The New York Knicks (10-27) head to Salt Lake City to play the red-hot Utah Jazz (24-12) Wednesday at Vivint Smart Home Arena at 9:00 p.m. ET. We analyze the Knicks-Jazz sports betting odds and lines, with NBA picks and tips for this matchup.
Place a legal sports bet on this NBA action or other games at BetMGM.
Knicks at Jazz: Key injuries
Knicks
- PF Marcus Morris (neck) questionable
- PG Dennis Smith Jr. (oblique) questionable
Jazz
- PG Mike Conley (hamstring) out
Knicks at Jazz: 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
Jazz 125, Knicks 104
Moneyline (ML)
There’s absolutely no value on the Jazz (-1000) moneyline and it’s hard to fathom the Knicks (+650) coming into Utah and scoring an upset. The Jazz are rolling right now with records of 9-1 straight up and 8-2 against the spread across their last 10 games. The Knicks struggle in the second game of back-to-backs, as they are 1-4 straight up and 2-3 ATS while allowing a whopping 119.6 points per game with a minus-17.6 margin of victory in those situations.
PASS on a moneyline play in Knicks-Jazz.
Line/Against the Spread (ATS)
On paper, this is a terrible matchup for the Knicks. The Jazz defense ranks sixth in opponent PPG and field goal percentage, and eighth in opponent 3-point percentage. The Knicks are 29th in PPG, 26th in FG% and 23rd in 3-point%. Long-distance shooting is a specialty for the Jazz—they are first in the NBA in 3-point%—and guarding the three is a weakness for the Knicks—ranked second to last in opponent 3-point%.
The Jazz should be energized by a home crowd they haven’t played in front of much lately—seven of the Jazz’s last 10 games were on the road. Also, both of the Knicks’ leading scorers in Morris and PF Julius Randle struggle historically against the Jazz. Morris averages 9.1 PPG, .303 field-goal percentage and three rebounds per game, while Randle averages 12.6 PPG, seven rebounds per game and .405 FG% (all below their career averages).
Bet JAZZ (-11.5, -125) to win by at least 12 points.
Over/under (O/U)
This is tight but I lean OVER 216.5 (-115) because of the Knicks giving up so many points in back-to-backs and the Jazz presumably being able to sink threes against them. Also, the Over has cashed in seven straight Knicks-Jazz games. It’s only a lean for several reasons, though. First, the combined Over/Under records of these two is 32-41. Second, the Knicks are unreliable, at best, offensively. Third, both teams have a 5-5 O/U record in their last 10 games overall.
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.
[lawrence-newsletter]
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1368]