Buy Buzz against Knicks
The Knicks own the best record in the NBA this month by winning 12 of 14 games, coming off a convincing home victory over Miami in a playoff rematch on Saturday.
However, the Knicks will miss star forward Julius Randle for an unspecified amount of time after he sustained a dislocated right shoulder.
The Knicks face the Hornets for the final time this season on Monday and the Knicks have won all three matchups by double-digits.
In somewhat of a scheduling quirk, the Knicks faced the Hornets three times in a 16-day span in November, but the margin of victory in the three wins was 22, 14, and 24 points.
Charlotte owns a dreadful 10-34 record, which isn’t bad enough for last place in the Southeast Division (that honor belongs to Washington at 8-37).
The Hornets somehow upset one of the top teams in the West, Minnesota as 14-point underdogs last Monday. However, Charlotte is riding a three-game slide, which includes a loss to the league’s worst team Detroit and a 12point home setback to Utah on Saturday.
In January, the Knicks have seen the Under cash 12 times in 14 games, including limiting eight opponents to 100 points or less. New York has won and covered in three of four opportunities as a road favorite this month with the lone loss coming at Dallas.
Randle has suited up for all 46 games this season, so this will be a new wrinkle with him out of the lineup.
Although the Hornets have had their struggles all season long, this should be a nice motivational spot trying to beat the Knicks for the first time in four tries.
Let’s back the Hornets as a home underdog against the Knicks.
Jazz at Nets
The Nets have won consecutive games only once since mid-December as they are coming off a home victory over the Rockets.
The Nets built a seemingly insurmountable 28-point lead on Saturday, but the Rockets rallied all the way back as Brooklyn held on for a 106-104 win. For anyone that bet on Brooklyn, it was a tough way to lose with the Nets closing as four-point favorites.
Cam Thomas led the Nets with 37 points as they improved to 3-12 in the last 15 games, but Brooklyn has failed to cover in five straight opportunities as a favorite.
The Jazz would be in the Play-In Tournament if the playoffs started today, which is incredible considering Utah began the season at 4-11.
Since Dec. 21, Utah has posted a 14-5 record, which includes seven road wins and upset victories over Philadelphia, Milwaukee and Denver.
The last time these teams hooked up in Salt Lake City on Dec. 18, the Jazz rolled past the Nets as three-point underdogs, 125-108. That victory snapped a three-game losing streak to the Nets as the Jazz go in seeking their first win at Barclays Center since 2020.
Utah is averaging a remarkable 130.1 points per game in the last 10 contests, led by Lauri Markkanen’s 25.1 points per game during this span.
The Nets haven’t been able to string together consecutive solid performances in over a month, so it’s hard to believe in them here, even at home.
Let’s back the Jazz against the Nets.