NBA Picks 1/2 – LA Lakers @ New York Knicks

by Thomas Quaynor for Wannamakeabet.com

The Los Angeles Lakers (27-19) conclude their four-game East Coast road trip at the New York Knicks (32-16) tonight on ABC. This is the first of two regular season matchups between the Lakers and Knicks. The road team has won the last four contests between these teams. New York’s last home win against Los Angeles occurred in November 2021. New York is a 9-point favorite and the total is 227.5.

Los Angeles is coming off a 134-96 shellacking of the hapless Washington Wizards on the road Thursday night. It was the Wizards 16th straight loss! Washington has now lost 16 games in a row for a second time this season. Los Angeles scored 42 points in the first quarter against Washington and led 78-45 at halftime as they cruised to the easy win. The 38-point victory was the Lakers most lopsided win of the season, surpassing their 111-88 win over these same Wizards nine days earlier in Los Angeles. 

LeBron James scored a game-high 24 points (9-19 FG, 1-4 3Pt, 5-5 FT) and dished out 11 assists over 27 minutes. He sat out the entire fourth quarter. Former Washington Wizard Rui Hachimura chipped in with 24 points (9-12 FG, 4-5 3Pt) while Shake Milton finished with 21 points (7-8 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 6-6 FT) four rebounds and four assists off the bench. The Lakers have won five of their last six games. 

New York is coming off a 122-112 victory over the visiting Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night. It was their fifth straight win. Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with a team-high 30 points (10-16 FG, 3-6 3Pt, 7-7 FT) while dishing out 15 assists. OG Anunoby added 23 points (9-15 FG, 5-7 3Pt, 0-2 FT) and grabbed four rebounds. New York has won four in a row at home and three consecutive home games against Western Conference teams.

GAME STORYLINES: LOS ANGELES LAKERS

After acquiring All-NBA big man Anthony Davis to pair with fellow superstar LeBron James in June 2019, the Lakers went on to finish 52-19 in the COVID-shortened 2019-20 season and breeze through the Orlando bubble playoffs en route to an NBA championship. It appeared as if several more titles would come soon for the LeBron/AD-led Lakers but they haven’t come close to winning another title in four full seasons now. The Lakers will likely have an uphill climb to bring home an NBA title this year as well. 

Injuries to Anthony Davis and constant roster upheaval ruined any chance of the Lakers getting another title. Davis played a total of 76 games — out of a possible 154 — over the 2021 and 2021 seasons resulting in a 7th place in 2021 and missing the playoffs entirely in 2022. The 31-year-old Davis has been relatively healthy over the last two seasons but the ascension of the Denver Nuggets has been too much for the Lakers to overcome. Denver has eliminated the Lakers from the playoffs in dominant fashion for the past two seasons going 8-1 against them.

NBA Picks 1/2 – LA Lakers @ New York Knicks

The Lakers made two eye-opening moves entering the 2024-25 season. First, they fired head coach Darvin Ham on May 3, 2024 and replaced him with former 15-year NBA player JJ Redick. Redick and LeBron James did a popular podcast together last season. The Lakers made bigger headlines when they selected Bronny James — the son of LeBron James — in the second round (No. 55 overall) of the NBA draft. On opening night of the season against Minnesota at home, LeBron and Bronny became the first father-son duo in NBA history to appear in a game together. The Lakers won the game 110-103.

On the court, the Lakers are being led again by the superstar duo of Anthony Davis and LeBron James. Davis was averaging 25.7 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.1 blocks and 1.3 steals per game while shooting 52.8 percent from the floor across 42 games. The 40-year-old James continues to play at an elite level in his 22nd NBA season. He’s averaging 23.8 points, 9 assists, 7.5 rebounds and 2.1 threes per game while shooting 51.2 percent from the floor across 42 games. Both players were named to the Western Conference All-Star team. LeBron was voted in as a starter and Davis was chosen as a reserve.

