Distractions are part of the pomp and circumstances surrounding NBA banner night, a celebratory opening game for the reigning champions taking place in Boston on Tuesday.
The Celtics don’t seem to mind the shimmery peripherals that surround ring night. They’re 15-2 in the first game of the season following their championship crusade and last lost a game that began with this type of ceremony in 1974.
The Knicks are at TD Garden on Tuesday for Game 1 of the NBA season, a spotlight matchup affording New York the opportunity to flex a lineup recreated to match up better with the likes of the Celtics and Milwaukee Bucks. All buffed and polished in the preseason after a dramatic roster revision brought Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges, the Knicks are still 4.5-point underdogs to the champs.
Should they be?
Only 32 percent of the handle at BetMGM is on the Knicks to win outright. The moneyline at FanDuel and DraftKings is in the same neighborhood as of Tuesday morning at +185.
The majority of bettors are going Boston; some 68 percent played the Celtics’ moneyline (-225) at BetMGM.
New York invested heavily to be in position to run out a highly versatile defensive group and spread the floor — and scoring — on the offensive end.
Even with the new personnel, if the Celtics get a locked-in Jayson Tatum, will it matter?
The Celtics are 57-14 the past two seasons when Tatum exceeds his scoring average (29.1 per game). The .803 winning percentage correlation with top-scoring output ranks fifth-best in the league. And only three players had a record better than Tatum and the Celtics (.806) when the team’s top scorer attempted at least 10 free throws. Boston was 25-6 last season when Tatum went to the line at least 10 times.
Here are a few other noteworthy trends from Inside Edge that might back what bettors are seeing as a favorable play for the Celtics:
–The Celtics have allowed opponents to shoot 45 percent at home since the start of the 2022-23 season, which is tied for the best in the NBA. Meanwhile, the Knicks have shot 47 percent (3,412/7,312) on the road since the start of the 2022-23 season, 10th-worst in the NBA.
–The Celtics are 24-6 (.800) when they commit no more than 10 turnovers since the start of the 2022-23 season. That’s tied for second-best in the NBA. The Knicks have forced 13.0 turnovers per game since the start of the 2022-23 season — fifth-lowest in the NBA.
–The Celtics averaged 11.9 turnovers per game (979 turnovers/82 games) last season, lowest in the NBA. The Knicks forced 13.2 turnovers per game last season — T-9th-lowest.
