The New York Knicks continue to stack up the cash, bringing a five-game ATS winning streak into Monday’s home stand with the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Knicks, who are 3-2 SU in their last five contests, are coming off a solid win over Toronto on Sunday, covering as 3-point NBA betting favorites. Bookies have installed New York as a favorite against the shorthanded Lakers, who are still without superstars LeBron James and Anthony Davis but are coming off an impressive 126-101 victory over Brooklyn on Saturday.
Check out our free NBA picks and predictions for Lakers vs. Knicks on April 12.
Lakers vs Knicks odds
Odds via the Covers Line, an average comprised of odds from multiple sportsbooks.
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NBA sharp money and line movement report
By Patrick EversonNew York hit the PointsBet USA odds board at -3.5 Sunday afternoon, moved to -4 shortly thereafter, then backpedaled this morning to -2, where the number remains at 4 p.m. ET. The Knicks are taking 56 percent of point-spread tickets, but the Lakers are getting 68 percent of point-spread cash. The total rose from 204.5 to 206, then inched back to 205.5, with 80 percent of tickets/85 percent of money on the Over.
Check out the full line movement for this gameLakers at Knicks betting preview
Injuries
Lakers: LeBron James F (Out), Anthony Davis F (Out), Kyle Kuzma F (Questionable), Wesley Matthews G (Questionable), Marc Gasol C (Questionable).
Knicks: John Henson PF (Out), Mitchell Robinson C (Out), Norvel Pelle C (Questionable).
Find our latest NBA injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Knicks are 10-4-1 ATS in their last 15 home games. Find more NBA betting trends for Lakers vs. Knicks.
Against the spread (ATS) pick
The Knicks’ 102-96 victory over the Raptors Sunday was a big character win for this young team. Not only did New York jump out to a sizable lead early but it stayed composed after Toronto battled back and even overcame a surprise break in momentum due to a 14-minute delay caused by a water leak at Madison Square Garden.
New York remains one of the best bets in the NBA, improving to 32-21-1 against the basketball betting spreads this season. Those earnings have been built on the back of one of the league’s toughest defenses, with the Knicks limiting foes to just over 44 percent shooting and a mere 104.4 points per game.
The Lakers enter this matchup lacking plenty of scoring power, due to injuries to James and Davis. Los Angeles has some new faces in Andre Drummond and Ben McLemore getting acclimated to the offense but it may also be without forward Kyle Kuzma (12.6 ppg), who is a question mark for Monday due to a calf injury.
Don’t let Saturday’s 126-point eruption over the Nets fool you: L.A. can’t cut it against the NBA’s defensive elite. The Lakers have faced defensive stalwarts like Miami, Milwaukee and the L.A. Clippers in recent games, managing outputs of 104, 86, and 97 points in those contests.
In the surprise win over Brooklyn (in which L.A. was an 11.5-point underdog), the Lakers knocked down 19 of 34 shots from beyond the arc (54%) – a stretch for a club that averages just 11 threes an outing on 35.7 percent shooting – and didn’t have to worry about Nets star Kyrie Irving for most of the second half after he was ejected from the game.
No team locks down the 3-point arc like New York, holding foes to only 33.8 percent success from distance on an average of 12 triples per contest. Toronto shot just 11 for 34 from beyond the arc (32%) in Sunday’s loss to the Knicks.
The Knicks have come through for backers when laying the points, pumping out a 14-6 ATS record as favorites this season and 21-8 ATS mark in their last 29 games when set as the betting chalk.
PREDICTION: Knicks -3 (-110)
Over/Under pick
Backing up the Knicks’ aggressive defensive approach is a methodical pace with the basketball, ranked slowest in the NBA (96.52). New York averages just over 105 points per game and is far from a well-oiled machine in the halfcourt set, picking up only 0.543 assists per field goal made—second-last in the league.
As mentioned, the Lakers are missing their one-two punch and while new additions like Drummond and McLemore have stood out in recent efforts, Los Angeles’ offense is still quite stagnant without Davis anchoring the post-up game and LeBron being able to create in transition. The Lakers don’t work off the pick-and-roll much, nor do they instigate a lot of open looks from movement.
Expect both teams to pressure hard on defense and get inside each other’s shorts on Monday night. While Los Angeles’ offensive output versus Brooklyn was an anomaly, its defensive effort was not. The Lakers’ foundation is hard-nosed defense, and they did a great job holding the Nets’ loaded lineup to 44 percent shooting and just 5 for 27 from 3-point range. They also forced 19 turnovers in the upset win.
Both teams have been big winners for the Under this season – L.A. 19-34-0 O/U and N.Y. 21-33-0 – and with the Knicks playing the second of back-to-back nights, expect them to rest on offense and spend their energy on the defensive end of the court.
PREDICTION: Under 206 (-110)
Player prop pick
The Drummond pick-up came at a great time for the Lakers, who were desperately missing a big body in the paint with Davis out of action and Marc Gasol putting in a disappointing 2020-21 season.
In his last two games in the purple and gold, the 6-foot-10 veteran has posted stat lines of 15 points/12 rebounds and 20 points/11 rebounds. Drummond faces a depleted New York frontcourt that could be missing as many as three bigs for Monday’s meeting with L.A.
The Knicks defense is sound but if there’s been any angle in which teams have beaten them, it’s inside the paint. New York has allowed a scoring frequency of 51.2 percent versus post-up offenses (third-worst) and the Lakers run the second-most active post-up attack in the NBA (7.2 FGA/game).
Drummond had his way with the Nets forwards inside on Saturday, outworking them in the post and taking them off the dribble from the foul line extended, as L.A. isolated their recent addition and gave him plenty of space to operate.
PREDICTION: Andre Drummond Over 15.5 points (-120)
Lakers vs Knicks betting card
- Knicks -3 (-110)
- Under 206 (-110)
- Andre Drummond Over 15.5 points (-120)
Picks made on 4/12/2021 at 9:24 a.m. ET
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