The Bulls walk into Madison Square Garden at 1-6, a week after blowing a 19-point lead to these same Knicks in Chicago. New York is 3-4 and without Josh Hart, and it has to win by 12 to cash this ticket. I'm laying the points with the Knicks, but this is a small play. New York has won by 12 or more only twice in seven games, so this number is close to fair, with a slight edge to the home side. Start with the common opponents. The Knicks lost at Boston by 4 and at Philadelphia by 5, though Philadelphia was missing Jaylen Brown that night. The Bulls lost at Boston by 14 and 35, and at Philadelphia by 19. Chicago has lost four of five road games by 14 or more, and the lone exception was a win at Milwaukee, which has one win in its other six games. The Bulls have allowed at least 124 points in all seven games and have trailed after every first quarter, by 10.7 on average. The first meeting flatters Chicago too. The Bulls were at home, shot 18-42 from three against 27.9% on the season, and faced a Knicks team on a back-to-back that played Mikal Bridges just 13 minutes. New York also shot well at 22-48, but it still won by 6. Now the game moves to the Garden. Hart's absence hurts less than it looks. Landry Shamet is the likely starter and has outshot Hart from three over the last five games, 13-26 to 9-26. The real cost is on the glass: Hart had 32 rebounds to Shamet's 6 in that span, and Chicago averages 14 offensive boards. Nic Claxton is questionable and hasn't played this season. Reports point to restricted minutes, probably off the bench, if Claxton plays at all, and that won't fix this defense. Here's what could beat this ticket. The Knicks' average margin is only +1.3, all four of their losses were by single digits, and their two big wins came by just 13 and 14. Their last two games had about 89 possessions, and a slow game makes a 12-point win harder. Chicago's -16.3 average margin is also inflated by losses of 35 and 43; without those it's -7.2. The Bulls average 34.3 free throws and 42.6 threes a game, which can close a gap late, as they showed by cutting a 25-point deficit to 14 in the fourth at Boston. I land just past the number on New York, and that's enough for a small stake.
The Bulls walk into Madison Square Garden at 1-6, a week after blowing a 19-point lead to these same Knicks in Chicago. New York is 3-4 and without Josh Hart, and it has to win by 12 to cash this ticket.
I'm laying the points with the Knicks, but this is a small play. New York has won by 12 or more only twice in seven games, so this number is close to fair, with a slight edge to the home side.
Start with the common opponents. The Knicks lost at Boston by 4 and at Philadelphia by 5, though Philadelphia was missing Jaylen Brown that night. The Bulls lost at Boston by 14 and 35, and at Philadelphia by 19. Chicago has lost four of five road games by 14 or more, and the lone exception was a win at Milwaukee, which has one win in its other six games. The Bulls have allowed at least 124 points in all seven games and have trailed after every first quarter, by 10.7 on average.
The first meeting flatters Chicago too. The Bulls were at home, shot 18-42 from three against 27.9% on the season, and faced a Knicks team on a back-to-back that played Mikal Bridges just 13 minutes. New York also shot well at 22-48, but it still won by 6. Now the game moves to the Garden.
Hart's absence hurts less than it looks. Landry Shamet is the likely starter and has outshot Hart from three over the last five games, 13-26 to 9-26. The real cost is on the glass: Hart had 32 rebounds to Shamet's 6 in that span, and Chicago averages 14 offensive boards. Nic Claxton is questionable and hasn't played this season. Reports point to restricted minutes, probably off the bench, if Claxton plays at all, and that won't fix this defense.
Here's what could beat this ticket. The Knicks' average margin is only +1.3, all four of their losses were by single digits, and their two big wins came by just 13 and 14. Their last two games had about 89 possessions, and a slow game makes a 12-point win harder. Chicago's -16.3 average margin is also inflated by losses of 35 and 43; without those it's -7.2. The Bulls average 34.3 free throws and 42.6 threes a game, which can close a gap late, as they showed by cutting a 25-point deficit to 14 in the fourth at Boston.
I land just past the number on New York, and that's enough for a small stake.
Knicks -11.5