Two teams struggling to find their feet meet up tonight as
the Utah Jazz head into Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Knicks.
Find out which of these two is getting the nod in our NBA picks for post Super
Bowl Monday.
After starting out 9-4, the Jazz have gone a mediocre 4-5 SU
over their last nine. However, they did stamp out a great home win over the
L.A. Lakers on Saturday behind some awesome bench production.
Though starters Devin Harris, Gordon Hayward and Raja Bell
combined for only 13 points, the Jazz got 49 from their second unit. Considering
the Lakers got just 12 points from their bench, it was no surprise that Utah
was able to get the W.
Now the Jazz, who've gone 3-1 ATS over their last four,
travel to Madison Square Garden to duke it out with Carmelo Anthony and the
Knicks.
Knicks favored for second straight game
That home-court advantage has resulted in New York being
handed the favorite tag in the NBA odds for tonight's game. Mike D'Antoni's men were favored by
four points at time of writing, with the total averaging out at 195.
Speaking of D'Antoni, there have been reports circulating
that the former Suns coach is in danger of losing his job. The Knicks have been
disappointing to say the least, limping out to a 9-15 SU and ATS record so far
this season, but it appears D'Antoni's position is safe for now.
New York is coming off a 99-92 win over New Jersey, which
also ended up being their fourth straight cover against the spread.
Forget Melo and Amar'e, the game belonged to little-used
Harvard alum Jeremy Lin. Off the bench, Lin racked up 25 points, seven assists,
five boards and two steals in what was easily the best performance of his young
NBA career.
It was exactly what New York needed out of the point guard
position given Baron Davis' injury and the disappointing play out of Toney
Douglas this season.
Remarkably, the Knicks have covered the spread in 10
straight games versus the Jazz. Last season's two meetings were both incredibly
high-scoring, with the first ending at 256 and the second at 240. Obviously the
OVER was money on both occasions.
A lot of people will be attracted to sports betting on the OVER
tonight because of those past results, but I'm getting drawn in on New York in
this spot.
New York State of Mind
The Knicks have certainly failed to live up to expectations
thus far, but they have elevated their play over the last week. They lost to
the Bulls and Celtics by a total of just five points (covering both games) and
are now starting to beat teams they should.
This also seems like a good personnel matchup for New York.
They have the bodies inside to contend with Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap, who
have terrorized opponents in the post this season.
In addition, I see a bounce-back outing from Melo, who was
held to just 3-of-15 shooting a couple days ago. Anthony averaged 29.3 PPG in
three games versus the Jazz last season so look for him to come out and be
aggressive tonight.
FREE Pick: New York Knicks -4 and you might consider the UNDER as advised by Joe Freda
Please check our active NBA betting forum. It
always helps to get insight on games from as many different sources as possible
to help you make your best NBA picks.
TREND BREAKDOWN
Jazz are 2-5 ATS in their last seven road games
Knicks are 4-0 ATS in their last four games overall
Knicks are 4-11 ATS in their last 15 home games
Knicks are 10-0 ATS in the last 10 head-to-head matchups
against the Jazz
OVER is 3-2 in last 5 head-to-head games between the two
teams