New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics Prediction, 4/7/2021 NBA Pick, Tips and Odds

Game: New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics

Date: Wednesday, April 7, 2021

Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA

TV: NBC Sports Boston

Odds/Point Spread: New York (+2.5)

The New York Knicks (25-26) are headed to TD Garden on Wednesday where they'll take on the Boston Celtics (25-25). New York opens this matchup as 2.5-point underdogs. The O/U is set at 217.

The New York Knicks faced off with the Brooklyn Nets and took a loss by a final of 114-112 in their last contest. New York finished the game having earned a 46.5% field goal percentage (40 of 86) and converted 14 out of their 29 three-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Knicks made 18 of 22 attempts for a percentage of 81.8%. Concerning pulling down boards, they earned 41 with 5 of them being of the offensive variety. They also distributed 24 dimes for this game in addition to forcing 10 turnovers and having 7 steals. In terms of defense, New York allowed the other team to go 45.7% from the field on 42 of 92 shooting. Brooklyn totaled 27 dimes and had 6 steals in this contest. On top of that, Brooklyn snagged 45 boards (11 offensive, 34 defensive) and got 4 blocks. Brooklyn finished shooting 76.9% at the charity stripe by converting 20 of 26 tries. They converted 10 out of their 32 shots from three-point range.

RJ Barrett is someone who was a factor for the matchup. He racked up 22 points on 7 of 13 shooting. He played 33:09 mins and collected 4 rebounds. Barrett finished the game shooting 53.8% from the floor but had no assists when the time ran out. Another guy that was a contributor in this matchup for the Knicks was Reggie Bullock. He collected 3 rebounds in his 31:20 minutes played on the night. He went 54.5% from the field for this game by shooting 6-of-11 (21 points). When the game finished, Bullock accounted for 2 assists.

New York will play this contest with a mark of 25-26 this year. The Knicks are shooting 37.7% on shots from beyond the arc (562 of 1,490) and 76.5% from the charity stripe. They average 105.0 pts per contest (28th in the league) while hitting 45.1% from the floor. They turn it over 13.5 times per game and as a basketball team are committing 20.7 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, New York is pulling down 45.7 boards per game and has accumulated 1,073 dimes on the campaign, which has them ranked 29th in the NBA in terms of passing the rock. On the defensive end, the Knicks are forcing 12.5 turnovers every game and they draw 18.2 fouls. They give up 33.5% on 3-point attempts while they are 1st in the league in opponents points per game (104.1). The Knicks defense is giving up a field goal percentage of 44.1% (639 of 929) and they surrender 43.7 boards per contest as a team. They are ranked 5th in basketball in giving up assists with 1,165 surrendered this season.

When they last stepped on the court, the Boston Celtics went home victorious with a score of 116-86 when they played the Charlotte Hornets. The Celtics corralled 30 defensive boards and 14 offensive boards for a total of 44 in this matchup. They also turned the ball over 6 times, while recording 11 steals for the contest. The Hornets had 15 fouls for the game which took the Celtics to the free throw line for a total of 11 attempts. They were able to make 9 of those for a clip of 81.8%. Concerning shooting from downtown, Boston converted 21 of their 54 tries (38.9%). When the final whistle was blown, the Celtics went 43 for 94 from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 45.7%. The Celtics allowed the Hornets to convert 32 of 80 attempts from the field which gave them a shooting percentage of 40.0% for the game. They shot 32.3% from beyond the perimeter by connecting on 10 out of 31 and finished the game at 12 of 20 from the free throw line (60.0%). Regarding attacking the glass, Boston allowed Charlotte to get 42 overall (9 on the offensive side).

Jayson Tatum ended up being a factor for the Celtics in this matchup. He made 8 out of 15 for this contest for a rate of 53.3%, and had 8 rebounds. Tatum had 22 points in his 27:58 minutes on the court and had 4 assists in the game. An additional guy who came through for Boston was Jaylen Brown. He finished this one with 1 assist in his 25:50 mins on the hardwood, and he knocked down 6 out of 13 from the floor. Brown ended the game having shot 46.2% from the floor in addition to totaling 17 points and 6 total rebounds.

Boston has a record of 25-25 this year. The Celtics are responsible for committing 20.6 fouls every game and they connect on 76.3% from the charity stripe. They are dishing out assists 23.2 times per game (24th in basketball) and they are turning it over 13.7 times per game. Boston has tallied 5,620 points this season (112.4 per contest) and they collect 44.0 boards per contest. As an offensive unit, the Celtics are hitting on 46.9% from the floor, which ranks them 13th in the league. The Celtics are ranked 10th in basketball in points allowed per contest with 110.6. The Boston defense concedes 37.2% on three-point shots (644 of 1,733) and opponents are connecting on 77.5% of their shots from the charity stripe. They have given up 23.6 assists and 42.4 boards per game, which is ranked 6th and 8th in basketball. They are able to force 14.4 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 46.5% from the floor (13th in the league).

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

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take New York (+2.5)

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