With just two wins in their last 10 games, the New York Knicks’ early season surge is now a thing of the past as they get set to try and get back on track in a pair of games against the Milwaukee Bucks, the later of the two taking place in Milwaukee on Friday night. The Bucks are playing pretty good basketball right now with three wins over the Bulls in the last ten games along with a victory against Oklahoma City and a game where the pushed the Cavaliers into overtime.
At 8 p.m. ET, tune into ESPN for live television coverage of this NBA basketball game on Friday, January 6, 2017, at the BMO Harris Bradley Center. We'll have NBA odds at BookMaker.eu available for this and every game on the NBA Friday schedule.
Odds Analysis
The Bucks covered the spread that favored them against the Thunder on Monday night and have covered the spread in six of their last nine home games. They were just 3-3 ATS in games where they were favored to win as they figure to be on Friday.
In New York’s last game, the Knicks lost to Orlando at home by 12-points despite entering play favored by four. Despite that, this team is still 4-3 ATS in their last seven games and 20-14 ATS overall with a 9-8 ATS mark on the road. New York has also covered the last six games where they were underdogs by more than four points.
Switching gears to look at the total; the over is 6-2 in the Bucks’ last eight games while the over has paid out in back-to-back Knicks games as New York’s offense stepped up. Of course, the poor defensive play by the Knicks plays an important role in that, too.
Injury Report
Kristaps Porzingis is dealing with a sore Achilles that kept him out of the game against Orlando on Monday night. The forward is a key scorer inside and a strong number two to Carmelo Anthony.
The 7’3” power forward is solid rebounder and a great blocker who matchup up well against the shorter forwards for Milwaukee. It’s important for New York to slow Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker and if Porzingis is out, or even slowed by the Achillies, that becomes a difficult task. After all, New York already ranks No. 25 defensively according to PPG and defensive efficiency.
Plus, if Porzingis cannot go, we miss out on the chance to see him against Giannis Antetokounmpo which would make a fun story given the two players’ heritage and skill level.
On the parameter, the Bucks have their own injury question with Matthew Dellavedova nursing a hamstring strain.
Milwaukee’s scoring comes primarily inside the paint, but Dellavedova has been key as a ball handler when he’s been on the court. He’s got 5.6 assists per game. The injury is big no matter how you slice it, but with Malcolm Brogdon playing well, including three straight games of at least 11 points and a triple-double as recently as Saturday, Milwaukee could still get enough from the outside with or without Dellavedova.
Scheduling Situation
These two teams will meet for the second time in three days after the Knicks host the Bucks at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.
Friday’s matchup, of course, swings back to Milwaukee where the Bucks are a very respectable 11-7 after topping Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night.
Counting that game against the Thunder, Friday night’s showdown will be just the second home game in seven contests for Milwaukee who will embrace being back on a familiar court.
The Knicks, meanwhile, will be playing fourth road game in their last six. Overall, New York’s record is just a few games worse than the Bucks’, but New York has struggled mightily of late, particularly at home with six straight losses away from home though the team is 3-3 ATS in those six games.
Free NBA ATS Picks
Inside, the Bucks have plenty of depth and quality with Antetokounmpo, Parker, Greg Monroe, and Michael Beasley amongst others. But New York wins the matchup against Milwaukee solely based on the names on the paper. They’ve got Anthony and Porzingis—if healthy—to counter the Milwaukee front court and have a still talented—although injury prone—Derrick Rose outside. If you add in a strong rebounder like Joakim Noah on the inside, the names tell a different story than the team’s record and recent streak of losses.
In the end, this is not a game that’s played on paper and it’s important for the five players on the court to play as a cohesive unit.
The Bucks are the better overall team and have found great success at home. Look for them to be favored by a sizeable margin and look for them to deliver on that. Milwaukee will take advantage of the Knicks’ defensive woes. That’s really what has been holding this New York team back and there’s not been any real sign of improvement.
NBA Odds: Bucks 113, Knicks 105
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