Alex Hunter breaks down his preview, prediction and pick for Sunday’s NBA matchup between the Knicks and Hornets.
To wrap up the regular season, the Knicks are hosting the Hornets on Sunday. On DraftKings Sportsbook, Charlotte is favored by 14.5 points, and this game carries a total of O/U 217.5 points.
Let’s dive into my preview and pick for this matchup.
The Knicks are 2-1 vs. the Hornets this season, but that is irrelevant for this regular-season finale. New York is locked into the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference, and the club has nothing to play for tonight. As a result, the Knicks have ruled out Jalen Brunson (ankle), Karl-Anthony Towns (elbow), OG Anunoby (ankle), Josh Hart (ankle), Mitchell Robinson (ankle), Landry Shamet (knee) and Tyler Kolek (oblique).
Mikal Bridges isn’t listed on the injury report, as he looks to keep his consecutive game streak alive. Bridges has played in 633 straight regular season games, and while he will be active tonight, he isn’t going to play much at all.
In basically the same situation for last year’s regular-season finale, Bridges was the only starter active, but he immediately committed a foul after the ball was tipped to check himself out of the game. The Knicks’ main players tonight should be Jose Alvarado, Jordan Clarkson and Mohammad Diawara. While in front of the New York faithful at Madison Square Garden, this is going to be an unserious affair for the Knicks, and this game could get out of hand, as the Hornets are highly motivated.
Charlotte is the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference and the club can clinch that seed over the Heat if the Hornets beat the Knicks. The Hornets and Heat will be facing each other in the Play-In Tournament on Tuesday, but being the No. 9 seed for that matchup is important, as that team will have home court for the win-or-go home situation.
The Hornets have dropped back-to-back games, but they still have been one of the best teams in the NBA in the second half of the season. Since the All-Star break, Charlotte is 17-9 and ranks fourth in net rating. The Hornets have a real knack for beating up on bad teams, and them running away with an easy win over the shorthanded Knicks is likely. Charlotte is 21-10 against below .500 teams, and the Hornets are 27-9 when favored with a 12.0-point margin of victory this season.
The Hornets are going to win this game with ease, and backing them to cover this 14.5-point spread is smart.
Charlotte is a league-best 50-31 ATS this season, and the team is 7-1 ATS when favored by double digits since the All-Star break.
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