New York at Boston

The New York Knicks will be without Chauncey Billups tonight for their game in Boston, and that will present problems running the offense. The Knicks played about as well as they could in game one, and still came up short at the end. Boston shot poorly all the way around including just 12-18 from the line. The Celtics had one bad quarter, but otherwise beat the Knicks 72-57. Boston is 28-7 straight-up at home in the playoffs, under the big three of Garnett, Pierce and Allen, and are tough to beat at home. The Celtics have beaten the Knicks nine straight times in Boston by an average margin of 13.2 points per game. Game one might have been the Knicks’ best chance to win. Not tonight, I like Boston.