Los Angeles Lakers vs New York Knicks Prediction, 1/31/2023 Preview and Pick

Game: Los Angeles Lakers vs New York Knicks

Date: Tuesday, January 31, 2023

Location: Madison Square Garden in New York, NY

TV: MSG

Odds/Point Spread: Los Angeles (+2)

The New York Knicks will play the Los Angeles Lakers at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. Los Angeles opens as 2-point underdogs. The total has been set at 228.

The Lakers played the Celtics and walked away from this one with a loss by a score of 125-121 in their last game. In relation to personal fouls, the Lakers finished with 23 and the Celtics had 22 personal fouls. They buried 13 of 40 tries from 3-point land. Boston finished the game shooting 87.2% at the free throw line by knocking down 34 of 39 attempts. On top of that, Boston had 46 rebounds (7 offensive, 39 defensive), but finished the game with no rejections. Boston recorded 18 assists and had 8 steals for the contest. With regard to defense, Los Angeles let their opponent shoot 46.4% from the field on 39 out of 84 shooting. They also recorded 30 assists in the game as well as creating 12 turnovers and getting 4 steals. Pertaining to grabbing boards, they compiled a total of 47 with 11 of them being offensive. From the charity stripe, the Lakers made 15 of their 20 attempts for a percentage of 75.0%. Los Angeles walked away from the contest with a 44.8% field goal percentage (47 of 105) and knocked down 12 of 42 shots from 3-point land.

LeBron James is a player who came through in this game. James finished 50.0% from the field and also totaled 8 assists. He was on the court for 44 mins played and also collected 9 boards. He ended up scoring 41 points on 15 of 30 shooting.

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Los Angeles heads into this matchup with a record of 23-27 on the season. They have an average of 117.1 pts per contest (5th in the NBA) while connecting on 48.2% from the floor. The Lakers are hitting 33.6% on 3-point shots (526 of 1,565) and 78.8% from the free throw line. As a unit, Los Angeles is snagging 44.9 rebounds per contest and has 1,248 dimes on the season, which is 15th in the league in terms of passing. They are turning it over 14.1 times per contest and as a unit are committing 18.6 personal fouls on a nightly basis.

On the defensive end, the Lakers are able to force 12.9 turnovers per game and they draw 21.2 personal fouls. They are ranked 18th in the NBA in giving up assists to their opponents with 1,280 conceded for the year. The Lakers defensively are allowing a shooting percentage of 47.2% (2,213 of 4,684) and they relinquish 45.6 rebounds per game as a team. They are conceding 34.7% on shots from distance while they are 27th in the league in points per game allowed (118.1).

When they last stepped on the hardwood, the Knicks took a loss by a score of 122-115 against the Nets. When talking about how they cleaned up the glass, New York permitted Brooklyn to snag 35 in total (9 offensive). They shot 55.0% from three-point range by hitting 22 of 40 and ended up going 8 of 14 from the free throw line (57.1%). The Knicks allowed the Nets to convert 46 of 87 attempts from the floor which left them with a rate of 52.9% for the game. When the game finished, the Knicks walked away from this one shooting 45 out of 88 from the field which had them sitting at 51.1%. When talking about shots from 3-point land, New York knocked down 10 of 28 attempts (35.7%). They were able to make 15 of the free throw attempts for a rate of 78.9%. The Nets earned 17 personal fouls for the contest which took the Knicks to the free throw line for a total of 19 attempts. They also gave up possession of the ball 10 times, while recording 4 steals for the contest. The Knicks recorded 31 defensive boards and 14 offensive rebounds totaling 45 in this contest.

Jalen Brunson ended up being a factor for the Knicks for the game. Brunson totaled 26 points in his 37 mins of playing time and had 4 dimes for the matchup. He converted 10 of 19 in this contest for a field goal percentage of 52.6%, and accounted for 3 rebounds.

New York has a win-loss mark of 27-24 for the year. The Knicks have committed 20.5 personal fouls per game and they connect on 77.3% from the charity stripe. Their rate of dishing out assists is at 22.4 times per contest (28th in basketball) and they are losing possession via turnover 13.1 times per game. New York has totaled 5,827 pts for the year (114.3 per game) and they pull in 47.3 rebounds per game. When it comes to offensive execution, the Knicks are connecting on 45.8% from the floor, which has them ranked 24th in the NBA.

The Knicks on the defensive side of the court are 12th in basketball in points per game surrendered with 112.4. They are forcing 12.9 turnovers per game and have allowed teams to shoot 45.3% from the field (2nd in the league). The New York defense gives up 34.9% on three-point shots (678 of 1,941) and their opponents are knocking down 77.0% of their free throw attempts. They have given up 24.8 dimes and 44.0 rebounds per contest, which is 11th and 21st in basketball.

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Guy Bruhn's Pick: Take New York (-2)

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