The 2013 NBA playoffs are set to begin, and today at Bankroll Sports, we are going to be keeping a close eye on the series between the New York Knicks and the Boston Celtics. These two should be going at it in a great set of battles, and we are going to have our NBA playoffs predictions and scores update on a nightly basis for this and all of the great series throughout the playoffs. Check back to this page often, as we will be updating our final scores and our series analysis so you can make the most informed NBA picks every step of the way in this series.

Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks NBA Playoff Schedule

Knicks Win Series 4-2

Game 1: Boston Celtics 78 – New York Knicks 85
Game 2: Boston Celtics 71 – New York Knicks 87
Game 3: New York Knicks 90 – Boston Celtics 76
Game 4: New York Knicks 90 – Boston Celtics 97 (OT)
Game 5: Boston Celtics 92 – New York Knicks 86
Game 6: New York Knicks 88 @ Boston Celtics 80

Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks Series Odds at
5Dimes Sportsbook
Boston Celtics +650
New York Knicks -1000
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Celtics vs. Knicks Series Updates
Game 1: The Celtics only scored eight points in the entire fourth quarter on Saturday, and that really took the wind out of the sails of a game that was very close and very winnable going into the final stanza. F Paul Pierce, G Avery Bradley, and F Jeff Green combined to score 63 points, but the rest of the Boston team only had 15 for the whole game. F Carmelo Anthony started off his postseason in style, shooting 13-of-29 from the floor and scoring 36 points to lead New York to a ‘W’. Knicks 85 – Celtics 78 (Knicks Lead Series 1-0)

Game 2: The Celtics scored just 23 total points in the second half against the Knicks in Game 2, including getting outscored 32-11 in the third quarter. The team shot just 37.1 percent from the field, while the Knicks got 34 more points out of F Carmelo Anothny. Four of the five starters for New York were +21 or better in the point scoring department against the C’s, and that was clearly the difference in this one. Knicks 87 – Celtics 71 (Knicks Lead Series 2-0)

Game 3: The C’s had to think that they were going to get this series back to Madison Square Garden level, but absolutely nothing happened that was good in Beantown. In the first game that the Celtics played at home since the Boston Marathon bombings, the host team came out of the blocks flat, scoring just 31 points in the first two quarters. At halftime, over the course of the last four quarters, Boston had scored just 54 points. Wow. Boston’s bench was outscored 30-10, and that clearly wasn’t good enough to win a game against the Knicks. Knicks 90 – Celtics 76 (Knicks Lead Series 3-0)

Game 4: Give the Celtics this… At least they have a little bit of fight left in them. They came out of the gate in the first half and put together a solid performance over the weekend, outscoring New York 54-35 in the 24 minute stretch. However, from that point forward, it was all New York, especially in the third quarter when the team went on a quarter-long 30-14 run. G JR Smith was suspended for the game for the Knicks, but G Raymond Felton stepped up and scored 27 points to make up for the fact that the bench scored just seven in total. In overtime though, the Celtics were able to muster up one last bit of fight, and they scored a healthy 13 points in the period to ultimately go on to victory behind 29 points from F Paul Pierce and 26 from F Jeff Green. The C’s lived to fight another day. Celtics 97 – Knicks 90 (Knicks Lead Series 3-1)

Game 5: The Celtics got the toughest game that they simply had to get. They beat the Knicks at Madison Square Garden, and they did it as a team. Boston picked up at least 16 points from five different players, and though Head Coach Doc Rivers only used a total of seven men, those seven were good enough to get the job done. G JR Smith and F Carmelo Anthony got shot happy from the outside, and as a result, the two didn’t even shoot a combined 30% from the field. The rest of the team did just fine for the Knicks, but as we have learned over the course of this season, when Smith and Anthony aren’t scoring, they hit the panic button and the rest of the team has to pay the price. Now, the pressure is really on in the Big Apple. Celtics 92 – Knicks 86 (Knicks Lead Series 3-2)

Game 6: F Carmelo Anthony knew that he was going to have to close this series out if he was ever going to want to keep his reputation as one of the superstars of the game. Melo only shot 7-of-23 from the field, including 1-of-6 from beyond the arc, but he was picked up by his teammates. The Knicks got back to their game defensively, holding the Celtics down to just 27 points in the first half. Boston was down 24 points at one point in the fourth, but the team went on one last push, a remarkable 20-0 run. It just wasn’t enough though, as the Celtics’ season comes to a close. Knicks 88 – Celtics 80 (Knicks Win Series 4-2)

2013 Celtics vs. Knicks Series Preview

The Knicks and the Celtics know all about each other, as they met four times this season and played in a bitter rivalry against one another. There was a point that the two teams nearly warred both on and off the court after games on the campaign, and that should make this a great series. The Knicks are going to need to knock down some shots and make sure that they continue to hammer the paint if they are going to win this series. We know that Boston is going to bring a very hardnosed defense to the table that is going to hack and claw with the Knicks for the full seven games if need be. There will never be a point that the C’s give up, nor will there be a point that the team stops fighting.

