NBA Expert Picks: Oklahoma City Thunder vs. New York Knicks

Oklahoma City Thunder at New York Knicks
Thursday, 3/7/13, 8:00 PM EST, TV: TNT
Opening Point Spread: N/A
Current Betting Line: N/A
Opening Total: N/A
Current Total: N/A
Odds Courtesy of Bookmaker

New York Knicks F Carmelo Anthony is questionable to play with a knee injury Thursday night

Oklahoma City has won five of its last six games, including a 122-105 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers as 9.5-point home favorites, while going OVER the total in two consecutive contests. The Thunder’s recent success has come on the defensive end, as they’ve allowed 95.2 points over their last six games. “I think the defense was key,” commented Thunder coach Scott Brooks after their most recent victory. Taking care of the basketball will be key in this affair, as it commits 15.5 turnovers per game, including 6.7 by Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Oklahoma City is 14-9 ATS versus Atlantic division opponents the last two-plus seasons, which is important to consider when making your college basketball picks against the spread Thursday night.

The Thunder are 17-12 overall on the road during the 2012-13 NBA season, which includes a 6-4 mark versus Eastern Conference opponents. Oklahoma City is 12-2 when committing 12 or fewer turnovers this season, as it gets set to open up a back-to-back situation. The squad is 7-2 on the first night and 6-3 on the second night of its back-to-back pairings.

New York has also captured five of its last six games, including an 87-77 victory over the Detroit Pistons as 5.5-point road favorites Wednesday night, while going UNDER the total in four consecutive contests. The Knicks improved to 4-4 on the year when playing without the services of star forward Carmelo Anthony, who sat out with a knee injury. The franchise is 21-9 at Madison Square Garden this season, including a 9-3 mark versus Western Conference opponents. New York is 30-21 ATS when playing on back-to-back days the last two-plus seasons, which can’t be ignored when looking over the college basketball betting lines.

The Knicks obviously need Anthony on the offensive end, as he’s the league’s second-leading scorer in averaging 28.2 points per game, which is just four tenths behind Durant’s mark (28.6). New York forward Amare Stoudemire is starting to become a major contributor in the paint—shooting 72.9 percent and averaging 17.3 points over his last six games.