The New York Knicks and Boston Celtics meet for a marquee matchup in the second round.
The pregame narrative: Boston looks every bit capable of defending its title after dispatching the Orlando Magic in five games. New York, an underdog in this series and in Game 1, will need its best to advance to the conference final for the first time since 2000.
Check out my Knicks vs. Celtics prop picks featuring Mikal Bridges and Derrick White in Game 1 on May 5.
Knicks vs. Celtics prop picks
Best Bet: Bridges over 5.5 rebounds and assists (-139)
The Knicks took a big swing on acquiring Bridges last offseason for moments like this. After all, you don’t give up five first-round picks for a guy with the hopes of winning one playoff round.
Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson are New York’s top dogs, but Tom Thibodeau loves to give his entire starting five plenty of run.
Bridges averaged 38.7 minutes in the opening round, and he made great use of that playing time:
- 16.2 PPG
- 5.0 RPG
- 1.8 APG
The swingman cleared this line in four straight games to close out New York’s series against the Indiana Pacers, logging seven-plus rebounds and assists in each of those contests.
Bridges averaged 3.0 rebounds and 5.6 assists (8.6 R/A) during the final 10 games of the regular season, clearing this line eight times.
That includes a game against the Celtics where he logged four rebounds and four assists.
Boston is a tough matchup. It owned the 10th-best home defensive rating in the regular season and is currently second in the playoffs.
That’s baked into this line, though, and I can’t look past the amount of run Bridges will get on Monday.
Key stat: Bridges is 16-4 against this line in his last 20 games.
Game 1 prop prediction
White over 3.5 threes (+117): Joe Mazzulla’s offensive philosophy is built on taking a ton of 3-pointers.
Boston attempted a league-high 47.3 threes per game during the regular season. That’s five more than the second-place Golden State Warriors and nearly 14 more than the Knicks.
It might seem excessive, but why would the Celtics do anything else when they’re shooting a collective 36.9% from deep (eighth-best in the NBA)?
White is a big part of Boston’s deep-ball identity, averaging 3.5 makes on 9.1 attempts (38.3%) during the regular season.
The Knicks allowed opponents to shoot 36.4% from deep, which was tied for the ninth-highest mark in the NBA.
White has cleared this line in four straight games vs. New York, shooting a combined 19-for-35 in those contests (54.2%).
Knicks vs. Celtics prop picks made at 1:28 p.m. ET 05/03/2025.
Avery joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2022 before stepping into a full-time role soon after. He loves betting on and analyzing golf — mainly because it’s easier than actually playing — but is a fan of all sports, from the NFL to the UFC.