Tag: Julius Randle

Anthony Davis leaves game vs. Knicks after hard fall on tailbone

The Los Angeles Lakers superstar big man gingerly walked off the court under his own power on Tuesday night.

The Los Angeles Lakers had been cruising for the majority of Tuesday night’s game against the New York Knicks, leading by double-digits for much of the game, but they saw one of their superstar players leave the game after a nasty fall in the process.

Los Angeles Lakers star big man Anthony Davis walked off the court gingerly on Tuesday night after taking a hard fall on his tailbone after he attempted to block a shot by Knicks forward Julius Randle. Davis was called for a foul but after landing on his tailbone was on the court for several minutes as play was stopped. He eventually walked off the court and slowly made his way to the locker room.

The Lakers entire team was gathered on the court around Davis while he was grabbing at his lower back. It’s unclear right now what the severity of the Davis injury is but we will update this story once more information becomes available.

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LeBron James (illness) will play Tuesday vs. New York Knicks

The Los Angeles Lakers star will play for the team Tuesday night as they host the Knicks for the final game of a homestand.

Despite an illness, LeBron James will play on Tuesday night as the Los Angeles Lakers host the New York Knicks, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

James will keep his games missed count at just one for the season as he will play in the final game of a stretch where the Lakers were at home over the last 10 days. The Lakers have won five straight games heading into tonight’s game with the Knicks. Although New York has one of the worst records in the NBA at 10-26, they have been playing better under head coach Mike Miller, going 6-8 over their 14 games with Miller.

After tonight’s game against the Knicks, the Lakers are heading out on a quick two-game road trip against two teams currently in the playoff picture in Dallas and Oklahoma City. Following Tuesday’s game against New York, the Lakers play seven of their next nine games on the road.

The Lakers and Knicks are set to tip-off at 7:30 p.m. on NBA TV.

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Lakers welcome Knicks squad playing better ball with new coach

The Los Angeles Lakers welcome the Knicks on Tuesday, who have gone 6-8 under interim head coach Mike Miller.

The Los Angeles Lakers are back on the court tonight as they close out a nearly 10-day homestand as they host a New York Knicks squad that is playing much better basketball than they were earlier in the season.

The Knicks are 6-8 in their last 14 games under interim head coach Mike Miller and they nearly pulled off a stunning upset in their last game on Sunday afternoon, a 135-132 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. And perhaps nobody has benefitted more from the change in coaches to Mike Miller than former Lakers lottery pick Julius Randle.

Over the course of the 14 games that Miller has been the head coach, Randle is averaging 21.4 points and 10 rebounds per game while also dishing three assists per game. He’s also shooting just a hair under 34 percent from the 3-point line while attempting over five per game.

In addition to Randle, the Lakers need to beware of Marcus Morris, who is having one of the best seasons of his career. Morris is averaging 19 points and five rebounds while shooting nearly 47% from the 3-point line.

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New York Knicks at Los Angeles Clippers odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Sunday’s New York Knicks at Los Angeles Clippers sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting picks, tips and best bets.

The New York Knicks (10-25) head to Tinseltown to play the Los Angeles Clippers (25-12) at Staples Center for a 3:30 p.m. ET tip-off. We analyze Knicks-Clippers odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.

Place a legal sports bet on this NBA action or other games at BetMGM.

Knicks at Clippers: Key injuries

Knicks

  • PG Dennis Smith Jr. (oblique) questionable
  • PG Elfrid Payton (personal) questionable

Clippers

  • SF Paul George (hamstring) questionable
  • SF Kawhi Leonard (load management) questionable
  • PG Patrick Beverley (wrist) questionable

Knicks at Clippers: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated at 11:30 a.m. ET.

Prediction

Clippers 114, Knicks 97

Moneyline (ML)

The Clippers (-385) should win this game handily since they have the second-best record straight up (9-3), and the best record against the spread (8-4) and margin of victory (+10.6) versus non-conference opponents. Both teams have been inconsistent as of late, each going 5-5 in their last 10 games, although inconsistent is an improvement for the Knicks (+300). Between the on-paper mismatch, the Clippers’ strong 15-4 home record and the lack of value for the Clippers to win straight up, I am staying away from any moneyline wager.

