NBA Basketball Matchup: Raptors vs. Knicks
It is just another lost season for the Toronto Raptors. With forward Andrea Bargnani out for a big chunk of the year this team has been struggling big time to score points.
Toronto Raptors (15-30) vs New York Knicks (21-24)
Tuesday March 20
Madison Square Garden
7:00PM
Moneyline: No money line currently listed
Spread: New York -8.5
O/U: 97.5
Toronto
Now that he is back they are dealing with another injury, this time to underrated point guard Jose Calderon. Calderon is expected to be in the lineup Tuesday in New York. Which actually might create a new problem.
What to do with guard Jeryd Bayless? Though not a true point, Bayless has been playing well with 20 or more points in three of his last four games.
I hope the Raptors are smart enough to still give him major minutes. It might result in some more overs as they will be a little small defensively but they will be much better offensively.
Raptors might be able to sneak in some overs towards the end of the season if they make a change like that.
New York
I wouldn’t say everything is right in Knickland but they are riding a three game winning streak into their Tuesday date with Toronto. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Every single one of those games has been a double digit victory including the last two against Indiana, a current playoff team.
The wins have jumped New York into a playoff spot themselves, just a half game ahead of Milwaukee. They can’t afford to blow this one against the Raptors.
Linsanity may be over but this is still a team with enough juice to make the playoffs.
In their last game Jeremy Lin, Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony all scored 16 or more points in an easy victory against the Pacers. This team is learning how to play together and if Melo stays open to the idea of sharing than they can be effective…and Baron Davis stays on the shelf.
It is always interesting with the Knicks.
Spread Pick: Toronto +8.5
O/U Pick: Over
Score Prediction: New York 102 – Toronto 97
