The New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder are preparing to face off in their second and final regular season game.
Knicks Look to Rebound
The Knicks are coming off a loss to the Hornets. They have had two days to think about it. The Knicks have secured impressive wins against teams like the Celtics, Spurs and Cavaliers. However, they have struggled against other teams.
They have yet to beat the Pistons, and they were blown out by the Hornets. The Knicks rank third on offense and ninth on defence, according to Cleaning the Glass. The Knicks can be an efficient scoring, dominant rebounding, low turnover machine when they want to be. But there are nights where it doesn’t look like they want to be any of those things.
Thunder’s Home Advantage
The Thunder are the 8.5-point favourites at home. The Thunder have routinely been double-digit favourites all season. It would be the biggest spread for the Knicks as underdogs this season if the line remains at 8.5.
The Thunder are getting healthy and trying to round themselves into playoff form over the final two weeks of the regular season. Their depth and defence have carried them all season. They can survive poor shooting nights because they force so many turnovers and get easy points.
Betting Odds and Predictions
Sportsbooks have been pricing Thunder lines high because they know the public will bite. The Thunder do not cover the spread as favourites (32-39 ATS) nearly as much as one would expect from the best team in the NBA.
One expert is picking the Knicks +8.5 (-110) to cover the spread. The expert believes the line is too high in the Thunder’s favour.
Their first game ended on a missed 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime.
The game is scheduled for Sunday Night Basketball on NBC.