PASS.

Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

It’ll be tough for the Knicks (+7.5, -106) to get hustle buckets for several reasons. First, the Clippers are ranked ninth in opponent points in the paint, while the Knicks are 28th in points in the paint. Second, the Knicks are just 29th in fast-break points so they won’t be able to exploit the Clippers’ weak defense against opponent fast-break points (ranked 26th). Third, one of the strengths of the Knicks is scoring second-chance points (ranked fourth) but the Clippers allow the sixth-fewest second-chance points in the NBA.

Bet CLIPPERS (-7.5, -115). The Clippers are on a back-to-back, but they got boat raced by the Memphis Grizzlies 140-114 Saturday and are going to take it out on the Knicks.

Over/Under (O/U)

As discussed above, don’t count on the Knicks to create much offense against the Clippers. The Grizzlies hit 18 of 39 3-pointers last night but again, that was an NBA regular-season anomaly the Knicks won’t duplicate. The Clippers defense is ranked No. 4 in opponent 3-point percentage and the Knicks are ranked 29th. Furthermore, the combined Over/Under records of the two teams is 32-40 and this could be a Sunday snoozer with the Clippers motivated to defend.

LEAN, not like, UNDER 222.5 (-115) because of the current injury report. If Beverley plays, the Clippers defense is more stout. If George and/or Leonard plays, their offense should be more productive.

Want some action on this game? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips and advice, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @Geoffery_Clark and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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New York Knicks at Phoenix Suns odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Friday’s New York Knicks at Phoenix Suns sports betting odds and lines, with NBA betting picks, tips and best bets.

The New York Knicks (10-24) head to the Grand Canyon State to play the Phoenix Suns (13-21) at Talking Stick Resort Arena at 9 p.m. ET Friday. We analyze the Knicks-Suns odds and lines, with NBA betting advice and tips around the matchup.

Place a legal sports bet on this NBA action or other games at BetMGM.

Knicks at Suns: Key injuries

Knicks

  • SF Elfrid Payton (personal) questionable
  • PG Dennis Smith Jr. (oblique) questionable

Suns

  • PG Ricky Rubio (hip) probable
  • PF Frank Kaminsky (knee) doubtful

Knicks at Suns: Odds, lines, picks and betting tips

NBA odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports for a full set of today’s betting odds. Odds last updated Friday at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Prediction

Knicks 117, Suns 113

Moneyline (ML)

People are stuck on the early season horribleness of the Knicks (BetMGM oddsmakers included) and haven’t adjusted their power rankings on them since firing former head coach David Fizdale, and replacing him with interim bench boss Mike Miller Dec. 6. Under Miller, the Knicks have markedly improved, going 6-6 outright and 8-4 against the spread.

The Knicks have improved drastically in points per game, opponent’s PPG, field-goal percentage, margin of victory, opponent’s 3-point percentage, defensive rating, offensive rating, defensive rebounding percentage, and then I stopped tracking them. Point is, the Knicks were awful under Fizdale and they are respectable under Miller (through 12 games).

If you like an underdog to cover then there has to be a chance they win outright. Making a smaller wager on the moneyline, but a bigger bet on the spread, is a gambling angle I’ll take to maximize return on investment when betting underdogs. For example, place 30-50% of your total wager on the KNICKS (+225) because we’re going to take the Knicks with the points, as well.

New to sports betting? A $50 bet on the Knicks to win returns a profit of $112.50.

Line/Against the Spread (ATS)

Let’s back the Knicks in this matchup because they have recent success in their betting position compared to the Suns. To elaborate, the Knicks are 4-2 when they are 5-7-point underdogs, whereas the Suns have a 0-2 record as 5-7-point favorites. Also, the Knicks are 9-7 as road dogs and the Suns are 5-5 as home favorites.

