Boston Celtics set to end brief skid against New York Knicks

The Boston Celtics are back home from a three-game road trip, where they dropped the last two games. Boston is coming off a 98-85 loss to the Miami Heat on Tuesday and a 113-98 defeat to the Orlando Magic on Monday.

Now the skid could end with the New York Knicks coming to town. Tipoff for this Eastern Conference clash is slated for 7:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on TNT. The Celtics are an 8.5-point favorite for Thursday night's matchup, according to Caesars Sportsbook. My numbers project Boston to be favored by 7.5, so there isn’t much value on the current spread.

As for the total, Caesars Sportsbook listed the over/under at 223.5, that’s about 5.5 points lower than my projection. Recent trends would suggest that now is the time to bet an over on a Boston game as well.

The Celtics have finished under their point total in four consecutive games, which includes a mark of 215 last time out. Other than that total, this would be Boston’s lowest over/under since clearing the 230.5 against the Charlotte Hornets just five games ago.

For the season, Boston is 22-25-2 to the over while New York is 24-23-2 at clearing the point total. The Celtics have managed to cash an over ticket in 14 of their 23 games as a home team, clearing the total by an average of 7.5 points per game. Boston is averaging 121.9 points per game at home compared to a scoring average of 113.8 points per contest on the road.

After winning the Eastern Conference last year because of its defensive play, the Celtics have been one of the better offensive teams in the league. They rank fourth in scoring (117.6 points per game) and third in offensive rating (117.6) entering Thursday.

It is why Boston remains the favorite in every futures market despite the recent slump. The Celtics are +360 to win the NBA championship, +180 to win the Eastern Conference, and -900 to win the Atlantic Division as of Thursday.

Jayson Tatum remains a top-three candidate to win the MVP award, as he is priced at +600 and trails only the Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokic (-140) and Dallas Mavericks' Luka Doncic (+350) at this time. Tatum is averaging 31 points per game to go along with 8.6 rebounds and 4.4 assists per contest.

Tonight’s showdown with the Knicks begins a stretch of marquee matchups for the Celtics. They welcome the Los Angeles Lakers to town on Saturday before hosting the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday.

The Celtics have won 18 of their 23 games at the TD Garden and are 13-10 against the spread in such contests. As a result, this stretch could prove to be rewarding for both Boston fans and bettors over the next week.

Prediction for Thursday’s game: Celtics 119, Knicks 111

Prediction for Saturday’s game: Celtics 124, Lakers 114