The New York Knicks return to the Mecca of basketball for Game 6 of their Eastern Conference semifinal set with the Boston Celtics tonight.
New York is trying to close out Boston in front of the Big Apple faithful after giving the defending champs hope with a Game 5 loss in Beantown.
The big stage of Madison Square Garden is known to bring out the best in players, and I sort through the Celtics vs. Knicks props for Game 6 to deliver my top NBA picks for Friday, May 16.
Best Celtics vs Knicks props
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Towns o1.5 asts (-105) - Bridges o14.5 pts (-115)
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Hauser o1.5 3s (+115)
Celtics vs Knicks player props for May 16
Karl-Anthony Towns Over 1.5 assists (-105 at bet365)
Karl-Anthony Towns has just two total assists in this series and has watched his passing prowess slide during the postseason after averaging more than three dimes during the regular season.
That lack of playmaking has moved his assists markets from 2.5 (Over -137) to start the playoffs to this current listing of 1.5 O/U.
Towns’ potential assists metric, which sat at 4.8 during the season, dropped to 3.3 versus Detroit in Round 1 and sits just on the other side of two dimes against the Boston Celtics.
But with Boston now playing without Jayson Tatum, its rotations get a shakeup. KAT finds himself guarded by bigger defenders in Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis, and Luke Kornet.
Towns is a versatile 7-footer who can put the ball on the ground and attack the basket, especially if he has slower matchups on him. Expect him to be aggressive, drawing defenders and opening up kickout spots to shooters.
The New York Knicks are a much better shooting team inside MSG, ranked fourth among home court field goal success. So far in this series, the Knicks have connected at a 47% FG rate at home versus just 42% in Boston.
Player projections are bullish on KAT’s assists tonight — at least compared to his recent output — with those models coming in above 2.5 dimes with a ceiling of 2.9 assists. My number says 2.8 helpers from Towns, which should have Over 1.5 assists priced higher than -300.
Mikal Bridges Over 14.5 points (-115 at bet365)
The Knicks need someone other than Jalen Brunson to share the scoring load if they’re going to banish Boston to Cancun.
I looked at Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby scoring props for Game 6 (both at 14.5 O/U) and sided with the former. Both guys had rotten showings in Game 5 but at least Bridges is healthy (Anunoby dealing with a hamstring issue) and Bridges does play his best ball inside Madison Square Garden.
On the season, Bridges scored four more points per game in front of the New York crowds, shooting almost 52% from the floor, including a 38.4% clip from 3-point range. That home/away split was in full effect in Boston on Wednesday (4-for-14 for just nine points), following a 23-point performance (11-for-21) in New York in Game 4.
“We just got to play desperate. I don’t think we did that (in Game 5),” Bridges told the media. “We go to come out aggressive throughout the whole game.”
Player projections for Bridges range from 16.7 to 18.3 points in Game 6, with my number sitting at 17.5 from the small forward. Given that forecast, the Over 14.5 should carry juice of -195, and some other books are dealing this same result as high as -125.
Sam Hauser Over 1.5 3-pointers (+115 at bet365)
Sam Hauser saw his first floor time since the series opener in Game 5 after suffering an ankle injury in Game 1.
He logged 15 minutes off the bench, scoring six points on 2 of 5 shooting from beyond the arc. He lasted only four minutes in Game 1, going 0-for-2 from deep before hurting himself.
The Celtics reserve guard played around 15 minutes per game in the opening round versus Orlando, which was a much more protective 3-point defense. He finished that series with at least two 3-pointers in the final two contests.
With Tatum out of the lineup and Hauser’s ankle on the mend, he could be in line for more minutes and more long-range looks. Player projections aren’t going crazy, with Hauser forecasted for 1.5 makes from deep.
Boston coach Joe Mazzulla found success scoring the ball in Game 5, running out four guards and a solo big man. That created a ton of spacing, and four of Hauser’s five 3-point attempts were open looks (defender 4-6 feet away).
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