Barking Dog Alert: Knicks vs. Suns

New York Knicks (8-8 SU, 8-8-0 ATS) vs. Phoenix Suns (9-6 SU, 9-5-1 ATS)
When: Sunday, November 20th, 3:30 PM (ET)
Where: Footprint Center, AZ, Phoenix
TV: BSAZ

Point Spread: NY +6.5/ PHO -6.5
Total: 226.0
Money Line: New York Knicks +200/ -246

Notable Injuries

Knicks

• Mitchell Robinson (Questionable) Knee
• Cam Reddish (Questionable) Groin

Suns

• Jae Crowder (Out) Not Injury Related
• Chris Paul (Out) Heel
• Landry Shamet (Out) Concussion
• Cameron Johnson (Out) Knee

Recent Form

So far, the Knicks have put together an overall record of 8-8 while going 8-8-0 vs. the spread. In the team’s past three games, their overall mark sits at 2-1. New York is 2-1 vs. the spread in these matchups.

New York is trying to bounce back from a 111-101 loss to the Warriors. Going into this game, the team was 7 point underdog on the spread, giving them an ATS loss. New York got off to a slow start, trailing by 11 points going into halftime. Leading the team in scoring was Julius Randle, as he contributed 20 points while hitting 46.7% of his shots.

The Suns come into today’s matchup with an overall record of 9-6. So far, the team has gone 9-5-1 against the spread. In the team’s past three games, their overall mark sits at 1-2. Phoenix is 2-0-1 vs. the spread in these matchups.

The Suns are coming off a game in which they lost to the Jazz by a score of 134-133. However, because they were the 1-point underdogs, they finished with an ATS push. Phoenix was not able to turn things around in the 2nd half, as they trailed the Jazz by one going into halftime. Leading the team in scoring was Devin Booker, as he contributed 49 points while hitting 51.6% of his shots.

The Historicals

The Suns will look to carry over last year’s success vs. New York, as they won both games of the series. The average point total of these two meetings was 223.5, with Phoenix winning by scores of 118-97 and 114-97. Similar to their season-long average, the Knicks averaged 105.5 points per game vs. the Suns. Just like the Knicks, the Suns maintained their usual level of scoring in head-to-head matchups, averaging 116.5 points per game vs. New York. In terms of betting, Phoenix has an ATS record of 4-1 in the previous five matchups vs. New York. This mark has come on an average scoring margin of +16 points per game in favor of the Suns. In these contests, they averaged a combined 224 points per game, leading to an over-under mark of 4-1.

Analysis

The Knicks come into today’s game as the 14th-ranked scoring offense at 113.5 points per game. So far, New York is averaging 101.4 possessions per game, making them one of the more up-tempo teams in the league. If the Knicks are going to turn things around on offense, they must improve their overall shooting efficiency. In particular, the 3-point shot has been problematic for the unit, as they are just 29th in 3-point shooting percentage.

On the defensive end of the floor, the Knicks are giving up an average of 106.6 points per game, good for 6th in the NBA.

On offense, Julius Randle leads the Knicks in scoring at 21.25 points per game, placing him 34th in the NBA. Overall, Randle has hit 46.5% of his shots while accounting for 16.5% of the team’s looks from the field. In today’s game, he will be working against a defensive unit that is 1st in points allowed to power-forwards. At 19.56 points per game, Jalen Brunson is the 2nd leading scorer for the Knicks. For the season, he is 59th in the league in player efficiency rating while posting an overall field goal percentage of 47.7%.

Coming into today’s action, Phoenix is averaging 115.0 points per contest. This figure places them 10th in the league. When looking at the team’s pace of play, the Suns are currently below the league average in possessions per game, averaging just 96.9 per contest. Even though the team has preferred to play at a slower pace, their effective field goal percentage of 54.6% has helped them with their overall scoring numbers.

So far, the Suns have played well defensively, as they are ranked 9th in the league at 107.33 points per contest.

This season, the Suns’ offense has primarily worked through Devin Booker and Mikal Bridges, who are 1st and 2nd on the team in scoring. In his 15 games, Booker is 10th in the NBA at 28.07 points per game. So far, he and Bridges have accounted for 35% of the team’s field goal attempts while combining to average 44.0 points per contest. In addition to sitting 2nd on the team in scoring, Mikal Bridges is grabbing 5.47 rebounds for Phoenix to go along with 3.4 assists.

More Picks: Get our Warriors at Rockets recommended bet for their 11/10/22 game

Betting Trends

• Knicks are 3-0-1 ATS in their last four games following an ATS loss.
• Knicks are 3-0-1 ATS in their last four games following a straight-up loss.
• Suns are 4-0 ATS in their last four games following an ATS loss.
• Suns are 5-0 ATS in their last five games following a straight-up loss.

Joes Pick To Cover The Spread

This is too many points for the Suns to be laying after losing three of their last four games. I’m betting at +6.5 with confidence!