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Free NBA Picks New York Knicks: Season-Long Handicapping and Specialization 1/8/2025

by Spencer Toth - 1/8/2025

Free NBA picks New York Knicks season long handicapping Karl-Anthony Towns

The New York Knicks desperately need a victory, and a visit from the lowly Toronto Raptors could be exactly what the doctor ordered. Doc’s Sports will break down every New York Knicks weekday game this season while providing free picks. 

The New York Knicks had a nine-game win streak alive heading into a high-profile matchup against the Thunder last week, but their streak was snapped in their 117-107 defeat. A loss to the Thunder can be forgiven, as Oklahoma City is currently riding a 15-game win streak of its own. Oklahoma City shot 51.9% from behind the arc, which allowed them to score 5 more triples on 5 fewer attempts compared to the Knicks. 

From a betting perspective, we had a solid night, going 1-1. Our biggest bet of the night was on former Knick Isiah Hartenstein to post over 1.5 Steals + Blocks, and he did exactly that. The under 222 points ended up losing, but we were still able to string together a third consecutive winning night. 

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While a loss to Oklahoma City was to be expected, the following pair of losses were against the 16-19 Bulls and an extremely shorthanded Magic team. The Knicks were without Karl-Anthony Towns for one of those meetings, but they still have the quality needed on both ends of the court to beat sub-.500 NBA teams. While the Knicks will never be happy to lose, it is not as if they have been playing bad basketball. They have prevented turnovers, stayed active on the defensive end, and sunk their shots inside. Their downfall has been the shooting from behind the arc. New York shot 28.1, 26.7, and 18.2 percent from deep in their last three games, while their opponents shot 51.9, 54.1, and 35.5 percent from behind the arc. This kind of trend is simply unsustainable, and the Knicks will be back in the win column sooner rather than later. 

Tonight, the Knicks (24-13) have a chance to snap their losing streak when they welcome the Toronto Raptors (8-28) to New York. Every time these two teams square off, the first thing that will be talked about is how their blockbuster trade has aged. One year and one week ago, New York sent RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, and some picks in exchange for OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa. The Knicks are predictably thrilled with their return, as Anunoby has elevated the squad into a true title contender with his work on the defensive end. While it is hard to say the Raptors won the trade considering their place in the standings a year later, it’s also hard to say they lost the deal. Quickley’s 30-game injury to start the year has allowed the Raptors to tank for Cooper Flagg, but he and Barrett will be central components of the next generation of Toronto superstars. Toronto has dealt with injuries all season long, and their Monday night game was the first time they saw a healthy starting five this season. Barnes-Barrett-Dick-Poeltl-Quickley is a promising lineup, and it will be interesting to see what they can do if they can consistently spend time together on the floor. 

While the Raptors haven’t been able to pick up wins this season, it hasn’t been for a lack of trying. They have gone 20-15-1 against the spread this year, despite going just 1-6 against the spread in the last two weeks. They have been able to consistently play teams close this year, with eight of their first 14 losses coming by six or fewer points. Now that Toronto is healthy, the spreads may not be as wide but the Raptors will be optimistic they can turn close losses into thrilling victories in the second half of the year. 

While the Raptors will be riding high with their clean injury report, the Knicks are still heavy favorites in this matchup. The looming absence of Towns cannot be ignored. However, even if the big man can’t suit up tonight, New York has enough firepower to swat aside the Raptors. Jalen Brunson will look to face off head-to-head against his former teammate Quickley and will need a big night on the offensive end. New York has been ice cold from behind the arc, but Toronto’s 7th worst three-point defense could jumpstart the Knicks on the offensive end. 

Towns is questionable for this matchup, but everything is pointing in the direction that he will play. Assuming he gets onto the court, his battle against Jakob Poeltl in the paint will be fascinating to watch. Poeltl does a good job at moving his feet in the paint, but he can occasionally get stranded in the open court. Towns will look to make an impact on both the glass and from behind the arc, but his P+R+A line has drifted too high. Let’s address the obvious. Towns has hauled in 13 or more rebounds in five consecutive games and scored 30+ points in four of those contests. He has soared over his 43.5 Points+Rebounds+Assists line, but that trend will come to an end. I expect Towns to find himself wandering behind the arc more often than not tonight. While that will allow him to occasionally score, he hasn’t been consistent from deep and that will draw him away from under the hoop for rebounds. It’s never fun to fade star players, but for the first bet of the night, we will be anxiously taking Karl-Anthony Towns to stay under 43.5 P+R+A. 

For the second bet of the night, we will be taking the under. Toronto has seen 10 of their 16 games on the road stay under the total, and I am expecting a solid defensive effort from both sides tonight. New York will be desperate to stifle the Raptors offense, which has struggled to put up points on the road. New York always is a threat to blow this game wide open, but more often than not they will stay under the high 231.5 point total. 

Pick: Karl-Anthony Towns Under 43.5 Points+Rebounds+Assists 7 Units

Pick: Raptors vs Knicks Under 231.5 3 Units

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