New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics Prediction, 12/18/2021 NBA Picks, Best Bets & Odds

Game: New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics

Date: Saturday, December 18, 2021

Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA

TV: NBA TV

TD Garden is where the Boston Celtics (14-14) will take on the New York Knicks (12-16) on Saturday.

The Knicks took the court against the Warriors and went home with a loss by a final score of 105-96 in their last game. When discussing fouls, the Knicks finished with 21 while the Warriors recorded 12 fouls. They made 15 of their 40 shots from three-point range. Golden State finished shooting 74.1% from the free throw line by burying 20 of their 27 shots. Additionally, Golden State collected 42 boards (7 offensive, 35 defensive) and got 6 rejections. Golden State doled out 49 assists and had 28 steals in the matchup. With respect to the defense, New York let their opponent shoot 45.5% from the field on 35 out of 77 shooting. They also recorded 18 assists for the matchup while forcing 6 turnovers and having 6 steals. When it comes to grabbing boards, they earned 35 with 4 of them being offensive. From the free throw line, the Knicks made 20 of their 22 attempts for a rate of 90.9%. New York ended with a 36.1% FG percentage (30 of 83) and made 16 of their 42 shots from downtown.

Alec Burks is someone who was a factor in this game. Burks finished the game shooting 26.7% from the floor and earned 4 dimes. He played 39 minutes and collected 1 rebound. He totaled 14 points on 4 out of 15 shooting.

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New York will take the court with a mark of 12-16 on the season. They currently have an average of 105.5 pts per contest (25th in basketball) while shooting 43.6% from the floor. The Knicks are connecting on 36.0% on shots from distance (373 of 1,035) and 78.9% from the free throw line. As a team, New York is collecting 45.0 boards per game and has accounted for 599 dimes for the season, which has them ranked 28th in the NBA in terms of passing. They lose possession via turnover 13.8 times per game and as a squad they commit 19.0 fouls on a nightly basis.

When they are on defense, the Knicks are able to force 12.7 turnovers every game while drawing 18.9 fouls. They are ranked 20th in the NBA in giving up assists to their opponents with 694 surrendered this year. The Knicks defensively are giving up a shooting percentage of 44.0% (1,092 of 2,484) and they surrender 45.6 boards per game as a unit. They are giving up 35.4% from 3-point land and they are 16th in basketball in PPG from their opponents (107.3).

The last time they took the court, the Celtics walked away with a victory by a final of 117-103 when they played the Bucks. The Celtics were able to snag 33 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards totaling 40 for the contest. They also gave up possession of the ball 11 times, while recording 6 steals in this matchup. The Bucks had 13 fouls in the matchup which took the Celtics to the free throw line for a total of 13 attempts. They were able to bury 11 of the free throws for a percentage of 84.6%. When talking about 3-point shots, Boston converted 20 out of 47 attempts (42.6%). In all, the Celtics shot 43 out of 86 from the field which had them at 50.0%. The Celtics allowed the Bucks to convert 40 of 90 tries from the field which left them shooting 44.4% in the matchup. They went 30.6% from three-point range via 11 out of 36 and finished the game at 12 of 15 from the free throw line (80.0%). In reference to how they rebounded, Boston permitted Milwaukee to grab 34 in total (11 on the offensive side).

Jaylen Brown ended up being a major contributor for the Celtics for this game. He buried 6 of 13 in the matchup for a field goal rate of 46.2%, and had 4 rebounds. Brown recorded 19 points in his 30 minutes on the court and had 5 assists for the matchup.

Boston has a mark of 14-14 so far this year. The Celtics commit 18.8 fouls every game while shooting 81.6% from the free throw line. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 22.9 times per contest (21st in the NBA) and they are giving up possession 13.9 times per game. Boston has totaled 3,033 points for the year (108.3 per game) and they pull in 45.8 rebounds per contest. When it comes to executing on offense, the Celtics are shooting 44.4% from the floor, which is ranked 22nd in basketball.

The Boston defense allows 34.2% on shots from 3-point land (348 of 1,017) and their opponents are connecting on 79.1% of their foul shots. They relinquish 21.8 assists and 45.8 boards per contest, which is ranked 3rd and 19th in basketball. The Celtics on the defensive side of the court are 15th in the NBA in PPG allowed with 107.2. They are able to force 14.2 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 44.3% from the floor (10th in basketball).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take New York

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