The Boston Celtics, who are now in first place in the Eastern Conference, will face the third-place New York Knicks on Thursday, renewing a long-standing NBA rivalry. The Celtics, who have the best record in the NBA at 62-17, are almost done with their fantastic regular season.
It is only the second occasion in the last five years that a club has achieved 60 wins (the other being the 2021–2022 Suns). In an NBA record-low number of free throw attempts, Boston's loss against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday night went down to 104-91 away.
The New York Knicks enter this game fresh off a Tuesday 128-117 home victory over the Chicago Bulls. Tom Thibodeau's team won three of the previous four games overall, including the past two in a row. With a 47-32 record, the Knicks have risen to third place in the East rankings. They presently have a one-game lead over the Cavaliers and Magic, and a 1.5-game advantage over Indiana, who are in sixth place.
Despite enduring several injuries throughout the season, New York deserves a great deal of respect for their achievements. With Julius Randle out for the remainder of the season, Jalen Brunson has stepped up his game to a new level. Good news has arrived in the form of OG Anunoby, who has just joined the team again after a prolonged absence.
Knicks +4 was the opening line; it has now shifted to +2 Considering the positions both teams are in, it's looking like a really good value wager on the visitors to win this one hands-down. In order to prepare for the playoffs, Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla has been experimenting with a few different lineups, and the Knicks appear to be clicking at the ideal moment. We think New York can win this game more than half the time, and a victory would be extremely beneficial to their momentum and seeding.
The Celtics players were obviously not playing with the same energy level as they look to prevent injury, especially with nothing left to play for. The fact that Boston failed to attempt a single free throw and was more than happy to stay on the perimeter while making 52 three-pointers supports this statistically. It would be unexpected if Porzingis and Horford were tried here against the highly tough New York club, as they were not included in the game against the Bucks.
