New York Knicks at Los Angeles Lakers
Time: 8:30 PM CT (NBA LP)
Spread: NYK -2
Total: 209
Betting odds c/o 5dimes
The New York Knicks continue to plummet in the Eastern Conference standings. New York is unlikely to make the postseason, trailing No. 8 Detroit by an unlikely-to-be-surmounted 7.5 games.
The Knicks have won just three of its past 10, but finds itself 2-point favorites in NBA action on NBA League Pass tonight at 8:30 Central. The betting total set by NBA oddsmakers is 209.
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New York fell 101-94 to the Los Angeles Clippers just last night, and may be facing fatigue issues in this game. The Clippers blew a double-digit lead but held on to win behind 24 points from Chris Paul and 20 points from J.J. Redick. The Knicks were led by Kristaps Porzingis’ 23 points, but the Latvian rookie shot just 6 of 17 from the floor, while knocking down 10 of 11 from the line.
Porzingis had been struggling of late, but his activity in this game shows he likely has not really hit a rookie wall. Porzingis is averaging 14.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game over his past nine games, while playing 26 minutes per night. On the season he is posting a PER of 18.19, which trails only the Minnesota Timberwolves’ Karl-Anthony Towns among rookies.
The Lakers, too, have been getting good play from its youngsters. Jordan Clarkson and D’Angelo Russell are looking to have the makings of a very formidable backcourt, with both bringing size and an interchangeability that makes the Lakers a tough team to contend with. In the Lakers 107-98 win over the Orlando Magic on Mar. 9, Clarkson had 24 points and hit five threes, while Russell contributed 27 points on 11 of 19 shooting.
The Lakers tandem outpaced Orlando’s backcourt of Elfrid Payton and Victor Oladipo, thought by many to be one of the more talented backcourts in its own right. The Lakers have the pieces intact: Julius Randle also had 23 points and 11 rebounds in the game. The Lakers were without Kobe Bryant, providing a real glimpse of what the team can be when he is not attempting 14 shots per game at a 37 percent clip. The Lakers will benefit from another high draft pick, which added to an under appreciated nucleus that could rise sooner than later in a weakened Western Conference.
Russell really is starting to look like the superstar the Lakers thought he would be when it passed on Jahlil Okafor to select him No. 2 overall. He has averaged 21 points, 4.8 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game over his past 10 games and now on the season is good for 13.5 points, 3.5 assists and 3.5 rebounds per game.
Russell has scored at least 21 points in the Lakers past three games, with two of those being victories (Orlando and Golden State Warriors on Mar 6). Russell was sort of pegged as a “make or break prospect,” given the highest odds of panning out to being a superstar by a metric developed by a prospect agency prior to the draft. His attacking style on offense certainly lends credence to that notion, and it is more apparent just how good he can be when Bryant is out of the lineup.
Kobe is expected to play in this game, though, and it will be his final meeting with Carmelo Anthony. Kobe is attempting 16.4 shots per game this season as mentioned, but actually hitting just 35.6 percent from the floor. He leads the Lakers in scoring as a result of his high usage, and he has had a few dominant nights this season, but overall he is somewhat impeding the growth of the Lakers. L.A. has to showcase the legend in his final stint as an NBA player, but it cannot come at the cost of Russell being stunted. Of course, Nick Young brings many of the same problems when he starts in place of Bryant.
The Knicks and Lakers were both big winners in the 2015 NBA draft, and this meeting will highlight just how good Porzingis and Russell are. Both have franchise player potential, and really a Rookie of the Year conversation has to involve Russell at least to some degree, even if Porzingis is the one in the running with Towns. The 2015 draft turned out to be better than most believed it would be, and the faces of these respective franchises were shaped by the high picks they spent on this pair of prospects.
