NBA Basketball
2012-04-25 - LA Clippers at New York Knicks
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States: NBA Basketball
Wednesday 25 April 2012 - Tip Off 8pm ET
1am (British Standard Time)
Preview
The New York Knicks (34-30) are going back to the Play Offs, but they still have some control over what position they will finish. New York are currently the Number 7 seed in the Eastern Conference, but can finish as high as Number 6 if they win their last two games and the Orlando Magic lose their final two games.
The Knicks are currently slated to face the Miami Heat, but they may still drop down to Number 8 in the East and a meeting with the Chicago Bulls.
They face the LA Clippers (40-25) who complete their regular season here at Madison Square Garden with their own place in the Play Offs secured, but with a chance to wrap up home advantage in the First Round. The Clippers will do that if they win tonight or if the Memphis Grizzlies lose their own final regular season game tomorrow.
LA lost their last chance to win the Pacific Division yesterday as they fell to the Atlanta Hawks and the Clippers are still a little too reliant on Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, the only two players that reached double-digits yesterday.
Chris Paul has averaged 25.6 points in his last 5 games at the Garden, although he struggled when playing here with the New Orleans Hornets in his last visit.
New York are likely to still play a strong team tonight as they try and build the chemistry since the return of Amare Stoudemire. Carmelo Anthony continues to play at a high level, scoring 39 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in a win over the Atlanta Hawks last time out, but he may be given a little more rest time in the final two regular season games.
Anthony has averaged 29.3 points per game in his last six against the Clippers.
Head to Head
This is the first meeting between the Knicks and the Clippers this season.
LA have won on 3 of their last 4 visits to Madison Square Garden, including an 8 point win last season.
The road team is 7-1 against the spread in the last 8 games in the series.
New York are 20-12 against the spread at home this season, LA are 16-15-1 on the road.
New York are 19-16 against the spread as the favourite, LA are 12-10 as the underdog.
Other Interesting Trends
New York are 14-3 against the spread in their last 17 games as the home favourite.
They are 9-4 against the spread in their last 13 games against a team with a winning record.
LA are just 1-5 against the spread in their last 6 games against teams from the Eastern Conference.
Prediction
I am going to take the underdog LA Clippers to win this game straight up for a small interest. My reasons are:
First, the Clippers have had a strong recent record at the Garden and may just be a little more focused with home court advantage secured with a win.
Second, the Clippers have come back from an upset loss, going 10-2 in their next 12 games in that position.
Third, New York are 7-10 against teams from the West, LA are 11-6 against the East.
Fourth, I think the Knicks would be happy to exchange spots with the 76ers in the Eastern Conference seedings and avoid playing the Miami Heat. With Orlando facing Charlotte today, they may just tank a couple of losses under the guise of giving their other players an opportunity for minutes.
The Pick :
New York Knicks 105-108 LA Clippers
