The Boston Celtics' title defense continues Thursday night after defeating the New York Knicks in their season opener on Tuesday.

Boston will face the rebuilding Washington Wizards on Thursday, and oddsmakers expect the C's to be heavily favored in this matchup.

If you are not looking to score points with a bad team (Washington) or score so many points with Boston, betting on some player advantages is a good alternative.

I'm focusing on two games for this Eastern Conference battle, focusing on Boston star Jayson Tatum after he posted 37 points, four rebounds and 10 assists against the Knicks.

Can he have another big game against a Washington team that had one of the five worst defenses in the NBA last season?

Here's how to bet on him – and Wizards guard Jordan Poole – in the prop market tonight.

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Jayson Tatum OVER 5.5 assists (-154)

Tatum tormented the Knicks on Tuesday, making 14 of 18 shots from the field and 8 of 11 shots from beyond the arc while dishing out a whopping 10 assists.

Since the start of the playoffs last season, Tatum has been the Celtics' primary playmaker, making him an interesting target in the assists market against a poor defense and rebuilding team.

During Boston's title run, Tatum averaged 6.3 assists per game with 10.1 potential assists per game. His 10-assist game against the Knicks may be a little over the top since Boston made an NBA record 29 3-pointers, but I still think he can clear that prop.

Washington allowed 29.0 assists per game last season, the second-highest in the NBA.

Jordan Poole UNDER 19.5 points (-120)

Poole had a big game against Boston in his last meeting with them in the 2023-24 regular season, dropping 31 points, but I'm not sold on him in this support on Thursday.

First of all, I think it might be wise for the Wizards to utilize first-round pick Bub Carrington more as the primary ball-handler on offense since they are already in a rebuild.

Secondly, Poole did not have a strong season in 2023-24.

He averaged just 17.4 points per game while shooting 41.3 percent from the field and 32.6 percent from long range. All of these numbers were lower than his last two seasons in Golden State.

Now facing a team that had one of the five best defensive stats in the NBA during the 2023-24 season, Poole could use Jrue Holiday – an All-NBA defenseman – to slow him down.

I can't imagine Poole scoring 20 points in his first game of the season.

Odds are updated regularly and are subject to change.

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Find Peter Deweys NBA betting record here (Futures included). You can also follow my daily pieces on BetStamp here.