The Spurs have been in absolutely atrocious form of late, winning just 1 of their last 11 to sit 5-11 on the season. The Knicks, unsurprisingly, aren’t any better, going just 4-11 to sit dead last out East.
San Antonio are currently 2.5-point favourites in this one, getting over 70% of the early action. I don’t think the public realises how bad this team has been of late and I see some value in the underdog Knicks here.
After a somewhat promising start to the season, the wheels have definitely fallen off in San Antonio. They haven’t just lost to good teams, falling the likes of Memphis, Minnesota, and even the lowly Wizards.
Their defence has been especially atrocious, giving up a whopping 138 points to Washington on Thursday. Although they’ve been putting up points offensively, the mid-range style of play clearly isn’t working well.
This isn’t a great spot for them either, playing in Philadelphia late last night. It is also the last of their four-game road trip and I can definitely see a bit of a flat spot here. I’d also expect Derrick White to miss this one, which is a major loss in their backcourt.
Despite their poor record, the Knicks have been better than the general public thinks this season. Their last four games have been especially promising, winning twice and losing the other two by less than 5.
They enter this one well-rested after two days off and don’t have any key injuries. I particularly like their matchup on the interior, with their bevy of bigs likely able to contain Aldridge.
With the way the Spurs are playing right now, I just don’t see how they can be road favourites over an improving Knicks side. This is a coin-flip type of game and I’ll happily take the underdogs, especially with the contrarian angle.
The Lakers have had a very impressive start to the season, winning 13 of their first 15 and sitting atop the West. Memphis have been competitive in most games this season, although still find themselves a lowly 5-9.
The Lakers are 7.5-point favourites in this one, getting the slight majority of the early action. I’m again looking to take the home underdog here, primarily because the optics really favour them.
LA enter this one on a back-to-back, having played a late on in OKC last night. In their only previous B2B this season, we saw Anthony Davis rested against Golden State. Despite their comments about load management earlier this season, I can see a couple of rotation players sitting out here.
Memphis, on the other hand, enter this one very well-rested, playing only once since Monday. They’ve been at home for over a week now and will look to rectify their poor performance against Golden State last time out.
This is also somewhat of a revenge spot for them after they were obliterated by 30 against the Lakers about 4 weeks ago. They’ve got one of the more underrated home court advantages in the league and I expect a strong effort here.
I also think they match up relatively well with LA, even if both LeBron and AD are playing. Jae Crowder is a credible defensive option to go against LeBron, while Jaren Jackson and Valanciunas can at least limit AD on the interior.
Combine this with the noticeable rest advantage and strong home field and I’d expect Memphis to keep this one fairly close. Especially if you can get them through the key number of 7, take the Grizz plus the points here.