The New York Knicks take on the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night in Washington D.C. The game tips off at 7:00 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena.
The Knicks are 13.5-point favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook with the total for this game set at 227.5 points. Let’s get into my preview, prediction and pick for this Wizards vs. Knicks game.
Wizards vs. Knicks prediction, preview
The Knicks are in the midst of one of the best runs they’ve had all season. New York has won six straight games, just one game shy of tying their longest win streak of the season. This run has been all the more surprising because it has immediately followed the worst 15-game stretch of the Knicks’ season, which had fans going into panic mode. Jalen Brunson has been excellent, and in the face of Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby have been great as well. This winning run has the Knicks tied for second place in the Eastern Conference, and this game against Washington is a great chance to extend the winning streak to seven games.
It has been a season to forget for the Wizards. They are in 14th place out of 15 teams in the Eastern Conference. Washington is one of five teams in the NBA with 13 or fewer wins on the season. The shocking part is that three of those 13 wins have come in the Wizards’ past four games. Granted, those wins came against the Trail Blazers, Kings and Bucks without Giannis Antetokounmpo. The Wizards traded away their leading scorer, C.J. McCollum, in exchange for Trae Young. Young will be the face of the franchise moving forward, but he has yet to play a game for Washington due to injury. Until Young can take the court, it will be a struggle for the Wizards to score and pick up wins against competitive teams, as it has been all season.
Wizards vs. Knicks pick, best bet
My best bet for this game is for the Knicks to cover as 13.5-point favorites. New York has been excellent on both ends of the floor recently. After having serious defensive struggles for the first couple of months of the season, they locked teams up in January. The Knicks only allowed 107.2 PPG to opponents in January, the fourth-best mark in the NBA over that stretch. The Wizards are incredibly thin at guard with Trae Young out, and to make matters worse, Tre Johnson will miss this game with an injury as well.
Jalen Brunson should have free rein on the offensive end without needing to worry about being too sharp on the defensive end. The Knicks have shut down bad teams on this winning streak, holding the Nets to 66 points, the Kings to 87 points and the Trail Blazers to 97 points. New York should keep Washington comfortably under 100 points while having success on the offensive end against a Washington team that ranks 29th in defensive rating.
