The New York Knicks won a game! And didn’t come out flat for an afternoon game against a pretty tough Western Conference opponent, albeit missing their two best players.
But this same Clippers team just gave the 76ers a run for their money and beat them 102-101 in Philadelphia on Friday.
So while a win is a win, this one felt good as was much needed.
We also got to see our newest addition to the squad, Cam Reddish, who only logged 5 minutes and scored 2 points but the crowd still went wild upon his entrance.
.@camreddish FIRST BUCKET AS A KNICK 👏 pic.twitter.com/hWMOAWjn3d
— KNICKS ON MSG (@KnicksMSGN) January 23, 2022
Here are your Best Bets for tonight’s New York Knicks game
Snapping that 3-game losing streak was a necessity. Onto bigger and better things hopefully.
Spread:
Knicks +6 (-110)
Cavaliers -6 (-110)
Moneyline:
Knicks +190
Cavaliers -230
Total:
201.5 (Over -110/Under -110)
Knicks injuries: Nerlens Noel (probable, knee); Kemba Walker (questionable, knee); Mitchell Robinson Jr. (questionable, ankle); Derrick Rose (out, ankle); Ryan Arcidiacano (out, ankle); Luka Samanic (out, G League assignment).
Cavs injuries: Lauri Markkanen (out, ankle); RJ Nembhard (out, G-League assignment); Collin Sexton (out for season, knee); Ricky Rubio (out for season, knee); Rajon Rondo (questionable, hamstring).
Yet again the Knicks are playing the second leg of back-to-back games after playing an afternoon game the day prior.
How lucky could they get?
Another noteworthy bit of news to watch out for is the health and availability of Mitchell Robinson after he tweaked his ankle on Sunday.
The Knicks can’t afford to lose Robinson at this point in the season, despite getting Nerlens Noel back on Sunday.
Robinson has been super effective to start the new year, losing him would be a significant hit, even for a few games as the Knicks try to stay at around .500 on the season.
If he’s forced to miss any time, expect Noel and Taj Gibson to pick up the majority of the slack. Even rookie Jericho Sims could get some burn.
Cavs’ Forward Lauri Markkanen will be out for tonight’s contest as well as for the foreseeable future due to a substantially worse ankle injury endured this past week.
There’s no certain timetable for his return.
As you can see, both teams have been hindered by the injury bug as of late.
The Cavs are the best team at covering their spreads this season with a record of 29-15-3 while the Knicks rank toward the bottom of the league in doing so, with a season record of 23-24.
But don’t let that deter you from betting on the Knicks today.
With an Over/Under so low, it’s expected to be a relatively low-scoring game.
When it’s supposed to be a lower-scoring affair, it allows the Knicks to play the game more within their own pace of offense which is currently dead last in the NBA.
Both teams also hit the Under at some of the highest rates in the league, so while 201.5 seems low, it’s just Vegas begging you to take the Over here.
Final Verdict: I really think the Knicks can shock the world here and take out the Cavs, but my gut has been wrong before.
In these low-scoring games, it’s always safe to take the points.
Knicks +6 is the bet I’m taking but I may wait for it to go up a bit, as other books already have the Knicks at +7.
If you wanna get a little spicy, take the Under here as well. Yesterday’s game against the Clippers was supposed to go Under as well, but both teams blew up in the first quarter for nearly 80 points combined.
And yet still, the two teams only ended up going over by just 7 points.
Lightning doesn’t strike twice.