Recent trends also give the Knicks a slight edge: They are 7-3 ATS in their last 10 games while the Suns are 5-4-1. Combining these factors, and the moneyline handicap above, there is a ton of line value in the number. HAMMER the KNICKS (+6.5, -110).

New to sports betting? A $110 bet on the Knicks to lose by 6 or fewer points or win outright returns a profit of $100.

Over/under (O/U)

Neither team plays good defense. The Suns rank 19th in opponents’ PPG and defensive rating while the Knicks rank 17th in opponents’ PPG and 21st in defensive rating. Also, the Suns have the most Overs when playing at home in the NBA (12-5 Over/Under record).

Furthermore, I expect some revenge motivation from Knicks PF Marcus Morris who played for the Suns from 2012-2015. Morris has played above his averages in eight games he’s played against the Suns—16.5 PPG, .536 field-goal percentage and .452 3-point percentage (career averages: 11.9 PPG, .431 FG% and .367 3-point%). Finally, the Suns’ 20-14 Over/Under record (12-5 at home) has me leaning toward a tiny wager on OVER 224.5 (-121).

Want some action on this game? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips and advice, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @Geoffery_Clark and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services.  Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Celtics’ Marcus Smart thriving as a defender when switching onto bigs

Boston Celtics wing Marcus Smart, despite standing at just 6-foot-4, has done a phenomenal job defenders players much larger than he is.

Boston Celtics wing Marcus Smart, despite standing at just 6-foot-4, has done a phenomenal job defending players much larger than he is.

The 25-year-old made All-Defensive 1st Team last season but has taken another leap forward with a bigger role this year. His ability to switch on to centers has been a focal point of Boston’s defensive identity and something that allows coach Brad Stevens to use his five-man lineups in a different way than almost any other team in the league.

We looked at all of the opponents that Smart has guarded so far this season, then isolated just the players who are classified as big men by Cleaning the Glass.

Based on this research of 146 possessions, Smart has allowed just 16.3 points per 70 possessions. These players are shooting 36.7 percent from the floor on 30 attempts.

For example, look at when Dallas Mavericks’ Kristaps Porzingis attempted three post-up attempts against Smart on November 12. The 7-foot-3 big was not able to convert any, however, despite the ridiculous size mismatch.

The largest workload came when he guarded Kevin Love for a total of 31.1 possessions during the game Boston played against Cleveland on November 5.

While Smart was guarding Love during the third quarter, the five-time All-Star was left completely flabbergasted to the point where he was forced to take an undeniably bad pass.

Smart, however, tipped the ball and forced a turnover that Robert Williams was able to recover. The guard leads his team with 2.8 deflections per game so far this season. Last season, he recorded more total deflections (228) than all but just one player in the Eastern Conference.

But even more impressive was when the Celtics played the Bucks early in the season on October 30.

Smart matched up against the reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo for 16.9 possessions. The superstar scored just five points and managed only two attempts from the floor. That means Smart held the Milwaukee sensation to less than half of the field goal attempts Antetokounmpo has taken against all other defenders.

Antetokounmpo had three turnovers, was impacted by his defensive presence all game and he even ended up tumbling to the floor amidst a brief scrap with Smart.

Here is what the scrappy defender said after the game, which was a rematch of the Eastern Conference Semifinals (via NBC Sports):

“Every time I’m boxing him out, he’s trying to throw me out the way. It lets me know he’s frustrated, I’m getting to him, especially when he’s not getting to the ball, or he’s not getting to the rim, or he’s not getting the shots that he usually gets.”

Smart also forced New York Knicks star Julius Randle into a frenzy and picked his pocket on the perimeter, creating a transition opportunity for the Celtics.

Other notable matchups against bigs for Smart include his strong showing against Dario Saric. The Phoenix Suns starter took four shots (including a three-pointer) when guarded by Smart but missed all of them.

Another highlight was when the 6-foot-4 wing was able to record a block over 6-foot-11 big man Moritz Wagner in a game against the Washington Wizards.

Smart offers Boston a grittiness that Stevens can trust against and he has played a crucial role in their hot start and placement atop the standings in the East.

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