The action on the college hardwood has dominated all weekend, but the NCAA is clearing out for the NBA with Knicks vs. Thunder on tap for Sunday Night Basketball on NBC. The reigning champions host the Knicks for their second and final meeting of the regular season.
If this game is even remotely as entertaining as their first game, which ended on a missed 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have sent the game into overtime, we could be in for a thriller.
The sportsbooks don’t seem to think that will happen, however, with the Thunder listed as 8.5-point favorites at home. That’s just more of the same to the Thunder, who routinely have been double-digit favorites all season, regardless of their opponent, but it would be the biggest spread for the Knicks as underdogs this season if the line remains at 8.5.
Knicks vs. Thunder prediction, best bet
There is arguably no team in basketball more confounding than the Knicks. In fact, that may extend beyond basketball. The Knicks have impressive wins against several elite teams: They are 2-1 against the Celtics, Spurs (including the NBA Cup), and Cavaliers.
But their losses at times against the best teams in the league have been loud. They have yet to beat or even compete with the Pistons, and they were blown out by a young Hornets team that is surging up the East standings as the regular season nears its end.
It’s hard to know what to make of this team at times. On the surface, everything about them says contender — they rank third on offense and ninth on defense, according to Cleaning the Glass.
The Knicks can be an efficient scoring, dominant rebounding, low turnover machine when they want to be (keyword: want), but have more than a few nights where it doesn’t look like they want to be any of those things. They’ve been playing like a team that is just ready to get to the playoffs, and they’ll get a taste of that tonight in OKC.
Betting on the NBA?
The Thunder are finally getting healthy and trying to round themselves into playoff form over the final two weeks of the regular season. Their depth and defense have carried them all season, and they can survive poor shooting nights because they force so many turnovers and get easy points.
That said, sportsbooks have been pricing Thunder lines high because they know the public will bite. They don’t cover the spread as favorites (32-39 ATS) nearly as much as one would expect from the best team in the NBA.
The Knicks have had two days to stew on their loss to the Hornets, and I expect we’ll see the version of the team that is motivated. If that’s the case, this line is just too high in the Thunder’s favor. I’ll take the points.
The Pick: Knicks +8.5 (-110, bet365)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Malik Smith has been immersed in the sports betting industry since 2017. He’s a data nerd with a particular focus on the NBA and combat sports. He spends his weeknights in the winter looking for edges on plus-money NBA player props.