This is something that really could frustrate New York when push comes to shove. Neither G JR Smith nor F Carmelo Anthony were really great shooters this year, as the two only combined to shoot around 43% from the floor, and though they can both be fantastic shooters both inside and outside, they can both end up getting sloppy with the basketball, which could ultimately be the Knicks’ downfall.

Boston though, has to prove that it is in playoff shape. The team really hasn’t played all that hard for most of the season, and we think the last time that this team took a game seriously was sometime back in March. That being said, we know that F Paul Pierce and F Kevin Garnett are going to have to prove that they are the kings of the court, and they’re both going to have to be good for 35-40 minutes per night and probably at least 35 points and 20 rebounds per game between them to win this series.

The boys from Beantown are surely going to be emotional in this one, as Game 3 and Game 4 of this series will be the first games played at the TD Garden since the Boston Marathon Bombings. We think that this is a series that could go to Boston in spite of the fact that the Knicks did a great job in this series. Don’t be surprised if this one goes the distance, which is where the C’s might shine.

Knicks vs. Celtics Series Prediction: Boston Celtics in 7

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The Boston Celtics and the Miami Heat both have aspirations of beating the NBA Finals odds this year to claim glory. These two titans will run into each other like two runaway trains going in opposite directions starting on Sunday, and only one will be able to survive.

NBA Series Prices
Miami -195 vs. Boston +165 @ Oddsmaker Sportsbook
Miami -200 vs. Boston +170 @ SportBet Sportsbook
Miami -190 vs. Boston +155 @ BetUS Sportsbook

Series Trends and History
The Celtics did a nice job in this series this year in the regular season. They won 88-80 in a great game in October and came back to South Beach to score a 112-107 ‘W’. February’s meeting also went Boston’s way in 85-82 form at TD Garden. The difference making win went to Miami, though. In one of the last games of the regular season, the Heat scored a 100-77 victory. Because of that, they finished in front of the C’s in the standings and earned home court advantage in this series.

The Celtics are still 9-3 ATS over the course of the last 12 meetings in South Beach, and they had covered four in a row and seven out of eight before that romp here at American Airlines Arena. The favorite is 13-6 ATS in the last 19 clashes of these titans.

Keys to the Series
Key 1: The Battle in the Paint – There really isn’t anything more important in this series. The Celtics know that they have a huge deficiency without Kendrick Perkins. They might get Shaquille O’Neal back in the fold at some point during this series, but we don’t know whether it’s going to make much of a difference. If Joel Anthony and Zydrunas Ilgauskas can figure out how to give just a few contributions, that should be good enough for the Heat to dominate.

Key 2: LeBron’s Passion – LeBron James is going to be the best player on the court in this series, but that doesn’t mean that he is going to be putting up the best numbers. James was knocked out of the playoffs by these Celtics last year, and he really needs to be at his best to avenge that defeat from last year. Boston figured out how to bottle LeBron up last year, and if it does so again, the Heat are in a ton of trouble.

Key 3: Overcoming the Past – We’ve already mentioned just how badly the Heat played against Boston this year, but this wasn’t the only rock solid team that they didn’t do so great against on the campaign. Miami was knocked off twice by the Dallas Mavericks and all three times by the Chicago Bulls. This has been a huge problem for the Heat, and if they can’t get over their problems against the best of the best, they’ll never be able to beat the NBA Finals odds.

The 2010 NBA Finals lines are out, and here at Bankroll Sports, we’re offering up our opinions on the odds to win the NBA Finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics.

Complete List Of Current Odds To Win The 2010 NBA Finals Can Be Found Below

All season long, the Celtics were the team that underachieved. They only finished the regular season at 24-17 SU at home and just 12-28-1 ATS. They only averaged 99.2 points per game in spite of the fact that they probably had one of the most talented offensive lineups in the game. Heck, only finishing fifth in the league in total defense probably wasn’t anything to write home about either.

