The New York Knicks head West after a two-game rest to take on the San Antonio Spurs on Tuesday night at the AT&T Center.
New York has dropped its last three games played and five out of its last seven games to fall to 11-12 on the season. The Knicks are 4th in the Atlantic Division, five games behind the leaders Brooklyn Nets. New York has a 6-4 SU road record this season and heads to Texas after losing back-to-back games at Madison Square Garden. If the playoffs were to start today, the Knick would be eliminated as 11th seed in the East.
San Antonio lost in Phoenix on Monday night in a defeat that snapped a four-game winning streak. The Spurs are 8-14 on the season and they are third in the Southwest Division, five games behind the Memphis Grizzlies. San Antonio is just a 4-6 SU home team this season. The Spurs are currently in the 12th spot in the West and would also be headed to vacation if the postseason began today.
New York was blown out at Madison Square Garden by the Denver Nuggets in their most recent assignment 113-99. The Knicks have dropped their last three games played and are 2-5 SU in their last seven and just 5-8 SU at the Garden this season.
Julius Randle leads the Knicks with 20.1 points and 10 rebounds per game while RJ Barrett is putting up 14 points and 2.1 assists per game. Evan Fournier is contributing 13.3 points per game while Derrick Rose is worth 12.4 points, 2,9 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. Meanwhile, Alec Burks is scoring 11.3 points per game this season.
The Knicks are scoring an average of 106.5 points per game while shooting 44.1% from the field. New York is also shooting 36.1% from deep and 77.2% from the foul line. They are pulling down 45.4 rebounds per game and issuing an average of 21.6 assists per game this season. The Knicks are conceding 107.3 points per game while allowing foes to shoot 35.2% from deep.
The Spurs saw their four-game winning streak end in Phoenix on Monday night against the Suns. New York led after one quarter but the Suns managed to control the game after and even led by 16 points before the Spurs rallied and even forced a tie before the Suns would hang on for the 108-104 victory.
San Antonio looks to get back on track as they saw their four-game winning streak end at the hands of the Phoenix Suns on Monday night in the desert. Despite the loss, the Spurs rallied from a 16-point deficit to force an 88-88 deadlock but eventually, the Suns took over the game and beat the Sputs 108-104.
Dejounte Murray is the Spurs’ top man at 19.1 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game this season. Keldon Johnson is contributing 14.2 points and 2.0 assists per game while Derrick White is putting up 12.7 points, 5.0 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1 block per game. Jakob Poeltl is adding 12.1 points and 9.3 rebounds per game this season.
The Spurs are scoring 107.7 points per game this season. San Antonio is shooting 46.8% from the field, 34.5% from deep, and 69.8% from the free-throw line. They are allowing 107.7 points per game and 34.9% opponents’ three-point shooting percentage. San Antonio is also averaging 44.8 boards grabbed per contest and issuing 27.5 assists per game, 2nd best in the entire NBA.
The Knicks are 2-5 SU in their last seven games played. New York is 6-4 SU in 10 road games played this season. The Spurs are 4-1 SU in their last five games played. San Antonio is 4-6 in 10 home games played this season.
Head to head, San Antonio Spurs are 7-3 SU in their last 10 games played against the New York Knicks.
Fresh legs could be an issue here as the Spurs are playing the second of a back-to-back schedule.
San Antonio just finished their three-game road trip with a close loss to the Phoenix Suns in a defeat that snapped a four-game winning streak. Despite the loss, the Spurs fought back from a 16-point deficit to tie the game at 88-all which is always a good sign.
New York has lost five out of their last seven games including the last three. The first two of those losses were by a combined six points but the last time out, the Knicks were blown out by an undermanned Denver Nuggets team 113-99 which isn’t a good indication.
San Antonio has a very young team and I don’t think fatigue will be a big issue here. The Spurs are also a team with balanced scoring so they will always find ways to score points. They are also 10th in the league in defense so they can win a game even when they struggle to score points.
Between these two teams, the Spurs are definitely the team that’s playing better right now. Guys are also coming back from injuries so they’re at a better place right now than at the start of the season. Meanwhile, the Knicks look lost right now as the losses start to pile up. New York has a very talented team but they can’t find their stride right now.
I’m going with the team that’s playing better and that’s San Antonio.
Prediction: San Antonio Spurs
New York is 7-0 ATS in their last seven Tuesday games. The Knicks are 4-1 ATS in their last five road games against an opponent with a losing home record, 8-3-1 ATS in their last 12 games when playing on 2 days rest, and 19-9 ATS in their last 28 road games.
However, New York is just 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games as betting favorites. They are 3-8 ATS in their last 11 games against an opponent with a losing straight-up record, and 2-6 ATS in their last 8 games against a team with a winning percentage below .400.
San Antonio is 4-0 ATS in their last four games played. The Spurs are 4-0 ATS in their last four games as betting underdogs, 3-0-1 ATS in their last four home games against an opponent with a winning road record, and 5-2 ATS in their last seven home games. They are, however, just 1-3-1 ATS in their last five game 2s of a back-to-back schedule.
The Knicks have a good edge here. They have a winning road record and are playing after two days’ rest. However, this team has been in disarray as of late and has not finished strong in their recent games. New York’s last five losses have been by an average of 6.4 points or more.
San Antonio is coming off a loss but they gave the Suns all they could handle and still covered the betting spread. The Spurs are playing their best basketball of the season and we are getting them at plus points. I’m gonna have to take the home dogs here.
Prediction: San Antonio Spurs +3.5
The total has gone under in the Knicks’ last six games against an opponent with a winning percentage below .400. The under is 7-1 in their last eight games as favorites, 4-1 in their last five Tuesday games, 4-1 in their last five games against an opponent with a losing straight up record, and 8-3 in their last 11 games when playing on 2 days rest.
The total has gone under in five of the Spurs’ last seven games when playing in the second of back-to-back games. The under is 4-2-2 in San Antonio’s last eight games played but the over is 12-2 in their last 14 home games. The over is also 9-2 in their last 11 games as home underdogs, and 19-7 in their last 26 home games against an opponent with a winning road record.
The under is 13-10 in the Knicks’ 23 games played this season and that isn’t a surprise given that Tom Thibodeau is known as a defensive coach. With Thibs’ style, the Knicks rank 25th in the league in pace, giving them fewer possessions per game. The Knicks are also scoring an average of 106.5 points per game this season and they are struggling as of late.
San Antonio the over/under is 9–9-3 in San Antonio’s 21 games played this season. The Spurs aren’t a very excellent defensive team and nor are they an explosive scoring squad. The over may be the trend in their recent games, but they are a team that can adjust to their opponent’s style of play. Four out of their last five games saw a total of 212 or fewer.
Although I don’t think fatigue will be a factor here, the road-weary Spurs would love to play with the Knicks’ slow pace to get some much-needed rest. All told, I think this has the makings of a low-scoring defensive contest.
Prediction: Under 212.5
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