The reigning champion Boston Celtics begin their title defense against the re-loaded New York Knicks. Who will come out on top?

Catch the game tomorrow at 7:30 AM, Manila time.

AWAY: New York Knicks (0-0, 0-0 AWAY)

Projected starting five:

  • Jalen Brunson
  • Mikal Bridges
  • Josh Hart
  • OG Anunoby
  • Karl-Anthony Towns

The Knicks are coming off a 50-32 season, where they were a game away from a conference finals appearance. It was also arguably their most electrifying season in over two decades. 

The biggest story coming into 2024-25, however, are the new major pieces added in the off-season: Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges. The two will be mixing it up with an already competitive core headlined by Jalen Brunson, who just had a career-high 28.7 points (5th in the league) and 6.7 assists per game this past season. He has led the promise surrounding the team, and his improvement will be interesting to follow.

Also intriguing will be the progression of the hustle guys, especially Josh Hart and OG Anunoby, two of the best wing defenders in the league.

This new-look squad will hope to fare better vs. the Celtics. They lost four of the five meetings in 2023-24, and the only one they won was at the tailend of the regular season.

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HOME: Boston Celtics (0-0, 0-0 HOME)

Projected starting five:

  • Jrue Holiday
  • Derrick White
  • Jaylen Brown
  • Jayson Tatum
  • Al Horford

The defending champs will be coming into the season filled with pride, momentum, all that good stuff. How can they not? They got the ring and were virtually unstoppable in doing so, finishing inside the top five in points, points allowed, offensive rating, defensive rating, and net rating, just to name a few.

Still, don’t forget that their two best players are motivated by something huge – Jayson Tatum for getting benched in the Paris Olympics, and 2024 Finals MVP Jaylen Brown for being snubbed in the Olympics selection. Look for both to have a season-long revenge tour.

Then, beyond that, there’s Jrue Holiday, a veteran point guard who’s arguably the NBA’s top defensive guard, and Derrick White, somehow a younger version of Holiday, except he’s in a two-guard style. Big man Kristaps Porzingis is dealing with a nagging injury, but the Cs are just too deep. Al Horford is still pretty serviceable, as are the other role players, from Payton Pritchard, to Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman.

PICKS:

Spread: Celtics (-5.5)

Over/Under: 221.5

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