New York Knicks AT San Antonio Spurs
Jan 21, 2011 at 8 PM EST
Opening Line: SA -9
Current Line: SA -8.5
Opening Total: 212
Current Total: 212.5
Opening Moneyline: SA -425 / NY +355
Current Moneyline: SA -430 / NY +355
These teams come into tonight’s game riding streaks. Unfortunately for the Knicks, it’s not the kind of streak you want, as losers of their last 5. San Antonio, conversely, has won 7 straight and will seek to knock the Knicks out for their 8th straight tonight at home. Last game for the Spurs looked ominous as they were down by 11 to the Raptors, but their defense turned things around, and even if they are playing a much faster paced game this year, they are still playing good defense given all factors involved. “In the second half we got back in the game because we played very, very good team defense,” coach Gregg Popovich said. “Those stops generated offense, and that was the ballgame.”
New York, on the other hand, is not playing good defense, even given the fact that they play a run ‘n’ gun style. They’ve given up greater than 114 points per game in this five game losing streak and with San Antonio’s depth and talent, they will be hard pressed to change that tonight.
Some betting trends:
New York is 1-5 SU in their last 6 games and 2-4 ATS in their last 6. The total has gone UNDER in 5 of their last 7 games and it has gone UNDER in 4 of their past 5 road games. They are 2-6 SU in their last 8 on the road and 2-9 SU in their last 11 against San Antonio. The total has gone UNDER in 5 of their last 7 road games against San Antonio and New York is 0-5 SU in their last 5 games on the road against the Spurs. They are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 road games in San Antonio.
The total has gone UNDER in all 5 of the Spurs last 5 games and they are 5-0 SU in those 5 games. The total has gone UNDER in 5 of their last 5 at home and they are 5-0 SU in those games, as well. They are 9-2 SU in their last 11 against the Knicks.
Key Matchups:
Amar’e Stoudemire vs. Tim Duncan
Amar’e is quick, semi-young, dynamic and explosive; Duncan is slow, plodding, aging and methodical. But that doesn’t mean he still can’t make a difference. Even at his advanced age he is still a solid shot blocker and has the length to give Amar’e problems when he takes it to the basket. The problem for Duncan will be staying in front of Amar’e at all. His speed and quickness will make it easy for him to manuever around Duncan for easy baskets all night. And Duncan can’t simply lay off him and force jumpers because Amar’e is also an excellent jump shooter. All things considered, Stoudemire should have a big game tonight. Last game against the Spurs he scored 28, 1.6 above his season average, and he could have an even bigger game tonight. He shot 11 of 17 from the floor that night so the potential for a high scoring game is there if he can get to the free throw line some and get more shots, up in the range of 21-24 tonight. Duncan can still help the Spurs offensively as his talent and guile make him effective even if his athleticism is all but gone, but Amar’e won’t have much of a problem with Duncan given the fact that he has dramatically improved his man to man and help side defense this year.
Raymond Felton vs. Tony Parker & George Hill
Felton had a big game last time against San Antonio, going for 28 points and 7 assists, scoring a little more than double his career average against the Spurs. But this year has been a breakout year in all respects for Felton, who has adapted seamlessly to D’Antoni’s quick paced offense. Against Phoenix on January 7th, he notched his first career triple double with 23 points, 11 assists, and 10 rebounds, and he’s capable of doing that tonight, too. Parker and Hill are both decent defenders, but will have their problems with Felton who has a great jumper and is good at getting to the basket. Felton is a bit slow afoot to cover Parker and Hill, but he can rely on the help side defense and basket protection of Amar’e and Turiaf if he gets beat off the dribble.
Tonight’s game should be a very exciting one. Both teams score heaps of points and as you can tell by the total set by NBA oddsmakers, this one will be a high scoring affair for sure.
