New York Knicks vs. Golden State Warriors Predictions, Picks and NBA Preview – December 15, 2016

New York Knicks vs. Golden State Warriors Betting Preview

Where: Oracle Arena, Oakland, CA

When: Thursday, December 15, 2016, 10:30 PM ET

Line: New York Knicks (+14) at Golden State Warriors (-14); total: 224.0 – view all NBA lines

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Betting on the New York Knicks (+14)

A crushing 113-111 loss in overtime to the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday is not a great way to enter Friday’s showdown against the Warriors to say the least. New York’s shooting woes were on display that evening as the team shot below 40 percent from the field, with Carmelo Anthony going an ice-cold 3-of-15 from the floor for 13 points and an airball that cost the Knicks the game in the final seconds of the extra period.

Not only that, but Derrick Rose also saw limited action on Tuesday and missed all six of his field-goal attempts in just 10 minutes of play before his ailing back started acting up again. Rose is currently listed as day-to-day for Friday’s contest, and his team needs all the help it can get in hopes of upsetting Golden State.

Nevertheless, hanging tough through the end against the Suns is a good omen for the Knicks, who have won six of their last seven games prior to Tuesday’s defeat. Their big men have certainly emerged as the strong point of their core, with Kristaps Porzingis falling one point shy of his career-high on Tuesday with 34 points, and backup center Kyle O’Quinn pitching in with a tremendous 22-point, 14-rebound night.

New York is currently the sixth-best rebounding team in the league, which means that they get a lot of second-chance opportunities to work with. However, the question remains whether or not those extra possessions will be enough to stay toe-to-toe with the mighty Warriors.

Although the Knicks have won most of their recent contests merely against middling opponents, the fact remains that they’ve still won four of their last five games away from the Big Apple (SU/ATS), including taking two of three against Golden State’s fellow teams from the Pacific Division.

Betting on the Golden State Warriors (-14)

The 113-109 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday put a nice end to the Golden State Warriors’ season-long five-game road trip, which resulted into a solid 4-1 record during that span.

However, close victories have become customary of late for the Warriors, who have not won by double-digits in their last three victories against relatively mediocre opponents ever since blowing out the Clippers last Wednesday.

Make no mistake, though: Golden State’s star players are still performing at a high level. Draymond Green secured his 15th-career triple-double on Tuesday with 12 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists, and was the key piece for the Dubs in preventing the Pelicans from scoring a field goal within the final five minutes of the contest. Stephen Curry had a team-high 30 points on 5-of-9 shooting from deep, and Kevin Durant also added 27 points of his own.

But what’s concerning about Golden State’s narrow wins is how the absence of center Zaza Pachulia in the starting lineup appears to actually be a real problem. Pachulia missed his third-consecutive game on Tuesday dealing with a wrist injury, and neither of head coach Steve Kerr’s three options in his place (JaVale McGee, Anderson Varejao and Kevon Looney) have worked out well during that stretch.

Given that the Knicks are great at crashing the boards, it seems as if the Warriors will be in for another down-the-wire match against an upstart opponent. Better think twice before taking on this Friday’s spread, as even though they’ve have won six of their last seven games, they’ve gone just 3-4 against the spread and with those losses coming in succession over the last four.

Still, you may want to bank on the Dubs straight-up instead for this Friday’s showdown. They swept the Knicks in their two meetings from last season by a combined margin of 57 points.

Writer’s Prediction

The Warriors win a hard-fought battle at home, 116-110, as the Knicks cover +14.

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