NBA Betting Previews- Los Angeles Lakers vs. New York Knicks
Pointspread: OFF
Total Line: OFF
The Los Angeles Lakers continue their four-game East Coast swing with a Friday night clash with the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Game time is set for 8 p.m. (ET) and it will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
Los Angeles kicked-off its trip east with a 95-90 loss to Philadelphia on Monday night as a 4.5-point road underdog and will be in Boston on Thursday night before tangling with the Knicks. It is currently 14-11 straight-up (11-14 against the spread) and two games behind the LA Clippers in the Pacific Division. The Lakers are just 3-9 both SU and ATS on the road this season and the total has stayed ‘under’ in seven of the 12 games.
Kobe Bryant is showing no signs of slowing down with a league-high 29.3 points a game, but the Lakers as a whole are ranked 20th in the NBA in scoring with an average of 93.2 points a game while shooting 45.3 percent from the field.
New York ran its current winning streak to three games with a 107-93 victory over Washington as a 1.5-point road underdog on Wednesday night. The win raised the Knicks record to 11-15 both SU and ATS and left them seven games behind the 76ers in the division. They are 6-7 SU (5-8 ATS) at home and the total has gone 6-7 as well.
The depleted Knicks will continue to be without Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire for Friday night’s game, but may have found an emerging star in guard Jeremy Lin, who has scored an average of 25 points in the last three games.
The Lakers are 1-6 ATS in their last seven games against the Eastern Conference and 4-9 ATS in their last 14 games overall. The total has stayed ‘under’ in 21 of their last 31 games against the Atlantic Division.
The Knicks are 4-0 ATS in their last four home games and 6-0 ATS in their last six games at home. The total has stayed ‘under’ in 25 of their last 35 games overall.
Los Angeles is 6-2 ATS in its last eight trips to New York and the total has stayed ‘under’ in four of the last five meetings overall. These two met in December with the Lakers cruising to a 99-82 victory as 4.5-point home favorites and while this time around will be much closer, stick with LA to pull-out a much needed road win against the short-handed Knicks.
The Free Pick: Los Angeles 90 New York 85
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