The Boston Celtics aren’t dead yet.
Boston, despite a season-ending injury to Jayson Tatum, dominated Game 5 against the New York Knicks to force a Game 6 on Friday night at Madison Square Garden. Boston is two wins away from advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals, as it attempts to become the 14th team in NBA history to erase a 3-1 series deficit.
Things won’t be easy at MSG, as the C’s are underdogs in the latest odds at DraftKings. Boston was favored – and covered – in Game 5, but oddsmakers are expecting the Knicks to wrap up this second-round series on May 16.
New York put together a lackluster second half in Game 5, and Jalen Brunson fouled out early in the fourth quarter, essentially ending all hopes of a Knicks comeback. New York certainly wants to avoid a winner-take-all Game 7 in Boston, but it has struggled at home in the playoffs, going just 1-2 in the first round against Detroit and 1-1 in the second round so far against Boston.
For Game 6, I’m eyeing a pair of guards – Brunson and Derrick White – in the prop market for my favorite picks. While bettors may want to pick a side, this series has shown us that anything can happen.
I’d much rather rely on these prop plays for Game 6.
NBA Best Bets Record to Date2024-25 season record: 258-249-4 (-4.13 units)OVERALL (since 2021-22 season): 1268-1193-26 (+33.97 units)
NBA Best Bets Today
Derrick White OVER 20.5 Points (-120) – 0.5 unitJalen Brunson OVER 6.5 Assists (-125) – 0.5 unitDerrick White OVER 20.5 Points (-120) – 0.5 unit
All series long, White has been called upon to take a ton of shots – and a ton of 3-pointers – for Boston, and that only rose with Tatum out of the lineup in Game 5.
White finished Game 5 with 34 points – a series-high – and knocked down 7-of-13 shots from beyond the arc.
The Celtics guard has now scored 57 points over his last two games, and he has three games in this series where he has made five or more shots from beyond the arc. White has attempted at least 11 3-pointers in four of his five games, raising his ceiling in this market in a big way.
I expect the Celtics to lean heavily on White and Jaylen Brown once again in Game 6.
Jalen Brunson OVER 6.5 Assists (-125) – 0.5 unit
For those that have been following the column in this series, you know that I’ve loved this number for Brunson.
Not only is the Knicks guard averaging well over seven assists per game in the playoffs, but he set a career-high in assists per game (7.3) in the regular season.
Plus, Brunson has seven or more assists in nine of his 11 games in the postseason. While the star guard finished with just six assists in Game 5, he was crushed by foul trouble, sitting out the last several minutes of the game and several minutes at the end of the third quarter after picking up his fifth foul.
Brunson fouled out and played by far his lowest minutes total of the postseason, yet he still managed to pick up six assists. I’m buying a bounce-back showing from the All-NBA guard at home in Game 6.