Free NBA Picks New York Knicks: Season-Long Handicapping and Specialization 3/5/2024
Throughout the NBA season, Doc’s Sports will be breaking down every single Knicks game and giving out best bets in the process. We will sometimes be forced to back their opponents, but the long-term goal is to churn a profit by the season’s end.
On Thursday night, the Knicks suffered their second straight double-digit home defeat, falling to the Warriors 110-99. Jalen Brunson led the way with 27 points, but the Knicks shot just 37% from the floor and 70% from the charity stripe. New York’s inability to generate good looks on a consistent basis is starting to catch up to them, as they dropped 7 of their last 9 games.
From a betting perspective, we went 1-2. We correctly called that the Warriors would have an easy time covering the -4.5 point spread, but we whiffed on Donte DiVincenzo’s 3 point shots. I said the following “I have no doubt he’ll be jacking up 10+ attempts tonight, and as long as he is average from behind the arc, this prop should cash with ease.” He did shoot 12 3’s but only sank 2 of them, leaving us with a rare negative night.
The Knicks were able to bounce back on Sunday night, earning an impressive 107-98 road victory against the Cavaliers. However, there was no champagne in the locker room, as the mood was soured by a first-minute injury to Brunson. The Knicks All-Star went down clutching his knee. And while it appears he was able to avoid serious injury, it is still not ideal for New York. Josh Hart’s triple double and DiVincenzo’s 27 points were enough to get the win, as New York played solid defense to cling on to their 4th place seed.
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Tonight, the Knicks (36-25) are slight home favorites against the Atlanta Hawks (26-34). Let’s address the elephant in the room before we get into the Hawks breakdown. OG Anunoby, Julius Randle, and Mitchell Robinson all remain out, and Brunson is questionable for tonight’s matchup. Four of the five starters for New York are injured, leaving rotation players being tasked with 10+ shots per game. New York can compete against a Trae Young-less Hawks team, but any top half team will be able to overpower them on a nightly basis.
Atlanta is currently sitting in 10th place in the East, 2 games up on the Brooklyn Nets for the final play-in tournament position. After three straight playoff appearances, including a conference finals appearance against the Bucks, Atlanta was expected to comfortably make the playoffs once again this year. However, things have not gone to plan, and Atlanta is once again stuck in mediocrity.
