The New York Knicks have been enjoying their time at the Madison Square Garden this season, and the arena will be packed once again when the Los Angeles Clippers make their only appearance there. However, these Clippers are nowhere near the level the Knicks fans remember, but it improves the home side’s chances to grab another win at home.
Clippers at Knicks
Spread: New York Knicks -1.5 (-110) at BetDSI Sportsbook
Total: o/u 209.5 points (-110)
The Clippers can’t get a W in Charlotte, go 0-5 against the East
The Clippers came up empty on the back-to-back set in Cleveland and Charlotte despite putting up a fight in both games. They’ve pushed the Cavs to the overtime and while the final result of 87-102 against the Hornets suggests otherwise, they were in it until the very end.
After 43 minutes of playing the Hornets on par, the shorthanded Clippers were left without any steam in the last five minutes and were outscored 18-4 to drop eight games in a row. To be fair, the Charlotte was playing on a back-to-back as well, and had been on a skid, but it came down to healthy bodies. Los Angeles was without Beverley, Gallinari, and Teodosic. Despite the fight and the plausible excuse, it was the same old Clippers team – plagued by selfish play led by their star. Blake Griffin appeared frustrated, complaining about calls that didn’t go his way and every little slight he perceived. He finished with 19 points on 6-of-17 shooting. The only other player with decent offensive output was Lou Williams, who added 25 points and 4 assists on 10-17 from the field. He’s doing his best to provide LAC with the spark they needed to snap their losing streak. Others were just bad. Austin Rivers and Wesley Johnson can’t hit rare open shots that come with the flow of the offense and Jordan was really quite in this one. It just isn’t reasonable to expect players like Thornwell, Evans, or C.J. Williams to provide.
The Clippers are expected to get Patrick Beverley back for the Monday’s game against the Knicks, and they can use his defensive prowess as much as his no-nonsense persona. He had missed last five games. Teodosic and Gallinari remain sidelined.
Place: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Date/Time: Monday, November 20th, 2017. 7:30 PM ET
TV Coverage: MSG, FSPT
New York no match for Toronto, lose 84-107
The Knicks have surprised most of us with those few super comebacks at home, but the bad habit of falling behind by double digits hurts them on road, where they don’t get the frenetic support after hitting a couple of threes. It was no different in Toronto, where they could match superior team and got ousted with an 84-107 final score.
The Raptors length on the wings really bothered the Knicks and their star Porzingis, who shot only 3-of-13 for season-low 13 points. Sadly, there’s nobody else to step up, so he actually shared team-high in points scored with Hardaway. Kanter added 12 points and Jack had an efficient 8, and the rest couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. The Knicks connected on just 30-of-91 field goal attempts. They didn’t waste too many possessions by turnovers, but it was still ugly performance. On the defensive side, they allow the Raptors to shoot 56.4 percent and gave up 26 points in transition, so it was not just the poor shooting. The teams are starting to play Porzingis differently, not allowing him so much space that he exploited well and sometimes even hitting him with double teams, so the Knicks will need to have someone else expand his role. It’s a big question whether they have such a player on their roster, but that a question for the management.
Despite the poor showing last night Kristaps Porzingis said that his elbow isn’t bothering him at the moment (he even ditched the protective sleeve in the last game). However, Tim Hardaway Jt. is questionable to play against the Clippers. He had X-rays after the game but came out clear and was diagnosed with a sore left foot. He missed the Sunday’s practice.
Los Angeles Clippers at New York Knicks Game Trends & Prediction
The Clippers have lost eight consecutive games and covered only once over this stretch, in the overtime loss to Cleveland. This drove their ATS record to a miserable 6-9. Three of the last four games stayed below the projected total, and the one in Cleveland only gone over because of the extra period. The Clippers are 6-9 against the over/under and 3-7 in the last 10 meetings against the Knicks.
Not only the Knicks have played much better at home, but they’ve also bounced back nicely after losing. They are 6-0 ATS in their last 6 home games, 8-2 for the season, while going 1-4 on the away games. The Knicks are also 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games following a straight up loss. All the difference has been the scoring. While going 7-3 at home against the total points, they are 0-5 on the road. The Knicks score 16 more points at home than on the road on average.
Admi-Rank: The Clippers slide is now of a rollercoaster type, except it doesn’t look that the curve is coming up at any time. Getting some players back would help. The Knicks are not a good team, but the ratings have been closer than ever.
The Clippers are owners on the NBA’s longest losing streak, but the team chemistry is more worrisome here. On the other hand, they have a certain quality and now that Beverley will send Thornwell back to the bench, they should have more ball movements and intensity. On the other hand, Porzingis is clearly going to have to do it alone, and I don’t like his matchups in this game. It’s not as bad as against Toronto, but the Clippers have Wes Johnson and Blake Griffin who can step outside as move their bodies if they are willing to commit to playing defense.
The Knicks have been dubbed as a small jolly, facing only a 1.5-point handicap, and it’s the same number I would set if I would run the show for others. They were probably inclined to have it placed at 2.5 but gone just a little bit down in effects of Hardaway’s injury (or excuse for a bad game). On the other hand, that number is not exactly fair. It’s just been set this way to push the value on the away side, and the Clippers can’t win. Luckily, it’s not a price that you shouldn’t pass on, so I’m doing just that. I’m going with a totals wager on this contest. The line is projected at 208.5 and this is too low even if Hardaway doesn’t play. Actually, he doesn’t affect the line much, less than even an average volume shooter does, so don’t let that scare you off. Go with the plus points here.
My Pick: (no wager on the spread)
Total: Over 209.5 points (-110)
