Free NBA Picks New York Knicks: Season-Long Handicapping and Specialization 1/1/2025
The Knicks head into 2025 riding an eight-game win streak and will feel confident they can extend that tonight. You’ve found the right place for all your New York Knicks betting needs. Doc’s Sports will be breaking down every New York Knicks game this season while providing the best bets along the way.
On Monday night, the Knicks beat the lowly Washington Wizards for the second time in a week, 126-106. Josh Hart led the way with a 23-point triple-double, while Karl-Anthony Towns scored a game high 32 points. The Knicks took just a two-point lead into halftime but poured it on down the stretch.
From a betting perspective, we went a perfect 2-0. The Knicks ability to limit the Wizards to just 18 fourth quarter points allowed them to not only win but cover the -12 point spread. We correctly identified several soft spots in the Washington defense, and didn’t fall for the betting trap after these two teams went to overtime just four days ago. The second bet of the night was Jalen Brunson to haul in Over 2.5 rebounds. He picked up two rebounds in the opening two minutes but made us sweat down the stretch as he collected his third with just 4 minutes to play.
Doc’s Sports offers NBA picks for every game on our NBA predictions page.
Tonight, the New York Knicks (23-10) host the Utah Jazz (7-24) in their first game of 2025. The Utah Jazz have been struggling all season long, and there isn’t much to get excited about with this team. Lauri Markkanen is still Utah’s leading scorer, but he is playing with far less intensity this season. His 19.6 PPG is significantly lower than each of his last two seasons, and he is no longer helping out on the glass like he used to. His 6.3 rebounds per game is also two rebounds less than each of the last two seasons. There was plenty of trade speculation surrounding Markkanen, but nothing has materialized as he wastes away his prime with a rebuilding Jazz team. Utah will not be competitive this season and is unlikely to get competitive anytime soon. They have the worst defensive rating in the league and will be helpless against a Knicks team motoring full steam ahead.
The -13 point spread should tell you all you need to know about how competitive this game will be. Utah has lost four straight games and hasn’t beaten a team with a winning record in a month and a half. Coincidentally, that victory came against the Knicks on November 23rd of last year. In that matchup, Utah got red hot from behind the arc shooting a scorching 56% compared to New York’s 33%. Additionally, the Knicks were missing Miles McBride and Precious Achiuwa off the bench, which stretched an already thin Knicks rotation. New York is healthy for this game, and it is highly unlikely the Jazz shoot 56% from deep and 51% from the floor again tonight.
New York isn’t expected to have many problems extending their win streak, but the question is how much they will win by. Markkanen erupted for 34 points when these two teams last met, and the Knicks will need to limit Utah’s leading scorer by taking away his ability to catch and shoot. Markkanen can certainly move the basketball, but he is at his best when he can pull up with his quick release from behind the arc. Fortunately for New York, they have a strong history of chasing shooters off the three point line this season, and will be able to force the Jazz to go inside more often than not.
The real difference-maker in this game will be the defense. It is easy to look at New York’s star-studded lineup and think they are where they are in the standings thanks to their offense, which is still partly true, but Tom Thibodeau will always prioritize effort on the defensive end. The addition of Towns in the offseason forced Thibodeau to adjust slightly, but New York still has a significant edge on the defensive end compared to the Jazz’s dead last defensive rating. Hart, OG Anunoby, and Mikal Bridges are the perfect trio to play next to the pick-and-roll game from Brunson and Towns. Bridges is a fantastic three-and-D player, and the introduction of the mid-range shot has turned him into a legitimate threat. Hart puts in 110% effort every minute he is on the court, while Anunoby quietly shuts down the opposition's best player.
The Knicks are 13 point home favorites against the Jazz, and this spread is frankly not wide enough. Let’s look at the Knicks last two games. The Wizards took them to overtime on Saturday night and New York was still a 12 point road favorite when they ran it back on Monday night. The Jazz are marginally better than the Wizards, but a similar spread at Madison Square Garden makes this an easy pick. New York has a significant edge on both ends of the court, and there is no reason to expect anything other than a second straight 20+ point win and cover.
For the second bet of the night, we will be tailing Lauri Markkanen to score over 20.5 points. Markkanen scored 34 points in their last meeting, and will demand plenty of the ball at the historic MSG arena. The Knicks don’t have the size at forward to guard Markkanen, and this is a very reasonable line. He has gone over this number in five of his last six games, as he looks to be returning to his elite form of the last two years after shaking off a slow start to the season.
Pick: New York Knicks (-13) 5 Units
Pick: Lauri Markkanen Over 20.5 Points 7 Units
Get NBA picks on every single game, or if you want our very best bet premium picks by the experts, sign up for your free $60 account with a guarantee.
Most Recent NBA Handicapping
- Free NBA Picks New York Knicks: Season-Long Handicapping and Specialization 1/3/2025
- Free NBA Picks New York Knicks: Season-Long Handicapping and Specialization 1/1/2025
- Hot and Cold NBA Betting Teams ATS and Over Under 12/31/2024
- NBA Handicapping: Does Hot 3-Point Shooting Correlate With ATS Success?
- Free NBA Picks New York Knicks: Season-Long Handicapping and Specialization 12/30/2024
- Free NBA Picks New York Knicks: Season-Long Handicapping and Specialization 12/27/2024
- Free NBA Picks New York Knicks: Season-Long Handicapping and Specialization 12/25/2024
- Shocking NBA Playoff Failures That No One Saw Coming
- Free NBA Picks New York Knicks: Season-Long Handicapping and Specialization 12/23/2024
- Free NBA Picks New York Knicks: Season-Long Handicapping and Specialization 12/19/2024