NBA: New York Knicks vs. Golden State Warriors Preview, Odds, Prediction

The New York Knicks visit the Golden State Warriors in their tour through the West. Tom Thibodeau’s unit is without a win during this road trip, and to be honest, their chances of winning at Chase Center are pretty low. Meanwhile, the Warriors lost last night in Utah. Curry and the company is coming back home after an unpleasant defeat to the short-handed Jazzers, and we are more than sure that they want to erase this quick jump to Salt Lake City from their memory. A win here would help a lot.

Preview

New York Knicks (24-31, +333) have four defeats in a row, three in this tour. The first one was in LA against the Lakers after OT, after that against the Jazzers, and finally against the Nuggets, 132-115. If they continue at this pace, the Knicks will not only miss the playoffs but the play-in as well.

We’ve seen them pale at Mile High, allowing 83 points in the first half, while scoring 60. The defense was once again below the expected level, allowing the Nuggets to shoot 54.1% from the field, and the defensive effort has been a problem for Thibodeau ever since the new year started.

Julius Randle had a double-double with 28 points and 10 boards, and he also added six assists. Evan Fournier scored 21 points, while RJ Barrett had 18. He is questionable for tonight’s event and probably won’t play.

Golden State Warriors (41-14, -450) had nine triumphs in a row before losing to the Jazzers last night at Vivint Arena, 111-85. This was arguably one of the nastiest defeats throughout the entire season for the Warriors, who didn’t look like themselves.

GSW was 35.9% from the field, having miserable 12 two-point hits in this event. It is something we haven’t seen in the league for a long time. Also, the Jazzers outrebounded the rivals, 52-35, even though not having Rudy Gobert. Apparently, they are handling the Warriors’ speed much better without one of the best defenders in the history of the game.

Jordan Poole was the best scorer in Steve Kerr’s unit, dropping 18 points. Steph had 16, shooting 5-for-13, with seven rebounds and four turnovers. The All-Star starter, Andrew Wiggins, had 13, while rookie Jonathan Kuminga added 12 off the bench. As time goes by, his potential is more and more obvious, and the Warriors got a long-term star.

Head to Head Games

The previous meeting was on December 14, and the Warriors won at the Madison Square Garden, 105-96. That was when Steph broke Ray Allen’s record for the most three-points in the NBA history, becoming an all-time leader in this category.

Prediction

We really don’t see the way for the Knicks to avoid a defeat here. On one side, they are tired, demoralized and in awful shape. On the other hand, the Warriors have a massive motive to win, and the chances to have back-to-back poor shooting nights are minimal. Therefore, we are betting on the home team to win and cover an 8.5-point spread. The odds on that are -110.

Pick: Warriors -8.5 points

Here is the preview for tonight’s NBA game – Milwaukee Bucks vs Phoenix Suns.