New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics Series Predictions and Best Bets

by Spencer Toth - 5/5/2025

The New York Knicks have a tough task in front of them as they look to oust the defending champions in the second round of the NBA playoffs. Jalen Brunson continues to prove he was the deserving winner of the Clutch Player of the Year award with his inspired play. Brunson is borderline unstoppable, but keeping pace with the barrage of threes from the Celtics shooters is difficult. Boston came into the season as title favorites and are massive favorites to beat the Knicks after taking 8 of their last 9 regular season meetings over the last two seasons. New York was derailed by injuries last year in the playoffs, and a fully healthy squad will feel they are being disrespected against the Celtics. Two of the oldest franchises face off in what promises to be an exhilarating series. Let’s dive in.

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Boston Celtics:

The Celtics were able to swat aside the Orlando Magic without too many issues despite dealing with injuries throughout the series. It is difficult to know if the Celtics were playing it safe with their stars or if there are serious injuries on their roster, but either way, they made it look easy. Jrue Holiday missed the final three games of the series while Jayson Tatum sat out game two. They are both healthy and ready to go against the Knicks, and the Celtics reminded the league they are still a threat, regardless of who is on the court, thanks to their depth. Their starting five is full of shooters capable of knocking it down from deep, and bench stars like 6th Man of the Year Payton Pritchard and the consistent Al Horford, round out their 7-man rotation.

Most NBA championship teams have a pair of superstars surrounded by role players, but the Celtics legitimately have a starting five full of stars. Jaylen Brown won ECF MVP and FMVP last season, and there is no denying the star talent of Jayson Tatum after he led the Finals in points, rebounds, and assists. These two alone could carry a team to a ring, but the star power doesn’t end there. Jrue Holiday may not show up big on the statsheet, but what he does on the defensive end cannot be ignored. He can shut down the opposition’s guard like few others, and that will be crucial against a team that heavily relies on Jalen Brunson. Derrick White is capable of exploding behind the arc and is the perfect catch-and-shoot option for Boston, while Kristaps Porzingis proved he is still an elite talent when healthy. The Celtics have the offense, defense, depth, and experience to repeat as champions this season, and it is truly hard to find any weaknesses with this team. They were 29th in steals in the regular season, but that didn’t stop them from forcing tough shots, and they still finished with the 5th best defensive rating. Boston is truly built like a champion.

New York Knicks:

The Knicks were able to defeat the Pistons in six games, but they will get swept by the Celtics if they play sloppy basketball like they did against Detroit. The Pistons were dead last in the league last season and snapped the record for the most losses in a row en route to a truly terrible season. Meanwhile, the Celtics finished 64-18 in the regular season and won the NBA championship. While beating the new-look Pistons was still impressive, New York looked fragile for long stretches and cannot afford to show weakness against a team like Boston. New York’s three final wins in that series came by a combined 6 points, and they easily could have lost if it were not for a few questionable refereeing decisions.

While you can look at that series as close thanks to poor play from the Knicks, New York proved it can deliver in the clutch. Brunson was the best player of the first round, not only in that series, but there are arguments he was the best in the league over the last two weeks. His ability to drain countless clutch shots for the Knicks is something New York has been missing for decades.

The Knicks have sculpted a strong starting five around Brunson, and can certainly play up to the Celtics level during those minutes. Karl-Anthony Towns has settled into his life in New York nicely, and his defensive lapses are far less frequent than his time in Minnesota. Towns can stretch the floor with his deep ball threat, and his pick-and-roll game with Brunson is almost unstoppable. OG Anunoby is excellent on both ends of the court, and he will continue to operate as a truly elite wing defender. Mikal Bridges is also incredibly consistent, but the Knicks chances rest on the shoulders of Josh Hart.

Hart’s 13/9/6 stat line will not jump off the page, but he is the heart and soul of this franchise. His willingness to do the dirty work in the paint has been instrumental to the Knicks success, and New York will have to play gritty basketball if they hope to pull off this upset. Their lack of depth off the bench will likely get exposed, so it is crucial they win the minutes among the starters in order to keep pace with the explosive Celtics.

Knicks vs Celtics Prediction:

These two historic franchises will put on a show in the second round of the NBA playoffs, and this series will end up much closer than many people expect. It is easy to look at the fact that the Celtics have won 8 of the last 9 meetings and are staggering +150 favorites to win the NBA championship and expect this one to be over quickly. Boston is expected to roll through New York before their real test against the Cavaliers, but that will not be the case. Boston was able to take advantage of injuries to New York for a majority of those aforementioned victories, and the Knicks actually match up nicely against Boston. The Celtics struggle against the pick and roll as Porzingis doesn’t have the physicality to fight through screens, and that happens to be the Knicks best offense. Brunson has been shut down by Holiday in the past, but a full series to get his feet wet against the defender will allow him to eventually find a way to still be productive. Holiday is also clearly not at 100% health heading into this series, and the Celtics don’t have anyone else capable of slowing down Brunson. If Holiday aggravates his injury or is unable to be his usual smothering self, the Celtics will need to get hot from deep to outlast the Knicks.

It really can’t be overemphasized how much the Celtics rely on the 3-ball. It is common to see all five starters waiting for their chance behind the arc and Boston will happily live and die with their deep shots. They took and made the most triples in the league in the regular season, and a strong Magic perimeter defense wasn’t enough to slow them down. If the Knicks get overaggressive at chasing down shots, Boston will also settle for easy shots on the inside. The scoring depth for Boston is hard to put into words, as they have truly revolutionized what an NBA team can do on the offensive end. While I expect the Knicks to keep this series close, they will ultimately fall short. These two decorated rivals are both hungry for another championship, and it will be the Celtics that find a way to get it done in a winner-take-all game 7.

Prediction: Boston Celtics in 7 Games

Best Bets:

I do expect the Celtics to win this series, but there is no chance I will be touching them at -700 odds. Boston is the better team in most positions; they are deeper and have the experience, but the Knicks are no pushovers. New York showed they can steal close games by any means necessary, and the downside of being as dominant as the Celtics is that they have had much less experience in close games. The added fact that the Celtics will always play the percentages with their deep shots makes them too hard to trust at odds like these. While the +525 odds on New York to advance is quite tempting, the best bet you can make is on the series spread. New York has 50/50 odds on the +2.5 game line, but I expect this to go all the way to seven games. The +210 odds with the Knicks on the +1.5 game line are the way to go. New York has proven they can defend their home court this season, and I struggle to see the Celtics consistently beating them away from home. The odds offer us a massive upside for the Knicks to not even win this series but keep it close, and it is hard to turn down a price like this. The Knicks have the clutch gene pulsating through their veins and are finally healthy in May.

For the second bet of this series, we will be taking Jalen Brunson to score the most points at +110 odds. Brunson is the focal point of this attack, while Jayson Tatum is a cog in the three-point machine that is the Celtics. Everyone else is +1400 or longer, and I simply don’t trust Tatum to get enough volume to outscore Brunson.

Best Bet: New York Knicks (+1.5) Games +210

Bet: Jalen Brunson to Lead the Series in Points: +110

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Start:	May 21, 2025 @ 11:59 PM
Expert:	Arun Shiva (Indian Cowboy)
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New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics Series Predictions and Best Bets

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