Knicks vs. Lakers Point Spread: NBA Odds, Prediction
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Charlie Grant
There are few teams the banged up Los Angeles Lakers would be favoured against at this point in the season. The New York Knicks are one of the few teams in the Association bad enough to demand the underdog status playing a Lakers side possibly missing its two leading scorers.
NBA Point Spread and Betting Analysis
Knicks fans don’t have much to cheer for these days. The city known as the basketball Mecca of the world is forced to support one of the worst teams in the NBA. The Knicks are 9-29 straight up and 16-21-1 against the spread.
The club’s best player, Kristaps Porzingis, hasn’t played a minute of game action in 11 months and there’s no definitive timetable for when he’ll make his return. New York owns the second worst defence in the league and the 23rd best offence. Only the Hawks, Suns, Cavaliers and Bulls possess a worse net rating than the Knicks at -7.6 points per 100 possessions.
The Knicks have played Over the total in 22 of their 36 games this season and the Over is 4-0 in the last four meetings between the Knicks and Lakers.
LA is not enjoying its time without LeBron James in the lineup. The squad dropped to 1-3 SU and 2-2 ATS since LBJ pulled his groin against the Golden State Warriors on Christmas Day. The Lakers dropped to 21-17 SU (and 16-21-1 ATS) after they lost 107-100 to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night.
The Lakers remain one of the best Under bets in the Association. The Under is 6-2 in their last eight games and 23-14-1 on the campaign.
New York Knicks
There isn’t much the Knicks are doing these days to excite the hoop heads in the Big Apple. New York is playing for next year and hoping its rotten season will lead to luck come NBA Draft Lottery night in May.
Big man Enes Kanter has been the most consistent performer for the Knickerbockers. He’s averaging 14.4 points and 10.6 rebounds in just 26.2 minutes per game. Unfortunately, he’s still providing one of the worst interior defenders in the pros.
Los Angeles Lakers
LeBron James is considered questionable for the Friday night game against the Knicks, but he isn’t the only player Laker supporters are worried about. Kyle Kuzma tweaked his back during the loss to the Thunder and had to leave the game. He’s considered questionable to play as well. The second year forward is second on the team in scoring at 18.3 points per game.
