NBA Betting: Indiana Pacers at New York Knicks
The NBA Eastern Conference semifinals begin on Sunday and in the early game the New York Knicks will try to continue their torrid second half run as they host the Indiana Pacers. Both teams underachieved somewhat in the first round–the Knicks had a tougher time than they should have against an old and injury riddled Boston team. The Pacers were extended to six games by an erratic and mentally weak Atlanta team. The winner of this series will take on the winner of the Miami Heat/Chicago Bulls series meaning either the Knicks or Pacers will most likely have the ignominious task of jumping in front of the Miami freight train.
On paper the Pacers have the makeup of a team that *should* be good on the road but for whatever reason they’ve not been particularly good away from home this season. Indiana was 20-23 SU/21-22 ATS away from home this year. They’ve struggled for years against the Hawks at Atlanta’s Phillips Arena and now they’ll go from the ‘frying pan into the fire’ as they travel to what will be a madhouse at New York’s Madison Square Garden. The Knicks are 33-11 SU/26-18 ATS on their home court this season though the Pacers have been reasonably competitive in recent play. Even so, the Knicks have won 4 of the last 5 head to head covering three.
This price range–as a home favorite of -3.5 to -6 points–has been the Knicks’ best pointspread role in recent seasons. New York is just 7-5 ATS this season in this role but over the past three seasons they’re a phenomenal 21-6 SU/19-8 ATS in this pointspread price range. They’ve also done well against Central Division foes this season going 12-6 SU/ATS. We’re starting to get an uneasy feeling that this Pacers team is very vulnerable away from home–if the Atlanta Hawks with their tepid fan support can give them issues what chance are they going to have against New York, Chicago or Miami? Look for the Knicks to win Game 1 and go on to win the series in six games. It’s doubtful that they’ll have enough to compete with the Miami Heat juggarnaut but at the very least they’ll give the NBA an extremely marketable matchup.
BET NEW YORK KNICKS -5.5 OVER INDIANA PACERS
