Tonight NY goes for its fifth straight win under interim coach Mike Woodson when it takes on the Atlantic Division leading Sixers in Philadelphia. Game time is 7:00 PM ET at Wells Fargo Center where the Knicks will try for the fifth straight win.
It’s been a hellacious rollercoaster ride for the New York Knicks
this season. When they aren’t mired in long losing streaks, then they’re
putting together winning streaks that have the Knicks nation thinking NBA
title. This isn’t Linsanity; it’s just flat out insanity with this group.
Currently, NBA odds boards list Philly favored by -4.5 with the total
at 192.5. Sportsbooks had opened the total at 194, but it is falling fast. Having broken down this matchup, I have decided that the 'under' hold the best NBA betting value for us tonight, but with the total falling quickly, we need to place our NBA picks now before all value is lost.
New York (22-24 SU & ATS) isn’t just winning—they’re making it look way too easy in the
process. Since Mike D’Antoni resigned as head coach on March 12, the Knicks are
4-0 SU & ATS and are outscoring opponents by an average of 23.7 points
during its run. That includes a 121-79 wipeout of Portland in Woodson’s
first-game.
Last night at Madison Square Garden, Amare Stoudemire had 22
points and 12 rebounds and Jeremy Lin added 18 points and 10 assists in a
106-87 rout of the Toronto Raptors. Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler each
added 17 for the Knicks who used their suddenly successful balanced
scoring and defensive intensity to post another lopsided victory.
Sixers steady as she goes
Philadelphia (26-20 SU, 24-21-1 ATS) can do just fine without the headlines and
drama that seem to follow the Knicks around. What the Sixers do is play sound,
fundamental, and disciplined basketball and that’s earned them the top spot in
the Atlantic Division. Philadelphia is 1.5 games ahead of the second-place
Boston Celtics and 4.0 games in front of New York.
Monday’s game against the Bobcats was a perfect example of
how focused the Sixers are. With the Knicks and Celtics on the slate this week,
Philly couldn’t be blamed for looking ahead. It turns out they avoided the
letdown posting a wire-to-wire 105-80 victory. The Sixers own the NBA’s best
scoring defense (87.8 points per game), are tops in field goal shooting
percentage (41.8) and improved on both statistics with their dazzling defensive
display against Charlotte.
No bandwagon yet
Due to the schizophrenic nature of the Knicks, there are still
good seats available on the teams bandwagon.
There’s been winning and losing streaks. They won seven in a row
when Lin was inserted into the starting lineup on February 4, then lost
six in a row when Anthony returned to the lineup. They’ve saw their head
coach quite after a philosophical tug of war with the owner. (Note: The
owner always wins).
Ironically, D’Antoni resigned two days after suffering consecutive
losses to Philadelphia and Chicago. For the moment all is well in the Big Apple
but with this team, it would be a good idea to wait and watch before planning
the victory parade.
Trends
The road team is 10-3 ATS in the last 13 series meetings. However
New York is 2-6 vs. the number in its last eight road games.
The ‘under’ is 7-2 in the last nine series meetings and 11-5 in
Philadelphia’s last 16 games overall.
The teams have split their first two meetings. New York took the
series opener 95-79 on January. Philadelphia rebounded on March 11 for a 104-96
win.
Harvey’s Take: A coaching change has made a world of difference for New York
which finds itself unbeaten under Woodson. The question is how long will the
honeymoon period last with the new coach. Once they lose, how long before they
implode? Because any team with Carmelo and Amare will eventually go in
the tank.
That’s one opinion. My other is to take the ‘under’. With Woodson
the Knicks are playing better defense and we already know what the Sixers are
capable of on that end of the court.
Good luck!