Los Angeles Lakers vs New York Knicks Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 18/12/2023, 08:17  by Joseph King | Modified on 18/12/2023 at 08:28 in NBA Predictions

A classic west coast vs east coast battle in the NBA sees the 15-11 Los Angeles Lakers hosting the 14-11 New York Knicks. The Lakers pieced together an excellent four game winning streak at the Crypto.com Arena before hitting the road for three straight away games. LA would go 1-2 in those three games, which included a loss to the Mavs and a disappointing 129-115 defeat to the lowly Spurs in their most recent appearance. However, a return to the Crypt should provide the Purple and Gold with a much-needed boost as they look to improve upon their eighth-place conference standing. The Lakers have been performing just about league average this season, ranking 18th in adjusted net rating (+0.7), 19th in adjusted offensive rating and ninth in adjusted defensive rating. They have a number of players listed as questionable or probable on the injury report including LeBron James, Anthony Davis and D'angelo Russell. 

The Knicks remain in Tinseltown following a heavy 144-122 loss to the LA Clippers on Saturday. The defeat sees New York sitting sixth in the Eastern Conference and six games behind leaders Boston. The Knicks have hit a speedbump as of late and have now dropped four of their last six games. The most recent defensive performance will surely not have pleased head coach Tom Thibodeau as his Knicks allowed Los Angeles to shoot 57% from the field and 48.5% from deep. We’re expecting to see more intensity from on the defensive side from the Knicks who rank ninth in opponent points per game at 111.8. Lately, the visitors have seen a sharp increase in their scoring output as they’ve averaged 125.8 points per game over their last six, up from their 114.5 average on the year.