Phoenix Suns at New York Knicks
Monday, 1/17/2011, 1:00 PM EDT
Opening Point Spread: New York -6
Current Betting Line: New York -6
Opening Total: 222.5
Current Total: 222.5
Phoenix will look to gain revenge from an embarrassing 121-96 home defeat to New York on January 7 and will need to defend the arc to accomplish that particular task. The Suns allowed the Knicks to hit 17 of 33 3-pointers in the previous contest. The team enters the contest with a 17-21 overall record and a 1-3 mark against Eastern Conference competition on the road. Phoenix has not been swept in the season series against New York since the 2002-03 campaign and has managed to win 10 of the last 14 meetings. It’s important to point out that the squad has also won consecutive games for the first time since December 2-5 entering this contest. Phoenix is 9-10 ATS as an underdog and the NBA lines page is available to monitor the movement leading to tipoff.
The Suns are 4-5 since adding three new additions to the lineup and Vince Carter made his debut on December 29. Phoenix has used 12 different starting lineups this season after using eight in 82 games in 2009-10. The team will look to snap a four-game road losing streak and will try to build off of its last victory, a 115-111 win over Portland on Friday. “I think we can build off this,” said reserve forward Jared Dudley. “You have to win the home games because now we go on this road trip, and hopefully we can win most of them if not all of them. It’s definitely a beginning.” Point guard Steve Nash has been brilliant in averaging 22.0 points and 15.3 assists in the team’s three wins this month, but has managed to score just 12.4 points against today’s opponent since the start of the 2007-08 season.
New York is coming off one of its worst performances of the year in dropping a 93-83 home contest to Sacramento on Friday, which may have been caused by returning from a West Coast swing. “It was just one of those nights,” said point guard Raymond Felton. “It happens and you have to put it behind you.” The Knicks are 22-17 overall on the season and comes into today’s contest with a 4-4 mark when hosting Western Conference opponents. They have a good chance of picking up a victory in today’s special contest, coming in with an 18-6 record on Martin Luther King Day, winning each of their last two games on the holiday. New York is 25-13 ATS on the season.
The Knicks are led offensively by the trio of Amare Stoudemire, Raymond Felton and Wilson Chandler, averaging 6.14 points per game, which is the third highest scoring trip in the NBA. New York is also 10-8 overall against the Western Conference, winning 10 of its last 13 games. The team went 9-21 against the conference in 2009-10 and 12-18 in 2008-09.
Bettors will be interested in backing the Knicks due to their 12-2 ATS mark versus the West, while the Suns are 0-3-1 ATS with two days rest.
