The New York Knicks began their season 18-5, but in their next 29 games, they’ve gone 14-15. Someone, anyone, on this team needs to make a stand as the playoffs approach.
Golden State Warriors @ New York Knicks – Wednesday, February 27
Why Golden State Will Win
No NCAA football betting expert would deny the contention that Golden State has a very good chance in this contest. When you go over your next sportsbook review, you will see that the Knicks have treaded water ever since their sizzling 18-5 start to the season. New York has been a break-even team, for the most part. Yes, the Knicks lost a few games simply because of the absence of point guard Raymond Felton, who missed a good chunk of the month of January with an injury to his hand, but the Knicks have remained lackluster since Felton returned to the lineup a few weeks ago. New York has lost the offensive rhythm that made it so formidable in the first two months of the season. Opponents are taking away the team’s three-point shooters and are defending the drive-and-kick game a lot better. The Knicks shot so well in their 18-5 start, but building your identity on three-point shooting is fundamentally risky, because long-distance shooting comes and goes, even with quality marksmen. Teams that can get to the rim and earn foul shots on demand will generally have more success in the playoffs, because those are higher-percentage avenues for consistent scoring production.
The other reason to value Golden State in this game is that the Warriors, a team in crisis at the defensive end of the floor, came up with a huge effort against the league-best San Antonio Spurs on Friday, Feb. 22. Golden State limited San Antonio to 101 points in an overtime win, 93 in regulation time. That victory was exactly what the Warriors needed to re-charge themselves after losing six games in a row and looking terrible at the defensive end of the floor.
Why New York Will Win
When people pursue a sports betting play, they have to look at the whole picture in a given matchup and not get sucked into certain trends that might not mean anything when a game begins. Even football betting gurus who possess minimal knowledge of professional basketball could tell you that while Golden State did play well against San Antonio this past Friday, the Warriors still need to show that they can be consistently good at the defensive end of the floor. There’s reason to doubt if that performance against the Spurs was a true indicator of where the Warriors stand right now.
The other thing to keep in mind is that Golden State will play at Indiana on Tuesday, Feb. 26, the night before this game. Back-to-backs are cruel enough, but a back-to-back against two really good teams is going to challenge Golden State’s stamina and resolve. The Knicks, in marked contrast to the Warriors, get both Monday and Tuesday off before this game. New York will have played Miami on Sunday afternoon, meaning that the Knicks will get a legitimate 72 hours off before this contest. That’s the kind of detail that can and does affect the outcome of an NBA regular season game.
Who Will Win?
This figures to be a close game, but the added rest New York will enjoy should prove to be a decisive factor. The Knicks should have a lot more left in the tank in the fourth quarter. They’ll dig out a tough victory.
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NBA Betting Pick: New York
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