he New York Knicks continue their West Coast road trip as they travel to Salt Lake City on Tuesday to take on the Utah Jazz at the Vivint Smart Home Arena.
New York will try to snap out of a two-game losing streak in this game. The Knicks have dropped seven out of their last 10 assignments and have fallen to two games below the .500 mark after a solid start. In their last game, the Knicks dropped a 116-113 contest to the Portland Trail Blazers. On the other hand, the Jazz have been on a roll and have won eight consecutive games. Utah is coming off a 127-108 blowout of the Golden State Warriors in their last outing. Utah has won its last five home games after dropping their first two at their home court.
The New York Knicks are 8-10 to start the season. New York is currently next to last in the Atlantic Division and head to Salt Lake City having lost seven out of their last 10 games including the most recent two. Julius Randle is having a great start but second-year man R.J. Barrett continues to struggle with his shooting accuracy.
Randle leads the Knicks in scoring, rebounding, and passing at 22.7 points, 11.3 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game this season. Big man Mitchell Robinson has been their defensive anchor at 1.3 steals and 1.7 blocks per game while also scoring 9.2 points per game. R.J. Barrett is contributing 17.4 points while Alec Burks is putting up 16.7 points per outing. Elfrid Payton and Immanuel Quickley are also scoring in double digits.
New York is the lowest-scoring team in the NBA at 101.9 points per game. However, they have the best scoring defense in the league at 103.6 points per game allowed and are 4th off the glass at 47.6 boards grabbed per contest. The Knicks are also dead-last in passing at 21.4 assists per game.
The Utah Jazz are the hottest team in the league right now with 8 consecutive wins heading to this home contest. Utah is 12-4 to start the year and are the no. 1 team in the NBA’s Northwest Division. The Jazz are currently ranked third behind the two Los Angeles teams in the Western Conference rankings. Donovan Mitchell is off to a good start for Utah.
Mitchell is averaging 24.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game this season. Rudy Gobert is putting up a double-double with 12.1 points and 13.5 rebounds per game while also blocking 2.7 shots per contest. Mike Conley leads the team in passing at 5.9 dimes per outing while also scoring 16.4 points per game. Jordan Clarkson is Utah’s second-leading scorer at 17.4 points per game off the bench.
Utah ranks 10th in the NBA in team scoring at 113.2 points per game. They are 22nd in passing at 23.8 assists per game. The Jazz however are the best rebounding team in the league at 49.4 boards grabbed per contest and they also have the third-best scoring defense at 106.1 points per game allowed.
The Knicks are 3-7 SU in their last 10 games played. New York is 2-4 SU in their last six games played on the road, and 3-15 SU in their last 18 games against the Western Conference. The Jazz are 8-0 SU in their last eight games played. Utah is 4-0 SU in their last four games played at home, and 8-0 in their last eight January games. Head to head, the Jazz are 4-1 SU in their last five games played against the Knicks. Utah is also 5-1 in their last six home games against New York.
Despite their offensive woes, the Knicks have started the season fairly well. Because they play the league’s slowest pace, they are the lowest-scoring team in the NBA.
However, the Knicks also own the league’s top-rated scoring defense. Austin Rivers dropped 23 points when the Knicks beat the Jazz the last time out on January 8th.
That loss to the Knicks though was Utah’s last loss of the season. Since that defeat, the Jazz have put up eight successive wins and are the hottest team in the NBA right now. Donovan Mitchell is shooting 40% from deep while Mike Conley is hitting 42% of his threes. With Jordan Clarkson playing like the Sixth Man of the Year early in the season and is Utah’s second-leading scorer.
Utah is firing on all cylinders and I don’t think that they are going to cool off here. The Jazz looked great when they took out the Warriors last Sunday. They are playing this game after a two-game rest while the Knicks are on a West Coast swing. New York will have Frank Ntilikina back but will be without Reggie Bullock and Austin Rivers. I’ll take the home team in this matchup.
Prediction: Utah Jazz -650
New York is 4-1 ATS in their last five games played. The Knicks are 3-3 ATS in their last six games played on the road, 5-11 ATS in their last 16 games against the Northwest Division. Utah is 8-0 ATS in their last eight games played. The Jazz are also 5-0 ATS in their last five games played at home. Head to head, the Knicks are 14-6 ATS in their last 20 games played against the Jazz.
Having New York at +11 is tempting because, in their last seven games, they have three wins and four games where they lost by only single digits. However, the Jazz are currently the hottest team in the NBA right now. And during the current month, they have already posted seven blowout wins. This is New York’s fourth road game in a west coast swing and the Jazz have covered in their last five at home. I’ll eat the chalk here and go with the Jazz.
Prediction: Jazz -11
The total has gone under in 11 out of the last 15 games played by the Knicks. The under is 7-3 in New York’s last 10 games played on the road. The total has gone over in eight out of the last 10 games played by the Jazz. The over is 3-1 in Utah’s last three home games played. However, the under is 4-1 in their last five games played against the Eastern Conference, and 5-1 in their last six games against the Atlantic Division. Head to head, the total has gone over in eight out of the last 10 meetings between these two teams.
The Knicks are the lowest-scoring team in the NBA this season at 101.9 points per game but they also have the league’s best scoring defense at 103.6 points per game allowed. With Utah also having the third-best scoring defense in the league this season, this should be a low-scoring game. New York has conceded 104 or fewer points in four out of their last five games while the Jazz have allowed 108 or fewer points in six of their current eight-game winning streak.
Prediction: Under 213
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