Portland at New York

The NBA is always better with good teams in New York and LA. The Lakers are on their way back but at 4-13 to start the season, the Knicks still have a long way to go. Portland at 11-5 on the season rank seventh in the NBA in scoring but are just 27th in assists. Portland has relied too much on isolation and that is an indication the scoring offense is anomalously high at this stage of the season. Amid five straight losses, the Knicks have allowed all five opponents to tally 115 points or more. This is driving the total upward as the Knicks in their previous six allowed 115+ just one time. The Knicks have played just seven times at the Garden where they have been much more competitive. They allow 7.5 points per game fewer here and have averaged losing by just 3.6 points per game. I think coming off an ugly road trip where the defense was absent, puts some line and total value on the Knicks. Take the Knicks and the UNDER.