New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics Prediction, 3/5/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics

Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023

Location: TD Garden in Boston, MA

TV: NBC Sports Boston

Odds/Point Spread: New York (+5)

The Boston Celtics host the New York Knicks at TD Garden on Sunday. Boston opens as 5-point favorites. The total has been set at 234.

The Knicks faced off with the Heat and notched a win by a score of 122-120 in their last game. New York walked away from the contest having earned a 58.0% field goal percentage (47 of 81) and converted 17 of 41 three-point shots. From the charity stripe, the Knicks buried 11 of their 17 attempts for a percentage of 64.7%. When discussing grabbing boards, they collected 34 with 6 of them being of the offensive sort. They also doled out 23 dimes in the matchup while creating 12 turnovers and getting 8 steals. In reference to the defense, New York allowed the other team to shoot 48.1% from the field on 39 out of 81 shooting. Miami distributed 23 assists and had 7 steals in this matchup. In addition, Miami collected 39 boards (11 offensive, 28 defensive) and got 4 rejections. Miami walked away from this one shooting 93.8% at the charity stripe by making 30 of 32 tries. They also made 12 of 25 shots from downtown. In regard to fouls, the Knicks ended up finishing with 23 while the Heat accounted for 17 fouls.

Julius Randle is a player who came through in the game. He racked up 43 points on 16 of 25 shooting. He was on the hardwood for 36 minutes and also snagged 9 boards. Randle went 64.0% from the field and distributed 3 assists.

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New York heads into this contest with a mark of 38-27 so far this year. They are giving up possession 12.9 times per contest and as a basketball team are committing 20.7 fouls on a nightly basis. As a team, New York is pulling in 46.8 rebounds per contest and is sitting with 1,457 dimes so far this season, which ranks 26th in the NBA in terms of passing. The Knicks are connecting on 35.3% on three-point attempts (807 of 2,289) and 76.7% from the charity stripe. They average 115.2 points per game (12th in basketball) while going 46.6% from the field.

When they are on defense, the Knicks are forcing 12.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and they draw 20.8 personal fouls. They are currently ranked 12th in the NBA in giving up assists to the opposition with 1,599 surrendered for the season. The Knicks defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 45.5% (2,619 of 5,757) and they concede 42.9 rebounds per game as a basketball team. They are conceding 34.6% on 3-point attempts while they are 9th in basketball in points per game allowed (112.1).

For their last game, the Celtics walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 115-105 when they faced the Nets. The Celtics recorded 39 defensive boards and 9 offensive boards totaling 48 in this matchup. They turned it over 19 times, while getting 8 steals in this game. The Nets were called for 20 personal fouls in the matchup which took the Celtics to the charity stripe for a total of 20 attempts. They were able to convert 14 of those for a percentage of 70.0%. Pertaining to shooting from distance, Boston converted 9 out of 29 attempts (31.0%). Overall, the Celtics finished shooting 41 out of 84 from the floor which gave them a percentage of 48.8%. The Celtics allowed the Nets to make 40 of 95 tries from the floor which gave them a rate of 42.1% for the contest. They shot 31.8% from 3-point land by connecting on 14 out of 44 and finished the game at 21 out of 26 at the free throw line (80.8%). Regarding rebounding, Boston allowed Brooklyn to collect 47 in total (13 offensive).

Jaylen Brown ended up being a major contributor for the Celtics for this contest. Brown earned 35 points in his 43 minutes on the court and added 4 assists for the game. He knocked down 15 of 27 for this contest for a rate of 55.6%, and had 5 rebounds.

Boston has a mark of 45-19 for the season. When it comes to offensive execution, the Celtics are shooting 47.6% from the floor, which ranks them 14th in basketball. Boston has accounted for 7,522 pts on the year (117.5 per contest) and they collect 45.0 boards per game. They are dishing out assists 26.3 times per game (7th in the league) and they are turning it over 13.5 times per contest. The Celtics commit 19.1 fouls per contest and they shoot 82.3% from the charity stripe.

The Boston defense allows 35.4% on 3-point shots (750 of 2,118) and their opponents are connecting on 77.3% of their shots from the free throw line. They have given up 22.9 assists and 43.4 rebounds every game, which is ranked 2nd and 15th in basketball. The Celtics on the defensive end are ranked 8th in basketball in PPG given up with 112.1. They are forcing their opponents into 12.6 turnovers on a nightly basis and allow teams to shoot 46.7% from the field (8th in basketball).

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

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take Boston (-5)

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