The Knicks return to New York after another disappointing travel, and will host the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday night. The Blazers have been long and far away from home, but need every win they can get out East as they continue their fight in the crowded Western Conference. But MSG has been almost unconquerable fort this season, with home fans making the Knicks 110% of the best.
Trail Blazers at Knicks
Spread: Portland Trail Blazers -2.5 (-110) at BetDSI Sportsbook
Total: N/A
Big win in Washington for the Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers managed to turn their road trip around with two wins. Both were close, but it’s the way the Blazers do it. After beating the Nets, the Blazers went on to defeat the Wizards 108-105, making it 12-8 this season with four wins in the last five games.
It was a game of two halves – the Blazers scored only 41 points in the first half and unsurprisingly, found themselves looking to the backs of Wall-less Wizards, trailing them by 11 at the intermission. It was a completely different game after the break. Portland scored 67 points in the second half and took the lead in the final minute to steal one away from the Wizards. Damian Lillard scored 29 points and CJ McCollum had seven of his 26 over the final 90 seconds, making a personal run to put up his team up 106-105. The Blazers outscored their rivals 33-13 to end the game, pulling out an important but improbable win. Jusuf Nurkic had 17 points and some crucial blocks in the final frame and Connaughton added 12 points and a little bit of everything for the Trail Blazers, who shot 51.3 percent from the field. Connaughton, who started at small forward for the second consecutive game, also played commendable defense on Beal. Portland improved to 3-5 in games decided by four points or less, as seemingly every game they play goes down to the wire.
This game in New York wraps up the five-game road trip for the Blazers, who had somehow managed to go 3-1 on it so far. They will be facing the Knicks with the same squad, missing only Aminu, who has been out for the last 12 games.
Place: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Date/Time: Monday, November 27th, 2017. 7:30 PM ET
TV Coverage: MSG, NBCSNW
The Knicks waive white flag before the game in Houston
The Knicks had really only a minor chance to pull out a win in Houston even with the full roster, so instead of going for improbable, they decided to give up the game and rest Porzingis and Kanter, who are nursing minor injuries. In the end, they indeed lost, but kept the score respectable, losing 102-117.
The Knicks started Kyle O’Quinn and Michael Beasley instead of their usual pair of bigs, and both of them responded to their numbers been called. O’Quinn had 20 points, 15 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks, missing just two shots from the field. Beasley turned the clock back and hit 14-of-23 attempts to score 30, and pulled eight boards. Their strong play caught the Rockets by surprise, and the Knicks jumped out in front by 22 before the first quarter was done. While the Knicks couldn’t replicate the same level in the next quarter, they still led by 3 at the halftime. The Rockets adjusted to the new look opponent at the break, and the Knicks cooled off, losing steam on the second night of a back-to-back. The other three starters also scored in double figures, but the Knicks bench was left thin with the changes in the starting line-up – the reserves got outscored 14-44 by their counterparts. The Knicks just couldn’t score with the best, hitting a mere 4 three-pointers, while giving up 18 of the most valued shots. They fell to 1-6 on the road, despite shooting 49.4 percent to Houston’s 43.6 percent. Threes and turnovers did the trick.
Kanter missed second game in a row due to back spasms and is questionable for this contest. Porzingis was just rested – it’s the second time the Knicks have done in on the second night of a back-to-back this season. The Knicks return home for the entire week, playing just three spread out games in Week 7.
Portland Trail Blazers at New York Knicks Game Trends & Prediction
Portland’s covers have been far and between, going 2-3-1 over the last six, and 7-10-3 overall. They managed to score more in the last two games, helping their cause and also finally breaking the unders streak. The Blazers have gone 6-14 this season after those two most recent overs, but are 4-5 away from home. However, four of their last 5 meetings with the Knicks ended in unders.
The market closed with Knicks +18.5 in Houston, so they managed to cover, but if you took them before the Porzingis news was official, you likely had a push at +15. Count it as you like, but even with this win, they haven’t been great on the road – just 2-5 – in comparison to stellar 10-2 ATS at home. It usually comes to the ability to score – the Knicks are 9-10 against the total points lines this season, but 7-5 at home.
Admi-Rank: Mix in the good with the bad and you’ll get average, or, you’ll get Blazers. On the Knicks side, two road losses that weren’t too bad don’t change their up point arrow, but they’re still looking up to the most of the league.
With the premise of the Knicks playing with a full roster, this will probably be another close game, but one that the home side should win. Good game in Houston by the backups will instill more confidence in them even as they return to the bench, and the Blazers second unit is not very talented in terms of putting the ball through the hoop. On the other side, the Blazers are a strong rebounding team and the Knicks need to focus on finishing the defensive possessions, which isn’t something you can really count on with this team. The Blazers also have an advantage in the backcourt and have athletic wings to match up with Porzingis, to an extent at least. But, the most important factor might be the miles traveled, and the Blazers may just be too happy with how this road trip turned out, letting the physical and mental fatigue take over.
The bookies wouldn’t come up front with the odds early, waiting for an official confirmation that Kanter and Porzingis would play, so we’ll have to wait closer the game start to see if and where some money can be earned. In case both Kanter and Porzingis miss this game, I would be putting my money on the Blazers to cover the spread and take the W.
My Pick: Portland Trail Blazers -2.5 (-110)
Total: (odds yet to be released)
