After a second-half collapse that led to a loss in Chicago, the New York Knicks will try to rebound against the Milwaukee Bucks in a key Eastern Conference battle. Game time is 8:05 PM ET at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.
The New York Knicks are coming off of a heartbreaking loss to the Chicago Bulls, and they now find themselves as the NBA betting dogs once again. In tonight's matchup against the Milwaukee Bucks, the NBA odds makers have listed the Knicks as 4 point dogs, a line that is now being offered at 4.5 at some betting shops.
NBA lines list the game's total at 200.5, but given the current state of these two teams, I feel that the safest way to lean with our NBA picks is to play on the money line. Find out who we are backing tonight.
The contest will have a major impact on
the Eastern Conference playoff race. The Knicks (29-28 SU & ATS) currently hold the eighth
and final playoff spot in the East and are one-game ahead of the ninth-place
Bucks (28-29 SU, 27-30 ATS). It’s a big game for New York but it’s ‘off the
chart’ huge for Milwaukee. A win for the Bucks would give them the season
series and the tiebreaker, dropping the Knicks to ninth and out of the
playoff field.
The Bulls lent the Bucks a helping hand
on Tuesday night beating the Knicks 98-86 in Chicago. Richard
Hamilton scored 20 points, and Luol Deng added 19 for the Central
Division leading Bulls who played once again with the ‘brittle’ Derek Rose who
missed his 23rd game this season due to injury. Carmelo Anthony, who
scored a season-high 43 points in Sunday’s overtime victory over Chicago, came
up big again scoring 29 points. J.R. Smith added 14 points and Iman Shumpert
had 12. But the Knicks’ 86 points was their lowest output in 10 games, they
shot just .425 from the field and got pounded on the boards 51-33.
Milwaukee is coming off a 109-89 loss to
Oklahoma City on Monday. Russell Westbrook
scored 26 points for the Thunder in a game that featured seven technical fouls,
an ejection of Bucks backup forward Larry Sanders and a confrontation between
Mike Dunleavy and Serge Ibaka.
Sanders was ejected after earning a pair
of technicals in the second half, while Dunleavy, Brandon Jennings and coach
Scott Skiles also were assessed T’s for Milwaukee.
Down the stretch they come
With just nine games remaining,
Milwaukee, New York and Philadelphia are in a three-team race for two playoff
spots. The Bucks and Knicks will meet for the final time tonight, while
Milwaukee will host Philadelphia on April 25. From a home/road standpoint the
Bucks have the most favorable breakdown playing five of their next nine at the
Bradley Center. The Knicks have four home games left compare to two for the
Sixers.
A new kind of Melo
Over his first 39 games, Anthony
averaged 20 points and shot 39.9 percent from the field, career lows. Over
the last seven games, Anthony has averaged 29.9 points while hitting 49 percent
of his shots and playing attention grabbing defense. The problem is Anthony
still requires the ball—a lot. His numbers are significantly better when he’s
not forced to share with Amar’e Stoudemire and/or Jeremy Lin.
Trends
The Bucks have won two of the first
three games (2-1 ATS) and are 12-2 ATS in the past 14 series meetings.
The Knicks are 12-4 vs. the number in
their last 16 overall and are 7-2 in their last nine games against the Central
Division.
Harvey’s Take: Sorry New York fans but this is where
the train comes off the track—again. Playing back-to-back nights and in a tight
playoff race no less, is a tall order for any team but especially one that’s
missing two of its starters.
To avoid any garbage time drama, I’m
going to play Milwaukee on the money line. I think the Bucks will cover just
fine but I’m adding a little insurance policy to the wager.
Be sure to check out our NBA Picks of the Day