Portland Trail Blazers vs New York Knicks Prediction & Betting Tips - NBA

Prediction published on 14/03/2024, 07:01  by Kennedy Kechula in NBA Predictions

The New York Knicks will travel to play the Portland Trail Blazers in their next NBA regular season fixture. They come to this match sitting fourth in the Eastern Conference while the Blazers are second from bottom in the West. The Blazers have seen an upturn in fortunes in recent outings. They have won twice in their last three games and before this run, they had managed just two wins in 14 outings. Chauncey Billups’ men will therefore be confident of splitting this series with the Knicks. Both of their recent wins have come at home against fellow East teams. They defeated the Hawks 106-102 last time out to earn their 19th win in 65 games. Injuries have decimated the Blazers and five players will miss this game. Among the five are Jerami Grant, Malcolm Brogdon and Shaedon Sharpe who are three of the team's top four scorers. The Blazers have averaged 111 points over their last three matches.

The Knicks are also coming off a win. They defeated the Sixers 106-79 at home to avenge the loss to the same opponents just days prior. It was the third successive match in which they had held an opponent to under 80 points. This was happening for the first time in over 10 years in the NBA. It was also the first time since the 2000s that a Knicks team had produced such a streak. Tom Thibodeau’s men are the second-best-ranked defensive team in the league so it isn’t a coincidence. New York were boosted by the return to full fitness of O.G. Anunoby after more than a month out. The forward is one of the best defenders in the league and is also a valuable asset in offence. New York have now compiled a 38-27 record but are just two games clear of the play-in places. They therefore cannot afford to slip up, especially against one of the whipping boys this season. The Knicks, who have averaged 92.3 points over their last three matches, have won three of the last four matchups with Portland. The first meeting of the season saw them claim a 112-84 victory.