However, the C’s talked all about how they just needed to flip the switch and that things would be different in the playoffs. My, how they were right.

The only time that Boston has lost two straight games in the playoffs came in Games 4 and 5 against the Orlando Magic. They have already stolen five wins as the visitors in the postseason, and they are an amazing 12-5 ATS to show for 17 playoff efforts.

The “Big Four” are combining to average scoring 67.5 points per game.

“The Truth,” F Paul Pierce is up to 19.1 points per game after scoring 30+ points in two of the final three games of the Orlando series. His counterpart, G Rajon Rondo has made a real name for himself, as he almost averaged a triple-double in the series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

First it was D-Wade. Then it was King James. Finally, it was Superman. They all fell. The Celtics were right. The proverbial switch has been flipped.

However, it’s Showtime in Tinseltown now for the Celtics, which means that the Lakers are going to be rockin’ and rollin’ in an effort to win their second consecutive NBA Finals.

Even though Los Angeles was the #1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs, this wasn’t exactly a dominant squad either. The Lakers limped down the stretch of the season and had to sweat just a bit about whether or not they were going to take home court advantage on the road to the NBA Finals or not.

Just like Boston, this was a team that was supposed to limp into the playoffs. G Kobe Bryant looked old. The youthful Oklahoma City Thunder were supposed to take all of the energy out of them. F Pau Gasol was supposed to be too soft. The bench wasn’t supposed to be deep enough.

Durant, Boozer, Williams, Nash, and Stoudemire… All names that are now watching as those Lakers that were “finished” are playing to complete the successful defense of their crown.

Bryant has turned the corner in a huge way, as he has been absolutely lights out, particularly since early in that series against the Thunder. He has a streak of four straight 30+ point performances under his belt coming into this series, and his statistics are simply off of the charts. Kobe is averaging 29.4 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game in the playoffs, shooting 48.3 percent from the field and 40.5 percent from beyond the arc.

F Pau Gasol has done plenty of damage as well, scoring right at 20.0 points per game to go with his 10.9 rebounds.

The bench might be under some scrutiny, but F Lamar Odom has done his share. In just under 30 minutes per game of action, Odom has compiled 10.6 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, which should set up a great clash between he and the secondary big men for the Celtics in the paint.

This is a rematch of the 2008 NBA Finals, won by the Celtics in six games. It was the official renewal of a team that had fallen from the days of Larry Bird, Bob Cousy, and all of the other fantastic names that are sitting in the rafters at TD Banknorth Garden. 2009 was the year of the Lakers, as Bryant helped further solidify his name amongst Lakers greats like Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

NBA Finals betting action starts Thursday night at Staples Center and will continue with Game 2 on Sunday before the series shifts back to Beantown for Games 3, 4, and 5 (if necessary) starting on Tuesday.

Odds to Win 2010 NBA Finals: Boston Celtics vs. Los Angeles Lakers

Sportsbook	Bonus
JustBet Sportsbook	100% Free Play Bonus	+165	-185
Diamond Sportsbook	100% Match Free Play	+165	-195
BetUS Sportsbook	100% Bonus Up to $500	+155	-190

Only four teams left in the quest to become the champs of the basketball world heading into the Eastern and Western Conference Championship series which begin on Sunday.

With the dismissal of the Cleveland Cavaliers from the postseason, the Orlando Magic (+120 at Diamond Sportsbook) are now the favorite to win it all. And why not? HC Stan Van Gundy’s team has won all eight of its playoff games and just ditched the Hawks by a combined 101 points. The Magic are now 14-0 SU and 12-2 ATS in their L/14 games overall dating back to the regular season, and they haven’t been beaten since the beginning of April. If Boston thinks it is winning this series, it is going to have to buck a very telling trend that is on the side of the men from the Sunshine State. Orlando hasn’t lost back-to-back games since January 18th. That’s 49 straight games without two losses in a row.

As you can plainly see, the Boston Celtics (+600 at Diamond Sportsbook) are deservedly one of the two longest shots on the board to win it all. It’s going to be hard to see how the C’s can get the job done against the Magic. However, Boston did win four out of five games against the team that was easily the favorite to take it all in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. G Rajon Rondo has made a name for himself in these playoffs, especially with his triple-double in Game 4 against Cleveland. The Kentucky product has averaged 18.0 points, 11.1 assists, and 6.3 rebounds per game in the playoffs, and no one is questioning the fact that he has been the MVP of the team to date.

In the Western Conference, both teams are coming off of impressive clean sweeps of their foes.

