Tuesday, May 2nd. NBA Postseason Plays with Eric Rocco
This is a must win game for the Knicks and the perfect spot to back them. With injury concerns on both sides, who is playing and who is not tonight? Well for starters, ankle injuries are no joke, yes it was just a roll but man are they painful. If Butler goes, he will play on 1 day rest with an ankle injury potentially second guessing every jump, turn, and decision. They have 3 days until their next game, so if there was a spot to sit for an injury this would be it. He has announced he wants to try and go, so I believe it’s a win/win for NY backers. If he goes, we get a diluted line with him ‘playing’, and if he doesn’t? Well pretty self explanatory, it’s Jimmy Butler of course we don’t want him on the court. On the flip side, Randle sat in game 1 giving his ankle extra time to heal up. Even with Randle not playing, the Knicks dominated the first half unfortunately in every category except the one that mattered most, the scoreboard. They were up 3 at half, and had a 5 point lead in the 3rd quarter, but New York just couldn’t match their intensity on the Miami side and let the game slip away in the 2nd half. A portion of the game they have been quite strong, in the 22/23 season. Brunson had an uncharacteristic 5 turnovers, compared to the Heat with a total of 8. Look for these numbers to even out in game 2.
Look, the Heat did what they needed and stole one in New York. They’re on 1 day rest and a tired team, I would expect somewhat of a let down in game 2. MSG will be LOUD Tuesday night, Randle will be back and the high flying Knicks will even out the series. I expect a better game defensively from New York as well, so I will make a small play on the under, with the Knicks.
Knicks -6 (Caesars -110) to win 1.3 units
Under 208 (Caesars -110) to win 0.7 units
Knicks SERIES +125 (DraftKings) 2 units to win 2.5 units
Complete pass on the 2nd game, Lakers at Warriors. LA getting the 4.5, when I believe they are the better team, is truly enticing but I will have to pass. The Warriors have been cover machines at home all season, and 4.5 is a scary number, because they can run it up QUICKLY. This is a game I will personally make some live bets, and look for middles. These two teams go on ‘runs’ better than anyone else in basketball. PASS
