The NBA season continues inside Madison Square Garden for a big game in the Eastern Conference tonight between the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics.
After a stunning performance in the NBA All-star game, Jayson Tatum will be looking to lead the Celtics to a victory on the road to keep their spot at the top of the conference, but there will be no Jaylen Brown to assist him and that will make it tough.
We'll look ahead to the game and see if we can provide you with our best free NBA betting picks to try and earn you some extra cash and start the week off right.
| NBA |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York Knicks | +115 | +120 | +117 |
| Boston Celtics | -135 | -140 | -142 |
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New York Knicks vs Boston Celtics information
- Monday, February 27th, 2023
- Madison Square Garden, New York
- 19:40 ET
- Boston Celtics 1st in Eastern Conference
- New York Knicks 6th in Eastern Conference
New York Knicks season so far
The Knicks haven't had the best of seasons so far, finding themselves scraping wins and losing games far too often to mount a real push that was expected pre-season.
The opened the season going 3-3 back in October, winning all their home games against Detroit, Orlando and Charlotte while losing their games on the road against Memphis, Milwaukee and Cleveland.
November was worse, going 7-9 across the month and getting back-to-back wins only once in that run of games, when they were able to beat Utah and Denver.
December saw an improvement, as they registered their first winning month by going 9-6 which included a stunning run of eight wins in a row. They followed that run with a poor losing run though, dropping five in a row in a period of games that summed up their season.
January saw them go 8-7 in a decent outing, but it was patchy once again, before a fantastic February seemed to see them finally start their run towards the playoffs with an 8-2 record that sees them enter this game on a five-game winning streak.
Boston Celtics season so far
The Celtics alternatively have had a terrific season, and have the most winningest record across the entire NBA at 44-17.
They opened their campaign going 18-4 across the first two months, with a huge run of 14 wins in 15 games that was only broken up by a defeat to Chicago at the United Center.
December wasn't their best as they went 8-6, with four home defeats surprising everyone. But they turned it around hugely since the start of the new year.
Boston went 10-5 in January, with a nine-game winning run resetting the focus and getting everyone back on track. Those wins against Dallas, San Antonio, Chicago, New Orleans, Brooklyn, Charlotte (2), Golden State and Toronto saw Tatum as the top scorer for the team in each one, confirming his dominance and status as one of the best players in the league.
February was even better, going 8-2, with an overtime loss to Milwaukee the only thing preventing an eight-game winning run. They head into this game on a three-game run after wins against Detroit, Indiana and Philadelphia.
Stats and trends
When it comes to scoring this season, it's not a surprise that Boston are the better team of the two.
So far this season they are averaging 118.3 points per game, while the Knicks are averaging 114.6, with a 47.5% field goal percentage in comparison to a 46.1% field goal percentage.
New York average more rebounds per game however, with 46.9 rebounds per game compared to 45.1 rebounds per game for Boston. The difference between the two sides is on offensive side of the boards though, with the Knicks averaging 12.9 offensive rebounds per game compared to Boston's 9.6. Defensively though, Boston average 35.5 rebounds per game and New York average 34.
Boston are 7-1 against the spread in their last eight games, and they are the better team all over the court so far.
NBA picks: Boston Celtics moneyline
It doesn’t feel like the Celtics are a great bet heading into a hostile environment, where they’ll take on one of the hottest teams in the NBA without their second-best player. But the odds are too good to ignore for the best team in the NBA so far this season.
The Celtics’ strong record without Brown means they know how to win without him, and they've been solid in the paint this season too. It would be a huge surprise if Kevin Randle was able to replicate his 37-point outing from their last meeting, with the Boston frontcourt in great form.
The spread is a decent bet at -2, but take them on the moneyline to be safe just in case it's closer than that.
Check out our review for BetOnline sports betting here.
NBA picks: Jayson Tatum to score 25+ points
Tatum has been the Celtic's top scorer in a game 38 times this season and is on absolute fire right now when it comes to scoring.
He broke the all-time record for most points scored in an All-star game when he hit 55 points, and he's followed that up with 31 points against Indiana and then 18 against Philadelphia, including a game-winning 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds to go last time out.
He'll be getting the ball in those dangerous positions even more in this game thanks to Jaylen Brown's absence, so the likelihood of him running up the numbers even in defeat are high. Get on this price.
Check out our review for BetUS sports betting here.
