Portland Trail Blazers at New York Knicks Betting Preview/Prop Picks
16 March 2022
The Portland Trail Blazers find themselves heading to New York to face the Knicks. They come off a rough loss to the Atlanta Hawks and are hoping to find some redemption here. They'll have to find a solution for Julius Randle, the Knicks leading scorer.
Not just that, Portland will need to find a way to put points up themselves. However, they'll get some help from the sportsbook.
The New York Knicks come into this game as heavy favorites. Their most recent game was against the Brooklyn Nets, a team they barely lost to. As they try to find a way to get into the top ten in the Eastern Conference, every win will help.
They can start by taking down the Trail Blazers tonight. Our question is, can they cover the large spread that has been set out for them?
Portland Trail Blazers: Portland hopes to end a 5-game road skid
This game against the Knicks could be exactly what the Trail Blazers need to break the road skid. However, their last game against the Hawks turned out to be a 122-113 loss. They need to find a way to tighten up their defense tonight.
If they let Julius Randle and RJ Barrett get going early, the Trail Blazers will be in trouble. So, what can they do to find a way to win on the road?
For starters, the focus needs to be on Randle inside the paint. However, they can make it more challenging for him will increase their odds of winning. The New York offense isn't very good when Randle is taken out of the picture.
On average, the Knicks only put up 105.94 points per game. The Trail Blazers can use this lack of offense to their advantage on Wednesday night.
New York Knicks: Narrow losses continue to plague New York
Their recent loss to the Nets dealt another blow to the Knicks' playoff hopes. As they plan to host the Trail Blazers, the Knicks have to find a way to finish games strong.
Unfortunately, they only have two players they can rely on, Julius Randle and RJ Barrett. Even then, each of those players has consistency issues. It's also likely that the Trail Blazers find a way to stop Randle.
If they do, the Knicks will look to RJ Barrett to lead the team to a win. Still, we have to take the spread and the Knicks offense into consideration. If they win, will they be able to cover such a large spread?
Or would the better bet be to take the Portland Trail Blazers with the points? It's a tough call, but it's one that needs to be made. So, who's our pick on Wednesday night?
Portland Trail Blazers at New York Knicks Betting Pick
Although we think the Knicks will win this game, we have to go with the Trail Blazers. Portland has 10.5 points to play with in this game, and we think it'll stay pretty close. This is especially true if Portland can find a solution for Julius Randle.
At home, the New York Knicks are 13-19 against the spread this season. In their last ten against Portland, they've gone 2-8 with a 5-5 record against the spread. Their most recent game against Portland was a 103-112 loss, so we'll stick with the Trail Blazers.
DunkelIndex Free Pick: Portland Trail Blazers +10.5, OVER
Prop Picks
Portland (-110) OVER 106.5 Points
New York is allowing 107.0 points per game on defense, which ranks No. 8 in the league. That average increases to 110.2 points per game over the Knicks’ last 10 contests. Scores have gone OVER in each of New York’s last five home games.
With Dunkel predicting a New York victory by the score of 116-111, take the Trail Blazers (-110) to finish OVER their Vegas team total of 106.5 points against the Knicks.
R.J. Barrett (-115) OVER 25.5 Points
Barrett is averaging 19.3 points per game, which ranks No. 2 on the Knicks. That average increases to 26.4 points per game over his last 10 games and 31.0 points per game in his last three home games.
With Dunkel predicting a New York home win tonight with the final score going OVER the Vegas total, take the Barrett (-115) to continue his recent surge and finish OVER his Vegas total of 25.5 points against the Trail Blazers.
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