What: New York Knicks vs. Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the NBA Eastern Conference semifinals
When: Wednesday, 7:00 pm ET, TNT
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Odds: Celtics -4.5, Over/Under 207.5
Knicks vs. Celtics head-to-head
4-0 Celtics during the regular season, 3-1 Knicks in the series
October 22 @ Boston: Celtics 132-109
February 8 @ New York: Celtics 131-104
February 23 @ Boston: Celtics 118-105
April 8 @ New York: Celtics 119-117 (OT)
Game 1 @ Boston: Knicks 108-105 (OT)
Game 2 @ Boston: Knicks 91-90
Game 3 @ New York: Celtics 115-93
Game 4 @ New York: Knicks 121-113
Knicks vs. Celtics preview
Obviously one of two things can happen for Boston in the wake of Jayson Tatum’s torn Achilles’ that he suffered during a Game 4 loss at New York on Monday. Either it can galvanize the remaining players and they will put on a show in front of the home crowd, or they will roll over and the season comes to an unceremonious end. The former might be more likely, but not the extent that you can feel good about giving New York 4.5 points on the spread. Instead, the over/under looks more appealing and Over 207.5 is the way to go. The lines during the regular season averaged 227 and climbed as high as 231. It goes without saying that a lot more defense is played in the playoffs, but 207.5 is not a big number–and it’s 5.5 below the Game 1 mark of 213. As such, the value is on the over for Game 5.
The Celtics can still score without Tatum. It’s time for Jaylen Brown (22.2 ppg) to step up along with Derrick White, Jrue Holiday, Kristaps Porzingis, and others. Porzingis averaged 19.5 ppg during the regular season, so we know what he can bring to the table even though he has been quiet so far in this series. Heck, even Payton Pritchard can pick up the slack; the former Oregon sharpshooter is contributing 14.3 ppg through four games against New York and went for 23 in Game 3. Combine all of those guys with New York’s Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns and there is still plenty of offensive star power on the floor even with Tatum on the sideline.
Pick: Over 207.5
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