The New York Knicks hit the west coast to take on the improving Los Angeles Clippers. It's time to continue our NBA odds series with a Knicks-Clippers prediction and pick.
New York comes into this game after a very tough loss to the Phoenix Suns. Without Chris Paul and Devin Booker, the Suns managed to escape with a 115-114 win as Cameron Johnson scored 38 points in the win. Johnson decided not to miss a shot after the scuffle with Julius Randle and that propelled them to come from behind and take down the struggling Knicks. Johnson hit a bank-three with 1.2 seconds left to shock New York. The Knicks are now (25-38) on the year and will likely not participate in the playoffs this season unless they start winning now.
The Los Angeles Clippers are finding ways to win games despite not having their two stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Head coach Ty Lue should be in the running for Coach of the Year as he is doing a fantastic job of leading this team. LA's top players all season have been Marcus Morris Sr. and Reggie Jackson and they are still (34-31) on the year and 8th in the West. The Clippers beat the Los Angeles Lakers last time out 132-111.
These two teams are heading in opposite directions, let's get right to the pick.
Here are the Knicks-Clippers NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NBA Odds: Knicks-Clippers Odds
New York Knicks: +5.5 (-114)
Los Angeles Clippers: -5.5 (-106)
Over: 221.5 (-110)
Under: 221.5 (-110)
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Why The Knicks Could Cover The Spread
The Knicks don't seem like they can buy a win right now. They were given a ton of chances to beat the Suns last game but failed to play well in the fourth leading to the loss. The Knicks have lost seven straight games and are now six games behind the Atlanta Hawks for the 10th seed. The hope seems to have been lost as this was a very disappointing season for the Knicks. However, if they find a way to string some wins together and the Hawks and Washington Wizards start losing, the Knicks can reach a play-in opportunity. It starts tonight with the Clippers as they must find ways to score consistently.
Why The Clippers Could Cover The Spread
LA comes into this game as the favorites at home. This is the right call as the Clips are the better team right now. They are without Norman Powell but will have the rest of their usual core available tonight according to Tomer Azarly. Los Angeles has won seven of their last 10 games and five straight. They need to continue to play tough defense and they will be just fine tonight. NY is struggling to score consistently while the Clippers play very aggressive defense. This is a favorable matchup for LA as they try and go for six straight games. LA is just two games behind the Minnesota Timberwolves for the 7th seed, so this game is huge for them to gain some ground.
Final Knicks-Clippers Prediction & Pick
I'm taking the Clippers to cover this spread at home. It doesn't matter who the opponent is right now, the Clippers are playing well and seem to have great chemistry with one another. After beating the Lakers by over 20, they should beat the Knicks by at least six.
Final Knicks-Clippers Pick: Clippers -5.5 (-106)