In the first game of Prime Video’s doubleheader on Friday night, the New York Knicks Knicks host the Boston Celtics in a rematch of their series in the NBA Playoffs last year. The Knicks opened their season with an eight-point win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, while the Celtics suffered a one-point loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.
New York is favored by 3.5 points on DraftKings Sportsbook for tonight’s clash, with the game total set at 230.5 points. In addition to the main game line, DraftKings Sportsbook also has numerous player prop bets for Friday’s divisional matchup.
For the Knicks, Josh Hart (back) and Karl-Anthony Towns (quad) are questionable, while Mitchell Robinson (ankle) is out. Aside from Jayson Tatum (Achilles) and Luke Garza (concussion), the Celtics are all available this Friday.
Below, I’ve broken down my top three player prop bets for tonight’s highly-anticipated clash. Let’s dive in:
Best Celtics vs. Knicks Player Prop Bets on DraftKings Sportsbook
Jaylen Brown Over 24.5 Points (-104)
Brown had 25 points in the Celtics’ opener, even though he was questionable after sustaining a hamstring injury in the preseason. He should be even healthier and ready for a larger workload on Friday night as Boston seeks its first win of the season.
Brown has averaged 19.4 points per game in his 31 games against the Knicks in his career, but most of those came with Tatum as the primary scorer. In the seven regular season games Brown played without Tatum last year, he averaged 22.9 points per game, a slight uptick from his 22.2-point average for the season as a whole. Brown’s usage rate jumped over four percentage points to 33.1% with Tatum off the floor last season, and on opening night, he had a 27.3% usage rate, indicating that there’s still room for him to take on more work when he’s fully up to speed.
As the team’s primary scorer, I think he’ll be able to get to 25 points against New York, which gave up 19 three-pointers and 111 points in the win over the Cavaliers.
Mikal Bridges Over 2.5 Steals + Blocks (+141)
Especially if Hart is out, Bridges will play a key role for the Knicks. He played 33 minutes on Wednesday and had 16 points, six assists, and five rebounds while contributing an impressive two blocks and three steals.
Last season, Bridges averaged 0.9 steals and 0.5 blocks per game. In the playoff series against Boston, though, he increased his production to 2.3 steals and 1.0 blocks per game, notching at least three steals/blocks in four of the series’ six games.
The 29-year-old is very versatile on both ends of the floor, and with roles changing a little bit under new head coach Mike Brown, we could see more production from him this season after a disappointing 2024-25. The Celtics’ wings will shoulder most of the scoring burden, so Bridges will likely get lots of chances to make a difference on defense on Friday night.
Neemias Queta 20+ Points + Rebounds (+156)
Boston traded away Kristaps Porzingis and lost Al Horford in free agency, leaving Queta, Chris Boucher, Luke Garza, and Xavier Tillman as the team’s primary bigs. Queta got the start on Wednesday, and Garza also sustained a concussion, so he won’t be a threat to steal minutes on Friday.
Queta finished with a solid 17 points and eight rebounds in 25 minutes for Boston in the first game of the season, and he should get a good matchup in this game with Robinson out and KAT and Hart ailing.
While he may not be able to get to 25 combined points and rebounds like he did in the opener, he has a good chance to get to 20, which still comes at these juicy plus-money odds. I don’t quite feel comfortable taking him to get a double-double, but if he’s close to that, he’ll likely hit the over on this prop as well.
BONUS BET: I included Anfernee Simons in my top 3-point props for the day, so be sure to check that post out as well.
