Knicks vs. Jazz NBA Picks and Predictions for Monday (Archive)
The New York Knicks are close to free-fall mode after an overtime loss to the Lakers over the weekend. Now they travel into Salt Lake City to play the Utah Jazz as three-possession betting underdogs in the NBA odds. Which wat to lean at the top-rated sportsbooks?
New York Knicks vs. Utah Jazz
Monday, February 07, 2022 – 09:00 PM EST at Vivint Arena
Jazz Injuries Still Bothering Them
Even though the Jazz recently got back Donovan Mitchell from concussion protocol, that has not helped their injury situation as much as they would have hoped.
While having their superstar back in the lineup is a welcome addition, the loss of Joe Ingles and the questionable tag to Jordan Clarkson tonight has not helped their bench offense any.
Add in that Rudy Gobert is already ruled out for a seventh straight game tonight and along with Clarkson, Rudy Gay is also listed questionable for Utah’s bench tonight.
New York on the other hand has not dealt with a ton of injuries lately, but that hasn’t stopped them from losing 8 of their last 10 games straight up.
Over that stretch, the Knicks’ defense hasn’t been bad at all. The Knicks rank just outside of the top 10 in defensive rating over their last 10 games, but their offense has sputtered to a halt over that same stretch, as they rank second-to-last in offensive rating.
Even without Gobert, the Jazz will still be able to hold down this Knicks’ offense tonight if New York continues to play the way they have over their last few games.
Utah’s home defense hasn’t been what it was in recent years here in 2021-22, but they are still very capable of holding down inferior teams, especially early in games.
With a lower full-game total, I’m attacking the first half total here in hopes that the Knicks bring just enough defense to limit this banged-up Jazz team in the first 24 minutes.
VIDEO PICKS: Watch BMR's Free Expert Sports Betting Picks of the Day
The Sharp Pick
While the Knicks’ poor offense recently and Utah’s injuries are certainly playing into my NBA pick here, the best thing going for us in this game is the potential for the pace to be very slow.
Utah and New York rank 19th and 30th respectively in pace this season and their first-half paces and at least for Utah, their pace goes down in first halves compared to full games, while the Knicks’ doesn’t move much.
If we can get only an average of 95 or 96 possessions per game for each team during this first half, I can’t see the first half total going over 112.5.
These two teams rank 12th and 13th in the NBA in first-half defensive rating and on the road, the Knicks go up to 8th-best in the league in first-half defense.
If we can get Clarkson and Gay to sit out for Utah, it should be a much easier time for New York to slow down this Jazz offense.
On the flip side, as long as New York brings their best effort in the first half on defense, we shouldn’t see either of these teams north of 55 first-half points.
NBA Pick: Under 112.5 (-110) at Bovada (visit our Bovada Review)
*The line and/or odds on picks in this article might have moved since the content was commissioned. For updated line movements, visit BMR’s free betting odds product.