Celtics vs. Knicks NBA odds, props: Boston taking heaviest spread and money line action of any team Wednesday
The Boston Celtics are taking huge action for Wednesday's game in New York
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You generally don't see an NBA team make significant changes to the roster after reaching at least the conference finals in each of the previous two seasons, but the Boston Celtics felt the need to add All-Stars Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis in trades to get over the hump. The Celtics are the +380 title favorites at Caesars as they tip off the 2023-24 season on Wednesday night in New York against the rival Knicks. Click here for model picks.
The game (which is the first of a double-header on ESPN) is to no surprise the most-wagered matchup of Wednesday's 12-entry slate. The Celtics are 3.5-point favorites on the SportsLine consensus and -165. They are taking the No. 1 lean of any team in both tickets and handle. The Knicks are no slouches, coming off a 47-win season (which included taking three of four in this series) and a trip to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
At DraftKings, the Celtics are taking north of 90% of the tickets and handle (no other team is close on either), and about 60% of money line bets. We might see some late Knicks action on the ML, however, as casual fans tend to bet ML underdogs.
It's hard to argue against Boston having the best top six players of any team in the NBA with Jayson Tatum (+600 to win MVP), Jaylen Brown (+7500), Holiday (acquired from Portland), Porzingis (acquired from Washington), Derrick White (a member of last season's NBA All-Defensive Team) and veteran stalwart Al Horford, who will now come off the bench.
Tatum led the league in scoring with 2,225 points last season, joining Paul Pierce (2001-02 season) as the only players in franchise history to lead in points. Tatum was the first Boston player ever to average 30.0 points per game. Larry Bird held the previous team mark of 29.9 in 1987-88. Tatum is set at over/under 25.5 points for Wednesday.
To land Holiday and Porzingis, Boston did have to give up former NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart, 2022-23 NBA Sixth Man of the Year Malcolm Brogdon and center Robert Williams along with a lot of draft picks.
In addition to being the title favorite at Caesars (many other books have Boston and Milwaukee tied), the Celtics have the league's highest over/under win total of 55.5 and are the +700 favorites to win the NBA's new in-season tournament.
On the DraftKings NBA prop market for Wednesday's slate, Holiday is taking the most action on the assists market of any player at Under 7.5 (-135). Porzingis is No. 3 on that market at Under 2.5 (-125). On the made 3-pointers market, Porzingis Over 1.5 (-145) is taking the heaviest action followed by Tatum Over 2.5 (-140). The most popular Knicks prop is Julius Randle Over 8.5 rebounds (+100).
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