The New York Knicks (4-5) welcome the Cleveland Cavaliers (7-1), the Eastern Conference’s best team, to Madison Square Garden. The game starts at 7:30 pm ET on Friday, Nov. 13 and will air on NBA, FxO, MSG and C+.
The Knicks lost a tough one against the Hornets 95-93 on Wednesday. Carmelo Anthony was the game’s high scorer, contributing 29 points. The Cavaliers, meanwhile, are coming off a 118-114 win over the Jazz on Tuesday. Mo Williams played well, accumulating 29 points, six rebounds, and six assists.
This will be the second matchup of the season between these two teams. The Cavaliers won the first game 96-86. LeBron James was the game’s leading scorer with 23 points.
The Knicks are a five-point underdog in this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is set at 203 points. The Knicks are looking to improve on their records of 4-5 Straight Up (SU) and 5-4 Against The Spread (ATS). They have gone 3-4 SU and 5-2 ATS against teams from the Eastern Conference. New York has been steady from the free throw line, shooting a stellar .820.
On the other side, Cleveland has a SU record of 7-1 and an ATS record of 3-5. Although the team has done very well in games against Eastern Conference foes (5-1), Cleveland sports a lackluster 2-4 record ATS. The Cavaliers rarely make costly errors handling the ball. They have the third-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the league at 1.88. Cleveland’s defense as a whole has been firing on all cylinders so far, ranking fifth in the NBA with only 95.5 points allowed per game. Teams don’t seem to hit many three-pointers against the Cavaliers, who are fifth in the league in terms of three-point field goals allowed at 56 this season. Cleveland may be taking trips to the free throw line early and often with the Knicks averaging 24.4 fouls per game, one of the highest marks in the NBA.
The Cavaliers’ win over New York in their last clash evened up the two teams’ head-to-head record over their last 10 games. The Knicks hold the advantage ATS with a record of 7-3.
Predictions: SU Winner – Cle, ATS Winner – NY, O/U – Under
Notes
New York is 7-17 SU in its last 24 games.
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of New York’s last 6 games.
New York is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games at home.
New York is 0-5 ATS in its last 5 games at home.
New York is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games when playing Cleveland.
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New York’s last 5 games when playing Cleveland.
The total has gone OVER in 11 of New York’s last 15 games when playing at home against Cleveland.
The total has gone OVER in 11 of Cleveland’s last 15 games when playing on the road against New York.
On average, Cleveland scores 104.1 points per game (ranked sixth). New York ranks 14th in points allowed per game with 100.8.
New York ranks 14th in points allowed per home game (100.0 PPG), while Cleveland ranks 11th in points per away game with 102.7.
When allowing fewer than 100 points, the Cavaliers are 4-1 on the season. When the Knicks score fewer than 100, they are a losing 1-4.
Cleveland is undefeated (3-0) when opponents score 100 or more points. Still, New York has a winning 3-1 record in games where it reaches the century mark.
The Knicks have a defensive rating of 102.0 (ranked 17th), while the Cavaliers rank third for their offensive rating of 106.9.
Cleveland is among the top-ranked teams based on its average field goal percentage of 46.5% (ranked fifth). New York has not won a game this season when opponents have a similar or higher field goal percentage (0-2).
On average, New York attempts 22.0 three pointers and Cleveland attempts 25.0 per game. In games where the teams have 25 or more three point attempts, the Knicks are even at 1-1 while the Cavaliers have a winning 4-1 record.
Cleveland ranks near the top of the league with an assist to turnover ratio of 1.88 (ranked third). New York is ranked 11th, with an A/TO of 1.51 this season.
The New York Knicks rebound 46.3 times per game and are ranked eighth. Ranked sixth, the Cleveland Cavaliers rebound 46.5 times per game.
The Cleveland Cavaliers rank 15th in offensive rebounding, while the New York Knicks rank 16th in defensive rebounding.
New York’s defense forces its opponents to commit an average turnover percentage of 12.5%. In games where Cleveland has a TOV% of 12.5% or higher, the team is undefeated (4-0).
