Knicks Celtics Betting – Newly Energized Knicks Could Give Boston Problems

The Boston Celtics might have to face the Miami Heat in the second round, but they need to get past the New York Knicks first. The NBA Playoffs will start with a bang in the Northeast.

NBA Betting Overview: (6) New York Knicks vs. (3) Boston Celtics

NBA scores can sometimes be blowouts, but they’re not likely to be all that lopsided in this series. The Boston Celtics might be the defending NBA Eastern Conference champions, but a reconstituted roster means that the boys from Beantown might not have such an easy time of it when they take on a New York squad that’s in the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

It would be hard to think that New York could actually deliver the dagger and knock out the best team in the East over the past three seasons, but then again, it’s also fairly difficult to imagine a short series as well.

Boston General Manager Danny Ainge somehow felt that it would be advantageous to trade center Kendrick Perkins to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Nenad Krstic and other considerations. The Celtics basically shipped their trusted low-post defender and relinquished the ability to play a physical style of ball within six feet of the basket. As Boston gets ready to face the turbocharged Knicks, who love to get out in transition and and shoot a high number of three-pointers in coach Mike D’Antoni’s system, the Celtics can’t bludgeon New York with Perkins’ and Kevin Garnett’s physicality. The swap of Perkins for Krstic has made Boston a faster but not as balanced team. The Knicks, especially with Amare Stoudemire (back from injury) in the low post, now match up more evenly with Boston. It’s true that Boston point guard Rajon Rondo is probably going to be the best player on the floor in this series, but if Stoudemire and Anthony are the second- and third-best players, the equation acquires decidedly different dimensions. Kendrick Perkins would have ensured an unfair fight near the rim, but now, New York can realistically try to play at a quicker pace and make Boston coach Doc Rivers react to the sixth seed’s maneuvers.

Pundits in the sports betting community would not list New York as an outright favorite, and members of the professional basketball cognoscenti are undeniably relishing the prospect of Boston and Miami tangling in an eagerly-anticipated second round series that will draw blockbuster television ratings throughout the United States. However, New York – with its own reshaped lineup and the kinds of players who have played deep into the playoffs in recent years – could certainly push the Celtics to a Game Seven. Chauncey Billups has claimed a world championship with the Detroit Pistons, and Carmelo Anthony has played in a conference finals series, so these new Knicks will give the sixth seed a legitimate puncher’s chance against the third seed in the East. However, much as MLB baseball betting experts will still take the Philadelphia Phillies to win the National League East, NBA analysts will still take Boston to win this first-round series. It would be the right call to make.