Celtics vs Knicks Free Pick, NBA Free Picks, NBA Predictions 4/8/25
- J.A. Cavalier
- Apr 8
- 3 min read
BOSTON @ NEW YORK (BOS -1, 222)
NBA ODDS, NBA PREDICTIONS, NBA PREVIEWS
CELTICS @ KNICKS 4/8/25
On Tuesday night, the Boston Celtics will travel to New York to attempt a regular-season sweep of the Knicks. New York (50-28) only needs one more victory to secure the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics (58-20) have already secured a spot in the top two. Both teams are hoping for a big win before the postseason, even though Tuesday's game has no playoff implications.
In this long-running rivalry, it has been all Celtics lately. Boston won by 27 and 13 points in February after defeating the Knicks by 23 points on opening night way back in October. Boston has not swept the Knicks in the regular season since 2019–20, despite winning seven of the previous eight meetings.
Without starters Kristaps Porzingis (illness) and Jayson Tatum (knee), Boston thrashed the unfortunate Washington Wizards, who missed games due to minor injuries. For the first time since 2000, the Celtics had 25 offensive rebounds in a single game. Boston is getting back into form as the playoffs approach, having won 11 of its last 12 games and 16 of the last 18.
In Sunday's 112-98 victory over the visiting Phoenix Suns, Knicks star guard Jalen Brunson returned from injury. Brunson scored 15 points in 34 minutes of play. OG Anunoby became a reliable offensive threat to join Karl-Anthony Towns while Brunson was out. For the first time in his career, Anunoby has scored 20 points or more in each of the last ten games. Anunoby's contributions on both ends of the court were commended by Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau.
The Knicks are ninth in the NBA in both scoring and points allowed on defense. Towns has averaged 24.7 points per game over his last three for the Knicks.
In terms of three-point attempts (48.3) and three-pointers made (17.9) per game, Boston leads the NBA. The Celtics now have another long-range ace in reserve Payton Pritchard. Tatum and White each average 3.5 made three-pointers per game. In his last three games, Pritchard is 8-for-20 (40 percent) from behind the arc.
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COACH RICK FREE PICK:
GAME TOTAL UNDER 222
Tonight’s total opened at 223.5 and has moved down. Don’t be surprised if you see more movement before it closes. Boston has been shutting down opposing offenses. The Celtics have the third-best scoring defense in the NBA. They allow 107.6 ppg. Over their last 10 games, Boston has held three teams under 100, held Phoenix to 103 and 102 and just held the Wizards to 90 on Sunday. Over those 10 games, the Celtics are allowing 103.9 ppg. Three of their last four games have gone Under the total. For the Knicks, each of their last five games has cashed an Under ticket. The last time these two teams met (Feb.23) the total went Under.
