Categories
NBA

NBA Betting – Knicks vs. Nets (Dec. 10)

Free pick and preview plus NBA betting odds and basketball lines for the matchup featuring the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets…

Harris, Surprising Nets, Host High Scoring Knicks

The New Jersey Nets (11-8 SU, 12-7 ATS, 9-10 O/U) and blossoming point guard Devin Harris are arguably the biggest surprises of the young 2008-09 NBA sports betting season so far. The New York Knicks (9-12 SU, 11-10 ATS, 9-12 O/U) are one of the highest scoring teams in the league are struggling to stop opponents from scoring at will.  

Tonight, the Nets will look to hand the Knicks their second straight loss while stretching their modest winning streak to three games.

Now, led by their fifth-year point guard, Harris has exploded this season.

Playing with the flu, Harris handed out eight assists and had four steals while also scoring 27 points to lead New Jersey to a 95-84 victory at Philadelphia on Saturday night, covering the spread as a 2.5-point road underdog in the BetUS Sportsbook.

“He pushed through it, and that’s a credit to him and his toughness,” said Nets coach Lawrence Frank. “We talked before the game about laying it all on the line because we (had) three days off before (Wednesday’s game against the Knicks).”

Harris, who came to the Nets as part of last season’s trade deadline deal that sent veteran point guard Jason Kidd to the Dallas Mavericks, is averaging a team-high 24.4 points and 6.1 assists this season while leading his ballclub to a solid 9-3 record since returning from a three-game stretch where he was out of the lineup with a sprained left ankle.

“I wasn’t feeling that great and I didn’t warm up at all,” Harris said. “But once you get a couple of shots to drop, it seems to open up a bit more.”

The Knicks will try to avoid a third straight loss after losing to the Chicago Bulls 105-100 on Tuesday night while failing to cover the spread for backers as a 7.5-point home favorite.

The Knicks are 2-8 on the road this season and are giving up a whopping 106.4 points per game on the road.

Forward Al Harrington scored a game-high 28 points while shooting guard Quentin Richardson added 22 and former Bulls point guard Chris Duhon chipped in 15 points and 14 assists.

The Knicks entered the fourth quarter up by five points but couldn’t hold on.

“We ran out of gas a little bit toward the end,” Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said. “But I was really happy with the effort and what we did for most of the game. We’ll get better.”

Here is a look at tonight’s key NBA betting trends, followed by my in-depth analysis and NBA Free Pick:

The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New York’s last 6 games when playing on the road against New Jersey
New York is 5-16 SU in its last 21 games when playing New Jersey
New York is 4-13 SU in its last 17 games when playing on the road against New Jersey
New York is 1-4 SU in its last 5 games
New Jersey is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
New Jersey is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New Jersey’s last 5 games
New Jersey is 13-4 SU in its last 17 games when playing at home against New York

NBA Odds

New York Knicks +9 -110
New Jersey Nets -9 -110

Over 216 -110
Under 216 -110

Analysis: While the Nets have been the better ballclub so far this season and are playing at home in this contest, I like the high-scoring New York Knicks to cover the spread in this contest based solely on the strength of their up-tempo offense.

NBA Free Picks: New York +9 Points/Under 216 Total Points

By Cappers Picks

Articles on CappersPicks.com are written by Q (the Head Honcho) at Cappers Picks or by our resident "in house" handicapper Razor Ray Monohan! Enjoy the free picks folks! "Pad that bankroll one day at a time!"