The Phoenix Suns (+625 at Diamond Sportsbook) are the decided underdog to reach the NBA Finals. The Suns swept away the San Antonio Spurs in a series that many thought they were going to lose. HC Alvin Gentry has really gotten his squad together, as he is getting great contributions off of the bench and his starters are continuing to carry the load. F Amare Stoudemire has passed his biggest test to date, as he dominated the paint against F Tim Duncan and the Spurs. Now, he’ll need to take on the team that has arguably had the best inside presences in these playoffs.

In all likelihood, the Los Angeles Lakers (+130 at Diamond Sportsbook) are going to be short underdogs to win the NBA Championship if they run into the Magic in the Finals, which isn’t something that many saw as possible just a few weeks ago. LA rebounded from its iffy series with the Thunder by completely annihilating Utah in four games. G Kobe Bryant has been the subject of a lot of criticism, but he has fired back with five straight fantastic games. Kobe has scored at least 30 in all five and has averaged 32.0 points per game in that stretch. If Bryant can continue his assault on the basket, things are going to be very, very difficult for a Phoenix team that knows that it must shut him down to succeed.

Odds to win 2010 NBA Championship @ Diamond Sportsbook (as of 5/15/10):
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Orlando Magic +120
Los Angeles Lakers +130
Boston Celtics +600
Phoenix Suns +625

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It’s playoff time once again for the men of the hardwood and on the ice! Here at Bankroll Sports, we’re still taking our best shots at the teams, players, and situations that really cost us sports bettors in a big way in the week that was.

Rap Sheet Picture of the Week
Montreal Canadiens G Jaroslav Halak, who blew a three goal lead and gave up this game-winner 31 seconds into overtime.

All of the home teams in the NHL playoffs should be ashamed of themselves. Not a single one of the are hitting the road up two games this week. However, the team we really need to take a stab at right off the bat is the Montreal Canadiens. The rest of the NHL hates you right now, Montreal. After all, the Habs were up 1-0 in the series after stealing Game 1 at the Verizon Center, and they held a 4-1 lead following LW Andrei Kostitsyn’s third goal of the game with just over two minutes to play in the second period. G Jose Theodore had already been ran out of the game and replaced by G Semyon Varlamov, and the Habs looked primed to take a 2-0 lead back to the Great White North. Not so fast, my friends. They were outscored 4-1 during the next 20 minutes of hockey, and then just 31 ticks into the overtime, C Nicklas Backstrom connected for the game-winner, his third goal of the game. Enjoy being bounced from this series in five games, Montreal. You had your chance to slay the giants in the playoffs, and now you’re going to pay the ultimate price for not succeeding.

Give it up for Jason Marquis, ladies and gentlemen! The right-hander has been an absolutely abortion of a signing for the Nationals on the outset of this season, as he has given up at least six earned runs in each of his starts and is 0-3 to show for it. On Sunday though, he had one of the more embarrassing starts that any pitcher has seen in this ’10 MLB betting campaign. Marquis gave up a single to Rickie Weeks, a single to Craig Counsell, a single to Ryan Braun, plunked Prince Fielder, walked Casey McGehee, plunked Jim Edmonds, and gave up a single to Gregg Zaun, and was promptly removed without recording an out. Seven batters faced. Seven batters scored. Solid job, Marquis. Your numbers for the year now? 8.1 innings pitched, 18 hits, 20 runs (19 earned), 2 HRs, 7 walks, 3 plunks, 3 strikeouts, a WHIP of 2.88, a batting average against of .419, and an ERA of 20.52. Doesn’t get much better than that.

Hey, Kevin Garnett, you haven’t cost us any money yet, but we totally see this one coming. For whatever reason, you decided to elbow G Quentin Richardson in the face with 40 seconds to play in a game in which your Celtics stormed back from a 61-47 deficit halfway through the third quarter to win by nine. Now, the NBA’s sheriff, Commissioner David Stern, is inevitably going to suspend you for Game 2 of this series (if not longer). Isn’t your team already woeful enough at home with you in the lineup that you can’t afford to take yourself out of a playoff game for no good reason? C’mon KG, you’re better than this.

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Remember a few years ago when the Boston Celtics were considered the “feel good champs” in the NBA? After all, F Kevin Garnett finally got his ring after all of those years mired in one of basketball’s many purgatories with the Minnesota Timberwolves, F Paul Pierce was finally recognized as one of the true warriors in the game, G Ray Allen was now an East Coast hero after being a Seattle send off that almost always flew under the radar, and other role players like G Rajon Rondo and F Glen Davis were just generally loved.

