It's a classic Atlantic Division Wednesday showdown as the Boston Celtics host the New York Knicks at 8 p.m. ET in a nationally televised game on ESPN. The Celtics opened as 8.5-point home favorites, but the spread has since fallen to six after Kyrie Irving was ruled out with a quad injury. The Over-Under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 209, up from its opening of 207.
Before picking either side, you need to read what SportsLine NBA expert Larry Hartstein -- who has put together a sizzling 21-9 run picking Celtics games -- has to say.
On Monday, Hartstein made a strong pick involving the Celtics against the Nuggets, confidently selecting Boston at +1.5. He wisely noted that the Celtics had played the Warriors tough in their previous game and Denver was just 1-5 against the spread in its previous six games. The result: The Celtics rode Irving's 27-point outburst to a 111-110 win, covering the spread.
Hartstein, who has a strong analytical background, has examined every matchup, every player and every trend for Knicks-Celtics and locked in his pick. We can tell you he's expecting a high-scoring affair and is leaning towards the Over. He has an even stronger pick for one side of the spread.
Hartstein knows that with Irving out of action on Wednesday, Boston's best shot at covering the spread will be to get Al Horford and Jayson Tatum in the paint for easy buckets. Both are shooting over 50 percent from the field and are capable of putting Knicks big men Kristaps Porzingis and Enes Kanter into early foul trouble.
But New York can cover the spread -- or win outright -- by feeding the rock to big man and 3-point sharpshooter Porzingis, who's knocked down 67 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc over his past four games.
Can the Eastern Conference-leading Celtics reassert their dominance after a grueling road trip and cover or will the Knicks pull off the upset, or at least stay within the spread?
So what side of the Knicks-Celtics do you need to be all over? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of Knicks-Celtics you need to be all over Wednesday, all from the expert who's 21-9 picking Celtics games.
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