Game Time: 9:00 PM ET, Monday, February 7th, 2022 

Venue: Vivint Arena, Salt Lake City, Utah

Where to Watch:  NBA League Pass

DraftKings:  Spread:  NL

BetMGM:  Spread:  NL

VegasInsider:  Spread:  Jazz -7.5; O/U 213.5

WynnBet: Spread:  Jazz -7.5; O/U 213.5

NBA Standings

Knicks: 24-29, 12th place Eastern Conference

Jazz: 32-21, 4th place Western Conference

A lopsided non-conference matchup.  The 2017 NBA draft is just one of many turning points in Knicks history that have gone the same way.  Bad.  Back in 2017 the Knicks had the 7th pick in the NBA draft and just like always a losing roster.  They could have picked for any position.  That 2016-2017 Knicks team had a very young Kristaps Porzingis, they were grappling with how to get rid of the constant struggle that was Carmelo Anthony, they had given a big contract to C Joakim Noah for no real reason… like always.. They were a mess.  In the 2017 NBA draft the New York Knicks selected PG/SG Frank Ntilikina with the 7th overall pick who in five NBA seasons has logged a career average of 5.3 ppg and 2.4 apg.  Frank is deep on the bench for the Dallas Mavericks last I heard of him.   That same year (2017) the Utah Jazz picked up the Denver Nuggets 1st round pick and drafted SG Donovan Mitchell with the 13th overall pick.  Donovan Mitchell has career averages of 23.7 ppg, 4.4 apg, and 4.1 rpg… he is above all those career averages this year.  He made the NBA ALL ROOKIE TEAM, Mitchell is a 3x NBA all-star in a short 5 years.  He is the unquestioned leader of his team… he is the current player people think of when they say “Utah Jazz”.  Now every NBA team has a version of this story… with Detroit and Portland having maybe the two worst versions of this story.  It’s the old: “we took this guy when we could have had that guy”.  Every team has the story many times over.  The aKnicks however seem to have the story MORE than anyone.  Even when the Knicks get a pick right like with Kristaps Porzingis… something bad happens.  The current roster for the New York Knicks hate playing for the New York Knicks fans.  They don’t hate Spike Lee or being in the Garden or even playing for the disaster of an owner…. The current New York Knicks players hate the New York Knicks fans.  When young guys come into the NBA they are going to make mistakes, they are going to have turnovers, they are going to miss shots…. It’s true of everyone.  Even the great Donovan Mitchell only scored 20.1 ppg in his rookie campaign.  Early life in the NBA is difficult enough… but it’s damn near impossible when your hometown crowd boos YOU.  The Knicks fans are booing the Knicks over decades of frustration.  The fans hate the owner.  The fans hate losing.  The people who feel it the most are the players on the team that have only been here a year or two.  They play tight and scared basketball.  Knicks rookies are more often than not worse than their counterparts across the league.  The reason is the Knicks fans.  The fear that lives in the air in the building.  The idea that a young guy learning to play at this level will “hear it” from the fans DURING HOME GAMES… is psyche breaking.  SF Kevin Knox had one of the best NBA summer leagues I’ve seen a guy have in person.  He played with joy.  He scored effectively.  He was excited to be there.  Four years in front of the Knicks fans and Knox is a broken player sitting on the Atlanta Hawks’ bench hoping for a shot to find that joy again.  The Knicks don’t draft well… all the better reason for the fans to be supportive.

The Utah Jazz are a loaded team that has the misfortune of playing in the Western Conference among other more loaded teams.  Utah is pegged for a top 4 or 5 finish in the West.  They will shoot the ball well, they will play great defense.  They just won’t have enough to get through the gauntlet of the Memphis Grizzlies, the Golden State Warriors, and the Phoenix Suns.  Fortunately for Utah their fans will applaud them as they exit just as hard as they did on the entrance.  Now if only they had a more exciting city to attract free agents.

