Boston Celtics vs New York Knicks Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 02/08/25

Arguably the biggest game of the weekend in the NBA takes place at Madison Square Garden where the New York Knicks are set to host the Boston Celtics in a potential preview of an upcoming second round playoff series in the Eastern Conference. New York has won 7 of its last 8 games and now sits just 1.5 games shy of the second seed in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks are on a roll offensively, averaging over 124 points per 100 possessions during these last 8 games, and their Net Rating is also the highest in the NBA in this recent stretch. It’s hard to find a flaw in the way Tom Thibodeau’s group has played over the course of that very important homestand against Western Conference playoff teams. The Knicks also managed to avoid a scheduled loss in Toronto on Tuesday coming off a tremendous comeback win over the Rockets on Monday at home. The problem for the Knicks is the injury report, as OG Anunoby is not expected to play, while both Josh Hart and Karl-Anthony Towns are listed as questionable on the injury report and will likely be a game-time decision with knee injuries. While I do expect both to play, I have serious questions about the effectiveness of both players in a game where they’ll have to be elite for the Knicks to win.

As for the visitors, there’s no doubt that the pressure is on Boston to respond in a big way after suffering a disappointing loss at home to the Mavericks as significant favorites on Thursday. Defensively, the Celtics left a lot to be desired in that game, but the assignment should be easier for Boston on Saturday given the uncertainty with the Knicks injury report. It goes without saying that Towns is extremely important to this New York offense, and the path to scoring against Boston’s elite wing defenders (even without Jrue Holiday in the lineup) gets a whole lot tougher without Towns on the court to space the floor and provide Jalen Brunson with a partner in the pick-and-pop game. It doesn’t help matters that the Knicks defense already struggles with protecting the rim and defending the perimeter, and that’s exactly what you don’t want against a Celtics offense that will spread you out and cause mismatches all over the floor with their talent and perimeter shooting. Given my concerns with the Knicks roster heading into this game, I can only look at Boston on Saturday.

Celtics vs Knicks prediction: Celtics -1.5 available at time of publishing. Playable to 2.5

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