NBA: Los Angeles Clippers VS New York Knicks Pick and Predictions 02/04/2023

Game: 7:10 PM ET,  Saturday, February 4th, 2023

Venue:  The Garden, Manhattan, New York

TV: NBA League Pass

Clippers: 29-26, 5th place Western Conference

Knicks: 28-25, 7th place Eastern Conference

BetMGM:  Point Spread: Clippers -3.5, O/U 219.5

PointsBet: Point Spread: Clippers -3.5, O/U 219.5

Fanduel: Point Spread: Clippers -3.5, O/U 219

Clippers: PG Terence Mann, SG Paul George, SF Kawhi Leonard, PF Marcus Morris SR, C Ivica Zubac

Knicks: PG Jalen Brunson, SG Quentin Grimes, SF RJ Barrett, PF Julius Randle, C Jericho Sims

An NBA matchup between teams that for right now would qualify for the playoffs…. The question is will that be so all season.  The Los Angeles Clippers have been in 6th place as recently as ten days ago… then rose to 4th place… then dropped back to 5th place.  The Western Conference is tightly bunched from 3 -11th place.  All those spots are only separated by a few games with the Kings in 3rd with 29-22 and the Pelicans in 11th with 26-27… It only takes a couple wins or losses to climb or plummet several spots… and before any of those teams start feeling comfortable… The Lakers in 12th place are just 1 win out of the group and they just got Anthony Davis back to play with LeBron.  So the Clippers NEED wins.  To stay a contending team with a roster that was built for the playoffs?... They need to win now.  The New York Knicks are middle of the pack in the East.  winning to keep a playoff spot looming would be nice… but in the same conference as the Celtics and the Bucks and the 76ers?... What the Knicks really need is more firepower in the form of a trade.  The Knicks are a fine team but Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson are not quite enough to get things done in a star packed Eastern Conference postseason.  The Knicks should be hounding Toronto trying to get SF OG Anunoby… There are a few others in the league that may be “gettable” but ultimately the Knicks have to decide whether or not to go “all-in” on this and next season and whether or not to do it now?  The great betting opportunity here will be found where it is always found in Clipper games… By checking the injury report… let’s do that AND glance at the numbers.

The Los Angeles Clippers have won 6 of their last 10 games and gone 6-4 ATS.  They lost their last game to the Milwaukee Bucks 106-105… a single point heartbreaker.  They did however cover the spread (exactly as I predicted here).  In the loss to the Bucks, Clippers SF Kawhi Leonard had 17 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists, SG Paul George had 16 points, 6 rebounds, PF Marcus Morris had 16 points 5 rebounds (and a stunning +28 on the +/- scale)… and the star of the night was Clipper bench scorer SG/SF Norman Powell who had 26 points off the bench in 31 minutes!  Except with everything going right they could not get the win.  That may have something to do with Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo who dropped 54 points & 19 rebounds in 36 minutes!!  You can’t stop Giannis… at least I haven’t seen anyone do it.

The New York Knicks have won 4 of their last 10 games. Going 4-6 ATS.  They won their last matchup against the Miami Heat 106-104.  In the win PF Julius Randle had 23 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists… SF RJ Barrett had 30 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 assists… and SG Quentin Grimes dropped 17 points on 6 of 9 shooting from the field.  They did it without PG Jalen Brunson who is out with injury at the moment.  They got a win without their best player… but they will need him back soon in order to keep winning.

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The Clippers are 28th in the league in scoring with 110.5 points per game and 14th in rebounds with 43.8 per game.  However just the last few weeks have their 3 high powered scorers been playing together consistently so that scoring average should be on the way up. On defense the Clippers are 3rd in defense of points while holding opponents to 110.5.  They score what they give up and give up what they score?... One of those numbers will begin to lean in another direction.

The Knicks are 16th in scoring with 114.3 points per game, 3rd in rebounds with 47.2 per game.  On defense they rank 10th in defense of points while allowing 112.5 points per game.  Head Coach Tom Thibodaeu has made his career calling card all about strong defense… but he is working with a few young players and a few new additions… that always takes a little longer for the pure defense to kick in.  The Knicks are in good shape… just not against the Clippers big three.

Our prediction for Saturday, February 4th is….  Clippers 118 - Knicks 105

Bet on the Clippers.  Two things are happening here.  PG Jalen Brunson is listed as Day to Day meaning he could play or sit out or play only limited minutes. Plus SF RJ Barrett had a 30 point game last game… and is not usually wildly consistent… so it is unlikely that he will get that again.  The Clippers have the advantage on defense.. You can and should bet on it.

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The Clippers are 10 OVER and 2 UNDER in road games when the total is 210-219.5 this season.

The Clippers are 8-1 ATS when playing their 3rd road game in 7 days this season.

The Knicks are 10-15 ATS in home games this season.  They are not that tough at home.

Clippers: SG Paul George. PG-13 is the Robin to Kawhi’s Batman… but on most nights he has to don the cowl of Batman because Kawhi has been injured so often the last 3 seasons.  Paul does everything well from scoring to rebounding to assists… he also plays a mean lo0ck down defense.  He will be overjoyed to find a 22 year old Knick trying to stop him.

Knicks: SG Quentin Grimes.  Quentin was a revelation for the knicks this season. He hit big shots and lots of them. The 25th pick of the first round of the 2021 draft has taken the starting 2-guard spot and will most likely keep it.  Quentin’s emergence was a dagger in SF Cam Reddish’s chances of resurrecting his career.  Quentin has up and down games like any young player.  He will need to find consistency going forward.

Clippers: Tye “treading water” Lue

Knicks: Tom “Mr defense” Thibodaeu”