NBA Basketball
2012-04-20 - New York Knicks at Cleveland Cavaliers
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States: NBA Basketball
Friday 20 April 2012 - Tip Off 7pm ET
Midnight (British Standard Time)
Preview
The New York Knicks (33-29) can thank the Indiana Pacers after their win over the Milwaukee Bucks confirmed the Knicks' place in the Play Offs for the second season in succession. They are 1 game ahead of the Philadelphia 76ers as the Number 7 seed, and 3 games behind the Orlando Magic with perhaps a chance to move up the seedings.
To do so, the Knicks cannot afford to drop a game to the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers (20-41) who have been hampered by injuries to their better players and are just looking forward to finishing their season.
The Knicks can thank Carmelo Anthony and his form for their place in the Play Offs as they have continued winning through injuries of their own. Amare Stoudemire could return for New York after missing 13 games with a back injury, although the Knicks are 9-4 in that time, while Jeremy Lin will not be back until the Play Offs at the earliest.
New York are also very much relying on their three point shooters with the likes of Steve Novak and JR Smith coming off the bench and providing a real threat from the perimeter.
Cleveland themselves had missed Kyrie Irving for 9 games, but the rookie returned in their last game although still struggling with his shot. There were suggestions that Irving would be shut down for the rest of the season, but it is expected he will be given limited time for the remaining 5 games.
Head to Head
New York are leading the season series 2-1, with both teams winning their games at home.
The Knicks have now taken 3 of the last 4 games in the series, but Cleveland had won 11 in a row before that although a lot of those games were with LeBron James in the line up.
Cleveland have won 9 in a row at home against New York, going 6-3 against the spread in those games.
Cleveland are 12-19 against the spread at home this season, New York are 13-17 on the road.
Cleveland are 25-25 against the spread as the underdog, New York are 19-15 as the favourite.
Other Interesting Trends
Cleveland are 1-7 against the spread in their last 8 games as the home underdog given between 5 and 10.5 points.
New York are 16-5 against the spread in their last 21 games overall.
However, they are 7-15 against the spread in their last 22 games as the road favourite of between 5 and 10.5 points.
Prediction
I am going to back the New York Knicks to record the win and cover the spread for the following reasons:
First, Cleveland have lost 4 of their last 5 games and been blown out by double-digits in each of those losses.
Second, the Cavaliers are short-handed , while the New York bench has been producing and will be bolstered by Amare Stoudemire.
Third, the Knicks have handled expectations well in the second half of the season, going 8-1 against the spread when playing teams with losing records. Cleveland are 2-6 in the same period against teams with winning records.
The Pick :
Cleveland Cavaliers 88-101 New York Knicks
