NBA Basketball
2011-01-30 - Detroit Pistons at New York Knicks
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States: NBA Basketball
Sunday 30 January 2011 - Tip-Off 7:30pm ET
12:30am (British Standard Time)
Preview
The New York Knicks (24-22) have been moving their roster around for the last 3 seasons in the hope that they would land either Dwyane Wade or Lebron James last Summer, if not both of those players. However, once the 2 stars decided they would be playing in Miami, the Knicks went to plan B and picked up Amare Stoudemire. The big man has reinvigorated this franchise although he could be missing from this game with an injury.
Stoudemire has become a real leader in the dressing rooms at Madison Square Garden and his performances have pushed him into peoples minds when they talk about a potential MVP. He has averaged 26 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game this season and could be the first Knick to represent the franchise in the All-Star game since 1992.
The forward left the game against Atlanta in the 3rd Quarter and said knee was feeling sore and it is unclear if he will take part today. One player who is definitely missing for the Knicks is Shawne Williams who was ejected in the game against the Hawks for throwing punches at Marvin Williams.
While the Knicks have some personnel problems, Detroit (17-30) come to the Big Apple in a similar shape. The Pistons fought valiantly in a 1 point loss to Miami last time out as they made do without Rodney Stuckey, Ben Wallace and Richard Hamilton. Stuckey and Hamilton both had an illness and Wallace was allowed time off for a family matter and their statuses are unclear for the game tonight.
Tracy McGrady turned back the clock with an impressive performance and is averaging 16 points per game over his last 3 contests as he comes back to Madison Square Garden after playing 24 games for the Knicks last season.
Ben Gordon and Austin Daye also had good performances and the team was a little unfortunate not to knock off the Heat.
Head to Head
New York have won 4 of the last 5 in the series, including the last 3 in a row culminating in an OT win earlier this season at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
The Knicks are 6-2 against the spread in recent games.
New York are 11-9-1 against the spread at home this season, Detroit are 14-11 on the road.
New York are 10-10-1 against the spread when having 1 days rest, Detroit are 15-11 with the same amount of rest.
Other Interesting Notes
The Knicks are 10-3 against the spread when playing teams that won less than 40% of their games this season.
However, they are just 1-5 against the spread at home when favoured by between 5 and 10 points.
Detroit are 11-5 against the spread when playing a team with a winning record at home.
They are 5-2 against the spread in games as the road underdog by between 5 and 10 points.
The Pistons are 10-2 against the spread against teams from the Eastern Conference.
Prediction
I have to say that I favour Detroit in this spot to cover the spread for a couple of reasons:
Firstly, they have recently played at Boston, Orlando and Miami, 3 of the best teams in the Eastern Conference. They lost 2 of those games by a combined 5 points while also winning at Orlando so there is a lot of belief in the team that they can hang with the best teams in the East.
Secondly, the New York Knicks have not been in great form of late, losing home games to the likes of Sacramento and Phoenix. If their 3 pointers are not falling, the Knicks can make things tough for themselves.
Thirdly, with just 2 wins in their last 9 games, the Knicks have not had a winning feeling much recently and could become nervous in a close contest.
Detroit will have been disappointed that they could not beat Miami last time out, but they are playing teams tough so I will take the points here.
The Pick :
New York Knicks 94-90 Detroit Pistons
BEST BETTING TIP :
I'll take the Detroit Pistons + 6.5 PointsFollow me on Twitter @DavindaAulak- the direct link is below
