On a night that could have featured two series ending in 4-1 fashion, well, it didn’t. Back on Wednesday night, the Jayson Tatum-less Boston Celtics were able to avoid elimination by the New York Knicks. Now, Jalen Brunson and company will have another opportunity to do so back at home, so we’ve got our best Celtics vs. Knicks predictions for you.

As always, that means another best bet from our Celtics vs. Knicks picks, which we’ll pair with today’s $200 FanDuel Sportsbook welcome bonus!

Celtics vs. Knicks Predictions For Tonight's NBA Playoffs Game 6, 5/16

Despite the Celtics being without their superstar due to Jayson Tatum's torn Achilles, not only were they able to avoid elimination, but they won Game 5 by 25 points! Frankly, we actually aren't surprised at all.

That’s not to say we know more than everyone else out there - all you had to do was follow the Celtics vs. Knicks odds. Even after the Jayson Tatum injury news, Boston closed as very clear 5.5-point favorites. At the exact same time, New York was still a massive -600 favorite to win the series.

So, what does that all add up to? The Knicks are still expected to close out the series, just at home tonight. Of course, that’s more than just foreshadowing as to where we’re focusing the best bet from our Celtics vs. Knicks predictions!
 

 

 

Boston Celtics: The “Others” Making History

If the Celtics want to avoid that being the case, as just about everyone knows at this point, it’s going to be about converting from three. That's been discussed ad nauseam, so let’s instead shed some light on some other reasons as to why Boston came away with Game 5. Firstly, Jaylen Brown recorded his first 25-10-5 playoff game.

Ok, he wouldn’t fall under the category of “others,” but what about Luke Kornet? The big man recorded five blocks in the third quarter alone! He was the first Celtic with 7+ blocks in a playoff game since the mid-70s, and Derrick White became the first Boston player with 6+ made threes in back-to-back playoff games.
 

 

 

New York Knicks: Classic Case Of Overconfidence

Both we and oddsmakers alike weren’t surprised at the outcome of Wednesday’s Game 5, as this isn’t the first time a situation like this has arisen. In fact, it’s not even the first time in this postseason. Jayson Tatum also missed Game 2 in the first round of these playoffs with a wrist injury.

Boston won that game as well. We saw the Golden State Warriors do the same thing with the Jimmy Butler injury in the first round. While they went down recently without Stephen Curry, they were far more competitive in the first two games without him than anyone expected. Now it’s time for the Knicks to stop acting like the series is already over.
 

 

 

Celtics vs. Knicks Odds, Spreads, Total & Betting Lines

Since we’ve been referencing the lines and oddsmakers, it’s only fitting to also share the latest Celtics vs. Knicks odds for Game 6 at FanDuel Sportsbook:

 

 

Celtics vs. Knicks Best Bet: New York’s Money Line (-135 At FanDuel Sportsbook)

We said that it’s time for New York to stop acting like the series is over, and we expect them to do just that. This has been a series where we’ve enjoyed player props aplenty with our Celtics vs. Knicks predictions thus far, but we're keeping things nice and basic with a money line - we wouldn’t even mind taking the point spread here.

That’s because we have New York winning this game by three points or more, and as it has always been in this series, that number of three is the key.  The Celtics broke NBA records for made threes throughout the season, broke records for missed threes to start the series, and in Game 5, their 22 tied their most in the playoffs.

In other words, New York slowing down Boston from beyond the arc is “all” it’s going to take. We absolutely don’t expect Luke Kornet to have a repeat performance now at Madison Square Garden, and we also don’t expect to see Jalen Brunson foul out again - it was the first time in his playoff career.

That means we should see him go for 30+ again, which he does far more often than not in the postseason, especially. Jayson Tatum was also several of Boston’s made threes when they started to fall, and obviously, those won’t be available to them.

If nothing else, we consider Game 5’s loss to be a wake-up call, and hey, now Brunson and company can close things out at MSG. Therefore, the best bet from our Celtics vs. Knicks predictions is New York’s money line (-135 at FanDuel Sportsbook).
 

 

 

Celtics vs. Knicks Injury Report & Starting Lineup

Of course, the Celtics vs. Knicks injury news is all about Jayson Tatum, who has already undergone successful surgery on his Achilles. We also know that Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart are playing banged up for New York, but as usual, they’re expected to be just fine for Game 6. Therefore, here are the expected Celtics vs. Knicks lineups for tonight:

NY Knicks:

BOS Celtics:

 

 

How To Bet On Celtics vs. Knicks At FanDuel & Claim Your $200 Bonus

We also mentioned a $200 FanDuel sign-up bonus to help make your Celtics vs. Knicks picks as valuable as possible - here’s how it works:

  1. Sign up here for a new FanDuel account
  2. Place your first bet for $5+ on anything
  3. Receive $200 in bonus bets if it wins

That means you’d be getting 40/1 odds on a -135 New York money line, and even if you don’t want to roll with our Celtics vs. Knicks predictions, you can just pick the biggest favorite you see! Either way, you’ll receive $200 in bonus bets AND your normal payout as long as they win once you open a new FanDuel account today!