Boston and New York face off in their opener in a premier rivalry bout. Our Knicks vs Celtics prediction involves the Celtics surviving in a close matchup. This game may be a preview of the Eastern Conference Finals in May.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The New York Knicks had their most successful season in over a decade last year, reaching 50 wins for the first time since 2012-13. The Knicks have a vastly different roster to start this season than the previous one, aiming to make a deeper postseason run with the new faces. Notable departures include Quentin Grimes, RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Julius Randle, and Donte DiVincenzo. Meanwhile, they added OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Mikal Bridges. The latter two make their Knicks debut on Tuesday in Boston, hoping to start strong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last season, Boston won their first NBA title since 2008 and their 15th overall championship. The Celtics enter this season favored to repeat as champions, but face a couple of obstacles. Firstly, Boston’s all-in attitude on contracts worked out in winning last season’s title, but has also made things more difficult moving forward. Lonnie Walker IV was the first casualty of the Celtics’ inflated payroll. Additionally, key big-man Kristaps Porzingis is still recovering from his leg surgery in June. He will miss this game and his return window is hazy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Knicks and Celtics have now met in their opening game in three of the past four seasons. The Celtics won last season’s opener 108-104, while the Knicks claimed a 2OT thriller in 2021. This will be the first of those matchups to take place in Boston, giving the Celtics a key advantage. The absence of centers Kristaps Porzingis and Mitchell Robinson will play a role in this game, which favors the Knicks. New York’s acquisition of Karl-Anthony Towns gives them a big advantage here, but we still expect Boston to win this matchup, 112-107.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Boston and New York face off in their opener in a premier rivalry bout. Our Knicks vs Celtics prediction involves the Celtics surviving in a close matchup. This game may be a preview of the Eastern Conference Finals in May. Knicks Aim to Build on 50-Win Season The New York Knicks had their most successful […]","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":22508,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[459],"tags":[3379],"class_list":["post-23635","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","tag-regular-season-nba"],"yoast_head":"\n