Golden State will be without superstar forward Kevin Durant, but even without him are a lethal group, as evidenced by last year’s 73-win run behind the trio of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
Those guys will lead the way as the Warriors should be heavy favorites despite the fact they are playing this game on the road. The Knicks would love to pull the upset as they hold out hope for still making the playoffs, but it will be hard to pull off.
At 3:30 p.m. ET, tune into ABC for live television coverage of this NBA basketball game on Sunday, March 5, 2017 at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York.
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Odds Analysis
The Warriors are 50-10 straight up and 28-30-1 against the spread. They have played in 31 road games on the year and have gone 13-17-1 against the spread in those matchups. Golden State has been favored in every game this season, the only team in the NBA with such a distinction. There is no question the Warriors will be the team to beat in this showdown.
The Knicks are 25-36 straight up and 32-29 against the spread. They have played in 31 home games and have done well, covering in 17 of them. The Knicks are 21-19 against the spread as underdogs and should be getting a substantial handful of points against Golden State.
Injury Report
Durant will miss several weeks with a knee injury, although initial fears that it could be season-ending were luckily premature. Still, it’s a tough pill to swallow down the stretch as the Warriors were hoping to round into playoff form as they make a run at an NBA title.
Durant was averaging 25.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, leading the team in both categories. He is one of the most skilled forwards in the NBA and was shooting 53.7 percent from the field and 37.8 percent from three-point range.
With Durant out, the Warriors will go to more of a guard-dominated attack like last year. Curry is the reigning league MVP and figures to take on a bigger scoring load. He is averaging 24.8 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and has been fine sharing the ball with Thompson and Durant, but now could look to be a more big-time scorer.
Curry is the best shooter in the league and should have no problem taking over as the superstar again. The Warriors will miss Durant but even without him they are supremely talented.
Key Stat
Four. That’s the number of games out of the playoffs the Knicks are as the season winds down. They must leap several teams to get into the Eastern Conference postseason and it’s going to be tough.
However, New York didn’t trade away veteran stars like Carmelo Anthony or Derrick Rose before the trade deadline, so it is now in a weird position of both trying to rebuild while also pushing for the playoffs.
While the Knicks have some big names, they simply aren’t talented enough to make the playoffs instead there is a drastic transformation the rest of the way.
Free NBA ATS Pick
The Warriors might not have Durant but it’s not going to be a big problem. Most teams would be severely impacted by a star going down, but the top-tier talent is enough to weather the storm.
Unless the Knicks can harass Curry and Thompson enough into bad shooting nights, this one may not even be that close. The Warriors should be able to head to New York and prove that they are a dominant team even without the services of one of the best players in the NBA.
NBA Odds: Warriors 118, Knicks 105
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