We finally get to see the battle of New
York, Hurricane Sandy having postponed the first meeting. We have seen both teams in
action over the last month, and this one should be as good as advertised and then some. Check out our NBA picks play on the outcome.
The
Knicks come in as a -1 ½ favorite on the road in the NBA odds, as New York
snapped their mini-losing streak against Detroit, 121-100, yesterday afternoon.
The Nets, on the other hand, had the weekend off after beating the Clippers, 86-76, on Friday.
Needless to say, this one should be must-watch television, as both of these
teams are a little better than everyone expected before the start of the
season. Who do you want to cover in this, the Battle of New York, Part 1?
Knicks outperforming?
Every
year we go through this with the Knicks. Everyone hypes them to be a title
contender, but eventually they fizzle out, and everyone realizes that they
aren’t that good. Well, this season is here, and all the hype actually seems warranted, at least for the moment.
Let me
say this, I never doubted the Knicks’ ability to win games and even get a good
playoff spot. I doubted (and still do for that matter) their ability to win a
championship. Even with their play of late, they have yet to make me believe
that the New York Knicks can get past the Heat, or even the Celtics in a seven
game series.
However,
they are very slowly changing my mind, and they can continue to change it with
a win tonight.
BROOK-LYN!
Speaking
of teams outperforming their preseason predictions, the Nets are 8-4 AU and are
playing excellent basketball as of late. It helps when you get back a guy like
Gerald Wallace. Wallace hasn’t even played that well since coming back from
injury. However, Wallace is the second most important member of this team
behind Deron Williams.
Wallace, a.k.a. Crash, brings everything to this team, and he is going to have to be even
bigger tonight while matched up against Carmelo Anthony. He hasn’t done much
this season on offense, but that’s not why the Nets gave up their lottery pick
for him last season. They got him to defend Anthony and Lebron James. And, he is
very effective at it.
I think
Wallace is going to have a good game tonight. This is a guy who can easily average
15, 5 and 5 when healthy, and even if he isn’t quite back to speed, he can
still own the defensive end of the floor. I expect Anthony to struggle some
tonight with Wallace clinging to him for 38 minutes tonight.
The Sharp Pick
This is
a hard game to pick, because both of these teams don’t have any history against
one another just yet with their current lineups. Neither team has any
significant injuries to speak of, so this one should be as entertaining as
ever.
I’m going to side with the rested home team. I believe the Knicks’ early season
success will taper off any time now. Sorry, Knicks fans, don’t get you title
hopes up just yet. Even though you are starting to put yourself into the
discussion, New York has been showing their true colors here in their last
three games. They lost two straight in Texas to the Mavs and Rockets, and in
both games, that “new found Knicks’ defense,” was nowhere to be found, as they
gave up 114 and 131 in the losses. They also gave up 100 to the
Pistons, a team that has been horrific this season. Take the points with
Brooklyn.
My
Pick: Nets +1 ½ at 5Dimes