New York Knicks vs Cleveland Cavaliers Prediction, Betting Tips And Match Preview - NBA October 29, 20

NLB Staff

29.10.2024 01:55

NBA

With the New York Knicks starting to put their new-look squad together, they enter a game against a potential darkhorse so far this season in the Cleveland Cavaliers. As this Knicks side had recently dominated the Indiana Pacers by 25 points, they will face a Cleveland squad that beat Washington 135-116 on Saturday. This game will take place on Tuesday, October 29th at 5:00 A.M. IST in Rocket Mortgage Field House, Cleveland. Below are our betting tips, top players, and key injuries to come up with a prediction for this game.

Key Betting Tips & Predictions

1. Moneyline Pick

Although the Cavs have started this season 3-0 and 2nd in the Eastern Confrence, they will play their toughest opponent in the New York Knicks now. A group that has controlled the Cavs for the most part and has a higher chance of making it further in playoffs, this Knicks roster has -141 moneyline to win this game outright. As they have won 4 of their last 5 games with a score over 104 against the Cavaliers, this roster has gotten much stronger over the offenses and should attack the basket more. Although they are missing Mitchell Robinson in the middle, the Knicks guards and forwards have a clear advantage in this game as a lot of their two-way abilities can be top notch.

2. New York Knicks vs Cleveland Cavaliers Point Spread Pick

As the Cavs have won every single moneyline placed on them this year, they will face a Knicks team that is undefeated at home in that stat so far. The major problem with the Cavs is they are 4-6 total in their last 10 games and have continuously struggled to hit their spread. Having a spread of +2.5 might be tough for them to cover just because New York always finds a way to completely dominate them. With the Knicks having won 3 straight on the road against Cleveland and covering the spread everytime, this is a great time for them to cover their -2.5 as they developed their roster into a near superteam over this offseason.

3. New York Knicks vs Cleveland Cavaliers Over/Under Pick (Total Points)

The total over/under for this games point value will be 223.5 points. Although many believe that this game will be controlled by defenses, the important thing to notice is that having Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges really stretches out the floor for New York. Over the past 4 matches, these games have gone over 220 points twice and with much stronger pieces around it should be up there again. As the Cavaliers still do have Mobley and Allen in the paint, the last time Max Strus was available and fully healthy this Cleveland team held the Knicks to 89 points. Now with him ruled out and the fact New York has scored over 100 twice before and after that matchup, they will be able to extend this score while the Cavs will keep dominating on that end as well.

New York Knicks vs Cleveland Cavaliers Top Player Props

Evan Mobley Over/Under of 14.5 is 1.91: As one of the better scoring centers in the league now, Evan Mobley has averaged a career-high 18.0 points per game during his first three this season. Going to keep switching on a weaker defender in Karl-Anthony Towns, Donovan Mitchell continue looking a lot for him on the inside as Jarrett Allen will take on the stronger OG Annunoby to create a disguise. Seeing that Mobley will be able to body his way through Towns and shoot from the perimeter, his point value will be very high.

Karl-Anthony Towns Over Under of 21.5 points is at 1.95: Seeing that KAT is once again going to play a great offensive game for the Knicks after really finding his role, he will be a big-time three point shooter that can become very hard to close out on. With Allen not being a great protector outside of the paint, Karl-Anthony Towns will get a lot of one on one opportunities with smaller defenders like Darius Garland and dominate on fade away’s. His ability to move around without any one guarding him will be a big problem for the Cavs as Mobley will have to stick on Annunoby or Bridges as well.

New York Knicks vs Cleveland Cavaliers Injury News & Impact

New York Knicks: Missing two big men in the middle named Mitchell Robinson and Precious Achiwua, this Knicks squad will have major losses at defense in the center. With Robinson, 8.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks, being out for a while with an ankle injury, his athletic ability to take away the ball from other centers and force them into tough shots is something this squad will love to get back during the 2nd half of season. Meanwhile Precious Achiwua, 7.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks, was a terrific backup that helped this Knicks team not miss a beat last season off the bench. His loss will help one of the biggest teams in the Cavaliers easily use the middle of the paint as an advantage to put up a huge total. Another big key is it that Miles McBride might be questionable for this matchup and could potentially leave this New York squad without their best 2nd unit scorer.

Cleveland Cavaliers: As the Cavaliers will once again miss Max Strus, 12.2 points and 4.8 rebounds last year, his ability to knock down long-range shots will make Donovan Mitchell work extra hard. Someone who had terrific leadership skills and could guard in the perimeter or down low, this will be a huge miss for a Cavs team that has to go against one of the most stacked offenses in the New York Knicks.

Head-to-Head Trends

As the Knicks have completely dominated this matchup recently, they have managed to win 5 of their past 6 games. Having won by only fewer than 10 points twice, this New York squad has really been able to out-score and defend this Cavs teams with ease. Their only loss came in a 6-point game during last season when a lot of the Knicks starters were injured, while they also ended up winning a playoff series against Cleveland during 2023. As these teams have always managed to score over 205 points when they meet up outside of the once Knicks loss, this game will once again come down to which offense can be stronger.

Betting Insights & Public Trends

As we see from the public trends, the New York Knicks

New York Knicks vs Cleveland Cavaliers Final Prediction

The New York Knicks enter this game as one of the teams that really found their foundation last week and look to build on it. This is a squad that started of roughly against the Celtics, but picked it up against a contender like the Indiana Pacers leading to their group finding motivation and success immediately. With Karl-Anthony Towns down low, his outside range plus mid-range ability will making it hard for a slower center like Jarrett Allen to keep pace with him. Although Mobley could switch on him, O.G. Annunoby could have a big night given that he is more of a wing player on offense. With Jalen Brunson and Donovan Mitchell being a great matchup up front, a big key will be the loss of Max Strus giving Mikal Bridges an easier time against someone smaller like Darius Garland. Even though the Knicks are missing their two defensive specialist centers, having Josh Hart could replace a lot of that with his aggressive attitude to getting boards and steals from anywhere on the court. But, if the Cavs can completely dominate the paint in this game and Donovan Mitchell keeps knocking down deep shots, this could end up a victory on their side.

Final Prediction: New York Knicks will win this game and cover spread of -2.5 while the total score will go over 223.5 points.