teaming — we’ve had a lot of guys out, got a number of guys with minute restrictions, and everything else, and this guy has delivered night after night.”

Given the magnitude of the Knicks’ remaining games, look for Brunson to have another solid performance against a Boston squad with little to play for at this point.

Boston Celtics In Cruise Control

 Boston Celtics Season Stats:

• Scoring Offense: 120.4 PPG – 2^ND
• Offensive Efficiency: 124.7 points per 100 possessions – 1^ST         
• Scoring Defense: 109.1 PPG – 5^TH
• Defensive Efficiency: 113.0 points per 100 possessions – 3^RD

The Celtics have the best record in the league, and they have produced seven victories across their last 10 decisions. Unfortunately, their recent five-game winning streak ended with a 104-91 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night – a game in which they did not attempt a free throw, while the Bucks registered just two attempts.

Jason Tatum scored a team-high 22 points along with six assists and five rebounds.

Jaylen Brown contributed 14 points on 7-for-19 shooting from the floor, including a 0-for-6 effort from 3-point range. He also collected 10 rebounds and four steals.

In addition to becoming the first team in NBA history to not attempt a free throw, Boston shot 39.8 percent from the floor and hoisted up 52 three-point shots, converting just 17 of those attempts (32.7 percent).

“That was the first time where like the game wasn’t going our way since I don’t remember when you know what I mean?” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said after the game. “To me, that’s a good opportunity, to play through that, find different ways to create runs, find different ways to just build stuff on either end of the floor. I thought it was a good situation for us to be in because we hadn’t seen it in a while.”

Boston has won 13 straight home games. However, since they have secured home-court advantage throughout the playoffs, it would not be a total shocker to see New York come away with a win here.

Now that we have set the table for this Atlantic Division showdown, let’s look at the betting trends for both sides.

The Spread

The Celtics opened as a consensus 2.5-point favorite (per OddShark). However, it is the Knicks that are now a 2.5-point favorite in this matchup. Here is a look at how both ball clubs have fared against the spread this season.

• The Knicks are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 contests.
• New York is 9-2 ATS in its last 11 matchups against Atlantic Division opponents.
• In its last nine April games, the Knicks are 6-3 against the spread.
• The Celtics are 12-5-1 ATS in their last 18 April outings.
• In its last nine Thursday home games, Boston is just 3-6 against the spread.

Prediction: New York Knicks (-2.5)

Over/Under

The projected over/under total for this matchup opened at 214 points (per Pre-Game.com). At the time of this writing, the line has moved up to 214.5 points (via DraftKings). Here is why going with the “over” is the smart choice.

• The total has gone OVER eight times in the Knicks’ last nine games.
• The OVER total is 7-1 in New York’s last eight road contests.
• In the Knicks’ last six matchups against Eastern Conference teams, the OVER total prevailed five times.
• The OVER total has hit eight times for the Celtics in their last 11 games.
• In Boston’s last seven matchups against Eastern Conference opponents, the OVER total cashed in six times.

Prediction: OVER 214.5 points

Player Prop Bet

Fresh off his spectacular 45-point effort against the Bulls, the key player to watch in this matchup is Jalen Brunson. He currently has -120 odds of scoring more than 28.5 points and -110 odds of finishing with less than 28.5 points.

Here is a glance to see how his numbers stack up against the projected points total for this matchup.

• In 15 career games against the Celtics, he is averaging 17.3 points per contest.
• On the season, Brunson is averaging 28.4 PPG across 74 outings.
• In 39 road contests, he is averaging 29.3 points per game.
• Brunson has played against Eastern Conference teams 47 times this season. In those contests, he is averaging 28.1 points per outing.
• In 15 matchups against Atlantic Division opponents, he is averaging 23.8 points per game.
• Over his last 10 outings, Brunson has averaged 34.6 points and 8.2 assists per contest, exceeding the points total for this matchup six times during that stretch.

Prediction: Jalen Brunson OVER 28.5 points