by Chuck Sommers
Saturday, Dec 31, 2022
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: Toyota Center, Houston, TX
Where to watch: ATTSN-SW, MSG
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Knicks -5.5; Knicks -210, Rockets +180
FanDuel: Knicks -4.5; Knicks -194, Rockets +162
BetMGM: NL
Caesars: NL
Season record
Knicks: 18-18
Rockets: 10-25
Well, if you’ve never seen a balanced NBA season to this point, you’re in for some craziness along the way. A lot of new faces in new places already making an impact, and our champion handicappers are already starting to take notice. The last 30 days have seen our champion handicappers cashing in a great deal. Look at Brian Bitler going 80-55-0 in the last 30 days, a run of $18,800 net profit. How about ASA, Inc.? He’s on a 55-41-2 run the last 30 days. You know where to go for your best analysis. As the season progresses, you know we're going to be in a position to deliver you the best analysis and picks that one can have in this market. Make sure you check out our Best Bets page at bigal.com to find all of our handicappers' selections, comprehensive previews, and more!
Knicks - Rockets preview, prediction and analysis
You'd be hard pressed to find a more better team against this spread until the last couple of weeks ago then the Houston Rockets. I know it really doesn't make any sense but when you have outright wins over Milwaukee and phoenix, you think you can take on the world. And they did get covered victories over Dallas on December 23rd and then add Chicago on December 26th. So there is some good mixed with the abundance of losses that Houston has experienced this season. Now they are trying to figure out how to go about the New York Knicks, a team where I have absolutely no idea what to think of them right now considering they have now lost five in a row and everything seems to be going to hell in New York.
The Rockets are coming off A129-114 loss to The Mavericks on December 29th and you can't really fault Houston for that one considering Luka Doncic has absolutely destroyed worlds over the last week and a half. The next would actually know that quite well considering Luka just had 61 points, 21 rebounds and 10 assists in the most ridiculous game you will have ever seen this side of the Mississippi. So the Rockets really had nothing going for them and didn't even cover as 9.5 point underdogs.
Jalen Greenland Houston with 23 points, and Kevin Porter had 17 points and seven assists in the loss with Houston shooting just 44% from the floor and making only 12 of 34 attempts from 3 point range. Those are the kinds of efforts that you're going to get from the Rockets for the majority of this season, hence why their record is at a staggering 10-25. Then again, the fact that they are at ten wins at all at this early point of the season is pretty respectable. Houston is going to continue to play like this for a long time until the coaching and the players actually develop into consistent NBA players.
But the Knicks are a real problem right now after winning six in a row and looking like a ridiculously talented team in the east, they do end up losing jalen Brunson for a little bit due to a hip injury and everything is just gone S since then. New York has dropped five in a row and has gone 1-4 against the spread during that stretch. Some of those losses include a seven point loss to Toronto a one point loss to Chicago, a seven point loss to Philadelphia, the utter collapse of all collapses against Dallas in which they were up nine with 30 seconds to go and became the first team in like 20,000 games to blow a lead with that little time to go, and as recently as Thursday a seven point loss to the San Antonio Spurs.
So clearly Bronson is the savior of this team per evidence of his absence in the lineup period until he gets back healthy New York is really not in the position to be challenging for any top tier spot right now in the Eastern Conference. I mean during this eight game-winning streak they were on there were wins against Golden State Indiana and Chicago. Twice, actually. So there are some good signs as to what New York can do, but this absolutely feels like a trap game especially if their leading scorer is not back.
Prediction
I know they haven't played well as of late, but the Rockets tend to have one or two games against good teams in which they totally shocked the world and I think this one could be one of them. This seems like it time where you take the team with the money line and you roll with the punches and see what you can get out of it. Rockets 114, Knicks 106
Betting trends
Knicks are 57-39 ATS on the road the last 3 seasons.
Knicks are 47-21 ATS off five straight overs since 1996.
Rockets are 3-18 ATS at home after 2 straight losses by 10 points or more the last 3 seasons.
Projected starting lineup
Knicks:
PG: Immanuel Quickley
SG: Quentin Grimes
SF: Cam Reddish
PF: Julius Randle
C: Mitchell Robinson
Rockets:
PG: Kevin Porter Jr.
SG: Jalen Green
SF: Eric Gordon
PF: Jabari Smith Jr.
C: Apleren Sengun
Injury report
Knicks: Jalen Brunson (hip, questionable), RJ Barrett (out), Obi Toppin (leg, out)
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
