Carmelo Anthony and the Portland Trail Blazers have cooled off a bit as they get ready for a reunion game against the New York Knicks on Tuesday night at Moda Center. Melo played seven seasons for the Knicks before moving on to play for the Rockets, Thunder and now Blazers. New York has lost nine straight games as the team fired head coach David Fizdale last week and replaced him with former G League coach Mike Miller. Portland has lost three of four to put a halt to a three-game winning streak.
Anthony was just 4-of-18 shooting against Oklahoma City and is 8-of-31 over the past two games as he has cooled off immensely after a hot start in Portland. Portland has won five straight games over the Knicks.
ESPN’s FPI gives the Blazers an 81.1% chance of winning this game. We break down the line and offer our best bets and analysis for Tuesday’s reunion between the Knicks and Blazers.
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Knicks vs. Blazers Game Details
Date: Tuesday, December 10
Time: 10:00 p.m. ET
Location: Moda Center (Portland, Oregon)
TV: NBCS Northwest, MSG
Spread: Blazers -8.5
Total: 222.5
*All lines, odds, and trends are courtesy of Covers & The Action Network
Line Movement
This line opened at Blazers -10 and has been bet downs lightly to Blazers +9 with the majority of bets and money coming in on the home favorite. This indicates a slight reverse line movement favoring New York.
Betting Trends
- Knicks are 4-19 SU and 11-12 ATS this season
- Blazers are 9-15 SU and 10-13-1 ATS this season
- Under is 15-8 in Knicks games this season
- Over is 13-10 in Blazers games this season
Analysis & Picks
There’s not a lot of good things that can be said about the Knicks right now. They’ve lost nine straight games and have an interim head coach leading the charge. Marcus Morris has been the lone bright spot offensively and is shooting 56.5% from three-point range in his last 10 games. The veteran forward poured in 25 points in Saturday’s loss to Indiana for his 12th 20-point outing of the season. I will admit, the team did show some fight on Saturday in the first game since the Fizdale firing covering the number against the Pacers. I can see them being profitable ATS for a short stretch here as the books adjust to the rotations and motivational boost that is associated with an interim head coach. That tends to fade after the dust settles, but since this is the first road game with Miller in charge, the dog may have some value and the reverse line movement towards the Knicks agrees with that theory. Portland has also been struggling of late as the ugly side of Carmelo Anthony’s high volume shooting has revealed itself. I expect Melo to keep shooting, especially against his former team. If they go in, Portland will probably cover, but I’m betting they won’t. Take the road dog.
PICK: Knicks +8.5
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Knicks vs. Blazers Prediction: Melo Faces His Former Team in Portland