VW'S NBA BLANK CHECK WINNER # 6 OF 7
- Handicapper
- Vegas Writer
- League
- NBA
- Competition
- Memphis Grizzlies vs New York Knicks
- Release Date
- 01/27/2025 11:58 AM
- Event Date
- 01/27/2025 07:40 PM
- Bet Type
- Point Spread
- Pick
- New York Knicks -3.5 (-108) (DraftKings)
- Outcome
- Win
- Analysis
- A three-game win streak has the New York Knicks within two games of first-place Boston in the race for the Atlantic Division title, and with the Celtics about to have their hands full with the visiting, red-hot Houston Rockets, the boys from Manhattan can creep even closer when they take care of the Memphis Grizzlies at Madison Square Garden tonight. With victories over Atlanta, Brooklyn and Sacramento, New York improved to 30-16 on the season and sits alone in third place in the Eastern Conference standings. The Knicks have been solid of late, winning seven of its last 11 games at home, including scoring a season-high 143 points in their 23-point rout of visiting Sacramento Saturday, the most they’ve scored since posting 145 points at Toronto last spring. Like New York, Memphis has also been playing well, winning its last six in a row, four of which were at home. That won’t help much here, however, since it’s won only five of its last 10 games on the road. With Ja Morant (20.7 pts, 7.7 ast) leading the charge, the team boasts all five of its starters scoring in double figures as the team leads the NBA in scoring at 123.7 ppg, but the Knicks aren’t far behind at a fifth-most 117.2 per contest. Injuries have been problematic for the Grizzlies though, with Marcus Smart still sidelined after missing the past four-plus weeks with a finger injury on his shooting hand, in addition to forward Santi Aldama, who is listed as questionable with an undisclosed illness after posting a combined 49 points and 18 rebounds over a recent two-game mid-month. The Knicks got the better of the Grizz the last two times they’ve matched up, winning both tilts by double-digit margins midway through last season, and this one will come down to Memphis’ top-rated offense (123.7 ppg) versus New York’s top-10 defense (110.9 ppg, 9th), with the Knicks ultimately winning and covering the spread when it’s all said and done.