Now, the C’s are nothing more than the bad boys of the NBA that we can’t wait to see get knocked out of the playoffs.

One thing is for certain, and that’s that this team is becoming a lot like the Detroit Pistons both of the Chuck Daly era and the Larry Brown era. This Boston squad isn’t afraid to bloody you up a bit and smack you right in the mouth to get their point across.

Unfortunately, KG took that mantra a wee bit too seriously on Saturday night.

The term “flipping the switch” was heard in the Boston locker room for the entire second half of the season. The Celtics went 27-27 in their final 54 games of the year, which is hardly acceptable for a team that was the most feared in the NBA over the L/2 seasons. After falling behind 14 points halfway through the third quarter in their Game 1 of the NBA playoffs against the Miami Heat, the proverbial switch was flipped.

Boston was fantastic over the next 19 minutes of play, outscoring the Heat by a whopping 23 points in that stretch to win the game going away. The switch has been flipped.

However, that same switch might’ve been flipped for Miami as well, and it had nothing to do with the basketball going into the net.

Garnett threw an elbow at G Quentin Richardson with 40 seconds to play in the game that earned him a pair of technical fouls and an immediate ejection. Commissioner David Stern is likely to suspend Garnett for at least Game 2 on Tuesday night, if not Game 3 in Miami on Friday as well.

Richardson responded after the game by referring to both Garnett and Pierce as “actresses.”

One thing is for certain though, and that’s that Miami is going to be ready to go regardless of whether KG is a part of the action in Game 2 or not. The Heat were nearly 3-1 underdogs to win this series at the outset of it. All action is off the board at all of the sportsbooks due to the potentially pending suspension.

Regardless of what the odds say about this series, you can bet that Miami has already taken Boston’s best shot and will be ready to take aim at the second round of the playoffs.

It was an awkward week of sports betting action, as the start of the baseball betting season continued to cross with red hot sporting events on the ice, hardwood, and links. Here’s what we’re ranting about this week at Bankroll Sports!

Rap Sheet Picture of the Week
New York Rangers G Henrik Lundqvist, who was the losing goalie in Sunday’s elimination game for the final slot in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Tiger Woods is really getting under my skin right now, and for various reasons. Not only am I irked that the entire PGA Tour betting event this week at the Masters was covered by Tiger this and Tiger that, but I also hate how everyone said that Woods couldn’t figure out how to put this together after taking six months away from the Tour. He’s still Tiger Freaking Woods. No, Tiger didn’t win it on Sunday, but he sure had his dramatic moments to finish just a few shots behind and with yet another Top 10 finish in a major. That being said, I’m still ticked that everyone spent so much time talking about Tiger that there were two stories that just totally went under the radar. Good thing that Phil Mickelson won the event, or no one would’ve ever remembered the name of the winner. I mean really… why not just give Tiger the Green Jacket, too? After all, he was the center of this whole ordeal these past four days, right? And why no love for 16-year old Matteo Manassero, who made the cut and finished at +4 for the tournament? If this kid can finish +4 at the age of 16 and make the Masters cut, maybe there’s another Tiger Woods on our hands that we’ll be discussing in a few years.

A week into MLB betting action and we already have a little bit of history… and not the good kind either. How’s about allowing a whopping 13 runs in an inning? Nice job, Pittsburgh Pirates. The 13 run outburst featured eight hits, four walks, three homers (one of which was to Edwin Jackson, the pitcher, who spent the last couple seasons in the American League), a triple, and a tad bit of miserable fielding to boot. It took three pitchers to get through the frame for the Bucs, as Darren McCutchen, Hayden Penn, and Jack Taschner were all used and all touched up. If you’re interested, through one week of play, McCutchen has an ERA of 24.30 and Penn has one of 30.86. Stellar ball, guys. Stellar.

Let’s take a stab at the Boston Celtics as well. Just a week after watching the San Antonio Spurs get destroyed by the New Jersey Nets, the C’s pulled off one just as sharp. In the fight for the #3 seed in the Eastern Conference, they were knocked off by the lowly Washington Wizards on their home court 106-96. Even more embarrassing was the fact that they put up 42 points in the 4th quarter and still were beaten and beaten badly. The Wiz outscored Boston 52-31 in a very uninspired first half of ball. Over their L/52 games, the Celtics are only 27-25 after starting 18 games over .500 over the first couple months of the year. That won’t cut it in the playoffs, that’s for sure.