NBA Betting Picks: New York Knicks at Philadelphia 76ers

Added on Apr 06, 2011 by Jack Thurman in

NBA

The NBA regular season is winding down but there are still some betting values to be found. We’ll take a look at an Eastern Conference matchup between the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks. Both teams will be heading to the postseason for the first time in a while so the matchup loses a bit of intensity from what it would have been had playoff spots been up for grabs.

New York Knicks at Philadelphia 76ers
April 6, 2011 4:05 PM Pacific

The Knicks are always a ‘public’ team but they’ve become even more of one since the trade for Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups. To their credit, they’ve put up great numbers this year on the road (23-13 ATS) and as an underdog (24-9 ATS) and are 9-2 against the number as a road dog in this price range (+3′ to +6). They’ve won four straight games–albeit against a weak schedule with the exception of Orlando–but have been in dismal form lately besides that going 5-9 SU and 4-10 ATS.

Philly hasn’t been roaring down the stretch either losing 4 of 7 both SU and ATS but YTD the Sixers have been a great investment at home (23-14 ATS) and as a favorite (19-13 ATS). They’ve also covered 9 of 14 against divisional rivals. It wouldn’t surprise us to see the Knicks ‘dial it down’ somewhat with their goal of a postseason berth attained but we don’t see that same thing happening with the Sixers. Philadelphia wins with nasty defense and that’s a lot tougher to turn on and off than potent scoring.

Ultimately, we expect a bit of letdown from the Knicks in the first game after clinching their first playoff spot since 2004. They’re already one of the worst defensive teams in the league (Knicks ranked #29 in scoring defense ahead of only Minnesota) so Philadelphia won’t have problems scoring against the porous New York defense. Sixers have already won 2 of the 3 head to head meetings this year and our power ratings suggest a nice overlay on the home team. Lay the points with the Sixers over the Knicks as we expect a comfortable Philadelphia victory. Andrew Igoudala has been hampered with a sore knee in recent games but is expected to play tonight.

Bet Philadelphia 76ers -5′ over New York Knicks