The New York Knicks look to end their five-game home losing streak when they host the road-challenged Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday. The Knicks (28-40), who are beginning a four-game homestand after a 3-4 road trip that concluded with back-to-back losses, haven't won on their own court since defeating Sacramento on Jan. 31. Portland (26-41) owns one of the worst records in the NBA away from home at 9-23 and has lost five consecutive road games, including a 122-113 setback at Atlanta on Monday. Among those listed out on the injury report are Cam Reddish (shoulder) and Quentin Grimes (knee) for New York and Anfernee Simons (knee) and Jusuf Nurkic (foot) for Portland.
Tip-off at Madison Square Garden is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. New York is a 12.5-point favorite in the latest Knicks vs. Trail Blazers odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over-under for total points scored is 222. Before making any Trail Blazers vs. Knicks picks, be sure to check out the NBA predictions and betting advice from SportsLine's proven model.
The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past three-plus seasons. The model entered Week 21 of the 2021-22 NBA season on a stunning 78-48 roll on all top-rated NBA picks, returning over $2,400. Anyone following it has seen huge returns.
Now, the model has set its sights on Knicks vs. Trail Blazers and just locked in its NBA picks and predictions. You can head to SportsLine now to see the model's picks. Now, here are several NBA odds and betting lines for Trail Blazers vs. Knicks:
- Knicks vs. Trail Blazers spread: New York -12.5
- Knicks vs. Trail Blazers over-under: 222 points
- Knicks vs. Trail Blazers money line: New York -800, Portland +550
- NYK: The Knicks are 6-0 against the spread in their last six games
- POR: The Trail Blazers are 2-10 ATS in their last 12 contests following a straight-up loss
Why the Knicks can cover
New York was without RJ Barrett when it dropped a 112-103 decision at Portland on Feb. 12 but still had three players reach the 20-point mark in defeat. Julius Randle led the way with 28 and pulled down 16 rebounds to match his season-high. The 27-year-old power forward, who has scored at least 26 points in four straight contests, leads New York in scoring (20.5 points), rebounding (9.9) and assists (5.2).
The loss at Portland was one of four games missed by Barrett, who was sidelined with a sprained left ankle but came back strong. The 21-year-old small forward set a career-high in his return on Feb. 25, scoring 46 points while making six 3-pointers against Miami. Barrett has recorded 20 or more points in eight of his nine contests since the injury while Evan Fournier is coming off his best offensive outing in a month. He had a 25-point performance at Brooklyn on Sunday in which he was 9-for-13 from the floor -- including 5-for-8 from beyond the arc.
Why the Trail Blazers can cover
Portland has lost seven of its last eight overall contests but has been receiving some tremendous offensive efforts from Josh Hart of late. The 27-year-old shooting guard, who was acquired from New Orleans in a seven-player deal in early February, set a career high with 44 points on 15-of-21 shooting in the Trail Blazers' 127-118 home victory against Washington on Saturday. Hart, whose previous best was a 30-point outing as a rookie with the Los Angeles Lakers in April 2018, followed up with a 31-point performance in Monday's loss to the Hawks.
Hart went 10-for-16 from 3-point range in those two contests after making only two of his 27 attempts from beyond the arc in his previous five outings. Rookie Trendon Watford also has turned it on offensively, reaching double figures in points in six consecutive games and scoring at least 22 in each of his last three outings. The 21-year-old power forward recorded 10 or more points only twice in his first 35 contests this season.
How to make Knicks vs. Trail Blazers picks
SportsLine's model is leaning under on the total, with the teams projected to combine for 209 points. The model also says one side of the spread hits almost 60 percent of the time. You can only see the model's Trail Blazers vs. Knicks pick at SportsLine.
So who wins Knicks vs. Trail Blazers? And which side of the spread hits almost 60 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the spread you need to jump on, all from the model that has crushed its NBA picks, and find out.