The New York Knicks have only won 2 of their last 10 games. They lost their last game to the Los Angeles Lakers in overtime 122-115 in a very rare game where a team gets to overtime and still fails to cover a 5-point point spread.  That is really a very rare thing to see.  They are actually 4-6 ATS over the last ten games since the Sportsbooks are laying healthy spreads to drum up Knicks betting.  PF Julius Randle leads the Knicks in points, assist, and rebounds… and that is the guy that the New York fans hate the most.  He is the guy who the team should trade at the deadline because his relationship with New York will always be on thin ice after his infamous thumbs down gesture.  (how dare he!).  PG Kemba Walker is back in Tom Thibodeau’s lineup, SG Evan Fournier is back from the injury list… and nothing.  They simply aren’t winning.  The Knicks should work the trade options very hard until Thursday… but they really don’t have much value to offer out.  People tell me C Mitchell Robinson is off the table… Does that make sense? … They have a total attachment to a 4th year center that averages 8.4 ppg? Which is actually down 1.5 ppg from his career highs 2 seasons ago?  That guy is “untouchable?”.  The Knicks are a quandary.  And you should not bet money on them to win.

The Utah Jazz have won only 3 of their last ten games.  They have hit a very rough patch with starting Center Rudy Gobert and starting SF/SG Joe Ingles on the injury list.  The remaining rotation feature having the small forwards Royce O’Neal and Bojan Bogdanovic on either side of completely unprepared young Center Udoka Azubuike.  Udoka was drafted 27th overall in 2020 and has 11 games played with averages of 2.9 ppg, and 3.0 rpg…. The frontline is an absolute defensive hole.  A ramp for easy buckets.  Azubuike is tall for sure, but not ready for starting minutes especially when he is getting only soft help from the power forward spot.  That leaves SG Donovan Mitchell and PG Mike Conley to try and control the game from the guard spots.  Fortunately for Utah they will be playing the Knicks.  If the Jazz injury list wasn’t so crammed we could skip the numbers… but as is let’s look at the numbers before we put any money on this one.

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The New York Knicks are 24-29 on the season, but 25-28 ATS.  They have logged 24 Overs and 29 Unders.  They are 11-14 in road games.

The Utah Jazz are 32-21 on the season, but 22-29-2 ATS.  They have notched 26 Overs, 26 Unders, and 1 Push.  They are 17-10 in home games.

The New York Knicks are 27th in scoring with 104.4 ppg, 7th in rebounds with 45.8 pre game, and 26th in AST/TO ratio with 1.6. They are shooting 27th in FG%, 12th in 3PT%, and 25th in FT%.  On defense they are pretty good… they rank 7th while allowing 105.2 ppg from opponents.

The Utah Jazz are 1st in scoring with 113.6 ppg, 8th in rebounds with 45.8 per game, and 28th in AST/TO ratio with 1.6.  They are shooting the lights out… 3rd in FG%, 4th in 3PT%, and 13th in FT%.  They are a slightly above average defense where they rank 13th while allowing 107.6 ppg from opponents.  Of course the defensive numbers will not hold up with perpetual defender of the year candidate C Rudy Gobert out with injury.

Our prediction for Monday, February 7th is….  Jazz 114 - Knicks 102

Yes.  The Knicks are the perfect team for the Jazz to beat right now.  The Knicks don’t have an offensive center which will provide some protection for Azubuike… and the it’s as simple as knowing Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley will be the best, most mistake free players on the court and they both play for the Jazz.  The Jazz are hunting the schedule until Gobert and Ingles return hoping to Knicks, Thunder, Pistons, Rockets.

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New York is 28-18 ATS versus Utah since 1996.

Utah is 2-0 ATS versus Utah at Utah the last 3 seasons.

New York is 52-43 ATS as a road underdog the last 3 seasons.

New York is 10-3 ATS versus good defensive teams allowing less than 108 ppg the last 3 seasons.

Knicks: PG Derrick Rose (ankle) 

Jazz: PG Jordan Clarkson (knee) Quest ** SF Joe Ingles (knee) Out ** C Rudy Gobert (calf) Out 

Knicks: SF RJ Barrett, PF Julius Randle, C Mitchell Robinson, PG Kemba Walker, SG Evan Fournier

Jazz: PF Royce O'neale, SF Bojan Bogdanovic, C Udoka Azubuike, PG Mike Conley, Sg Donovan Mitchell 

Knicks

Points: Julius Randle 18.7

Assists: Julius Randle 5.1

Rebounds: Julius Randle 10

Steals: Nerlens Noel 1.2

Blocks: Mitchell Robinson 1.6

Jazz

Points: Donovan Mitchell 25.5

Assists: Mike Conley 5.2

Rebounds: Rudy Gobert 15.1

Steals: Donovan Mitchell 1.6

Blocks: Rudy Gobert 2.3

Knicks: Tom Thibodeau

Jazz: Quin Snyder