The NBA is back!
Tonight the NBA season tips off with the New York Knicks traveling to face the Boston Celtics — but nothing starts until the Celtics players get their championship rings from Commissioner Adam Silver and hoist banner No. 18 up to the rafters.
We’re here to bring you all the highlights and analysis tonight, from the ring ceremony through Karl-Anthony Towns first bucket as a member of the Knicks. Check back as often to follow along with what is happening inside the TD Garden on the first night of NBA action — and with what could be a very early preview of the Eastern Conference Finals.
On the broadcast, TNT cut away, but people in the building, like Celtics podcaster/writer John Karalis, got a good view of Boston Celtics championship banner No. 18 going up to the rafters.
The banner goes into the rafters pic.twitter.com/vxiRGLnTsZ
— John Karalis 🇬🇷🇺🇦 (@John_Karalis) October 22, 2024
People who make their living on social media and with videos know how to make an entrance.
Kai Cenat knows how to make an entrance.
🚨 Kai Cenat arrives for opening night in Boston! pic.twitter.com/WEHUShGu9M
— NBA (@NBA) October 22, 2024
Kai Cenat is getting locked in 😂 pic.twitter.com/jWLQnvw3a2
— NBA (@NBA) October 22, 2024
The Celtics are -5.5 favorites to beat the Knicks tonight, with the total set at 221.5, according to our partners at Bet MGM.
If you’re considering placing a bet on tonight’s NBA opener, here are a few facts to consider, courtesy of the staff at NBCSports.com/betting:
• Boston is 5-1 straight up in their last 6 season openers.
• The Knicks are 2-4 in their last 6 season openers.
• The Celtics have won four straight against the Knicks at TD Garden, and seven of the last ten overall in this rivalry.
• The Celtics covered the spread in 57% of their games as home favorites last season.
• Five of the Knicks’ last seven games at TD Garden have gone OVER the Total
Here are a couple of bets worth thinking about, via the staff at NBCSports.com/bet:
• Josh Hart OVER 12.5 rebounds and assists. Hart exceeded that number in eight of the Knicks 10 games to close out last season.
• Jalen Brunson to record a double-double: Yes: +295
Jaylen Brown has arrived at the TD Garden — and the man has style. Check out the custom Celtics jacket.
Well now we need this jacket JB is wearing 🔥
— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) October 22, 2024
Presented by @NEFordDealers pic.twitter.com/vNxRBRmEJN
The Knicks brought in Mikal Bridges as one of the players who can get them over the hump of the Boston Celtics and back to the NBA Final for the first time since the 1990s. However, over the course of his career, Bridges has struggled a little more against Boston than he has against the league as a whole.
For his career (15 games total), Bridges had averaged 15.7 points and 4 rebounds a game against the Celtics.
Last season, playing for the Brooklyn Nets, Bridges averaged 17 points and 4.3 rebounds a game, but was held to a 51.1 true shooting percentage (the league average was close to 57).
Much as he has against the rest of the league, Jayson Tatum has had a lot of success playing against New York.
For his career, Jayson Tatum has averaged 23 points, 7 rebounds and 3.8 assists a night in 25 games against the Knicks.
Those numbers were higher last season, when he averaged 26.2 points, 6.6 rebounds and 5.8 assists a game against the Knicks (he played in five games between the sides.
During the Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant era, the Golden State Warriors won back-to-back NBA titles in 2016-17 and 2018-18 (the Warriors went to five straight finals from 2015 to 2018, winning three).
Before that, it was LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh with the Miami Heat in 2012 and 2013. The Kobe Bryant/Paul Gasol Lakers won back-to-back titles in 2019 and 2010 under Phil Jackson, while the Shaq/Kobe Lakers won three straight titles from 2000 to 2002.