Unfortunately for Los Angeles, Anthony Davis suffered an abdominal injury at Philadelphia on Jan. 28 and he’s expected to be out for at least a week. The loss of Davis is huge as he’s been the Lakers most dominant player — slightly ahead of LeBron — for most of the season. The Lakers are currently the fifth seed in the Western Conference but only four games separates the No. 4 seed from the No. 11 seed. They could easily lose ground in the ultra-competitive Western Conference if they struggle without Davis.  

NBA Picks 1/2 – LA Lakers @ New York Knicks

Shooting guard Austin Reeves (18.2 ppg, 6.1 asts, 4.2 rebs, 1.1 stls, 2.6 threes), forward Rui Hachimura (12.4 ppg, 5.2 rebs, 50% from 2, 42,3% from 3) and rookie swingman Dalton Knecht (9.5 ppg, 2.7 rebs, 46% from 2) have all been solid in complementary roles alongside the Lakers Big Two of Anthony Davis and LeBron James. The Lakers will need these three to elevate their games in the absence of Davis to stay afloat in the stacked Western Conference. 

The 26-year-old, fourth year Oklahoma product Austin Reeves is averaging a career-high in points (18.2) and has improved his scoring average in each of his first four seasons in the NBA. The Lakers selected the 23-year-old rookie Dalton Knecht with the No. 17 overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft out of Tennessee. Some considered Knecht’s selection a steal due to him being one of the nation’s leading scorers last season where he averaged 25.5 ppg for the Tennessee Vols. 

GAME STORYLINES: NEW YORK

After making a surprise run to the NBA Finals in the strike-shortened 1998-99 season, the Knicks went on a 20+ year run of being one of the worst franchises in the NBA. The Knicks finally made a smart personnel move when they signed guard Jalen Brunson as a free agent in July 2022. The move didn’t exactly move the needle initially after Brunson averaged just 16.3 ppg in his last season with Dallas and played a reduced role in the enormous shadow of Luka Doncic. But Brunson quickly transformed himself into a superstar with the Knicks.

In his almost three full seasons with the Knicks, Jalen Brunson has become one of the best players in the NBA and almost single-handedly turned the Knicks into one of the better teams in the NBA. He was an All-Star and All-NBA second team last year and was voted in as a starter for the Eastern Conference All-Stars this year. Brunson has also led the Knicks to back-to-back playoff series wins in his first two full seasons with the team. The Knicks last playoff series win prior to Brunson’s arrival was in 2013. Brunson is averaging a team-high 25.9 points, 7.5 assists and 2.4 threes per game while shooting 49.1 percent from the floor and 40.6 percent from long distance across 47 games on the season.

NBA Picks 1/2 – LA Lakers @ New York Knicks

The Knicks made a huge move shortly before the season started when they acquired five-time All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns via trade on Oct. 2. New York gave up a package that included double-double machine Julius Randle, athletic shooter Donte DiVincenzo and a future first-round pick for Towns. The move signaled the Knicks are now in championship-or-bust mode as last year’s team was very good and would have likely advanced to the Eastern Conference finals if it weren’t for injuries to key players like Randle, OJ Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson. 

The 29-year-old Karl-Anthony Towns has not disappointed in his first season as a Knick. The former No. 1 overall pick (2015) is averaging 24.6 points, a career-high 13.7 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 threes per game while shooting 54 percent from the floor and 42.4 percent from beyond the arc. He will start in the All-Star game for the first time in his career. Towns ability to play in the paint and stretch the floor should be invaluable for the Knicks in the playoffs. 

Forwards Mikal Bridges (18.2 ppg, 3.3 asts, 1 stl, 2.4 threes, 49.3% from the floor) and OJ Anunoby (16.4, 4.8 rebs, 1.4 stls, 2.1 threes, 47.9 from 2) along with all-purpose guard/forward Josh Hart (13.9 ppg, 9.7 rebs, 5.7 asts, 1.6 stls, 1.2 threes, 55.6% from 2) round out one of the most talented starting lineups in the NBA. All five players are versatile on offense and defense. 

THE PICK: KNICKS (-9)

The Knicks are playing very well right now, especially at home. I don’t think they’ll have any problems with a short-handed Lakers team who is playing the final game of an East-Coast road trip. Lay the Points and take the Knicks tonight