Despite the loss vs Denver, Hornets are coming to MSG in great form, winning 7 of their L9 matches. They are battling hard for their position, standing 9th at the moment, but only one game back from the Nets and half a game in front of the Hawks. Despite some improvements lately, the Knicks are massively underachieving this year and don’t have a realistic chance to even make the play-in. Hornets lead the season series 2-1 and I think they will give their best tonight, keeping in mind the importance of the game. The Knicks can keep it close, but I have a lot more faith in Charlotte in the clutch.
Leg #2. Jayson Tatum Over 27.5 Points -120 at BetMGM
Jayson Tatum has been arguably the best player in the league in the last month. He raised his game to an incredible level and has even put himself out there in the MVP discussion. I am aware of the Heat’s tough defense, but they still are 24th in the league in 3PTM allowed. Tatum has been very hot from 3 lately, scoring at least 5 3-pointers in all of his L5 matches. His season average is 27.1 ppg, but this number increases to the incredible 33.4 in his L10. Miami will keep it very close and I can even see an upset here, they will make it tough for Tatum, but this line just looks too good to pass on.
The Suns are clearly the best team in the league during this regular season. They play hard every single night and I really don’t see the Warriors keeping it close without Steph. Phoenix trail the season series 1-2, but Booker missed one of the losses and Curry played all three matches. Golden State is 1-6 after he went down and I can’t see them upsetting the number 1 seed. This game has blowout written all over it and this line seems very safe.