The Celtics have nothing to play for.
They have already clinched the top seed in the East and are a whopping 14 games behind Milwaukee in the standings with three games remaining.
Meanwhile, the Knicks are in the midst of a seeding battle, sitting in third place, one game behind the Bucks and one game ahead of the Magic and Cavaliers.
The Knicks are just 2¹/₂ games behind the seventh-seeded 76ers, but have avoided the NBA Play-In Tournament for the second consecutive season.
Knicks vs. Celtics predictions
(7:30 p.m. ET, TNT)
But I don't expect that to happen.
Sure, Boston won, covering five straight head-to-head games, but there's nothing to play on Thursday night.
They lost to Milwaukee by 13 points on Tuesday and have failed to cover the big spread in four of their past five games.
Joe Mazzula is texting the remaining games of the regular season and is already gearing up for the first round matchup.
Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis are listed as day-to-day injured on the injury report, so there's no need to rush someone back when they don't have to.
So the motivation in this battle at the Garden is entirely on the Knicks' side.
From a pure on-court matchup standpoint, New York has a good matchup against Boston.
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The Celtics make more 3s than any team in the NBA, while the Knicks rank 7th in the NBA in low-quality 3s allowed, according to ShotQuality.
Meanwhile, the Knicks use a lot of isolation actions, which Boston struggles with, ranking 19th in isolation points per possession (.92) and 20th in 3-point PPP off the dribble (1.06). ing.
I think the motivated Knicks are leveraging a solid matchup for a big win with a reseeding against the underdog Celtics. Or at least keep it nearby.
play: Knicks -2.5 (-110, BetMGM)
