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The Daily Sweat: Knicks look for 8th straight win, cover on Tuesday against Warriors

Pete Truszkowski
·6 min read
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Entering the NBA season, nobody had championship hopes for the New York Knicks. In fact, they still don't. However, the bar in New York isn't set that high. They've made the playoffs just once since 2013, losing in five games in the first round to the Atlanta Hawks during the 2021 playoffs. Knicks fans just want respectable basketball and for their team to be competitive.

Over the last few weeks, they've gotten just that. Early on, it looked like the Knicks were en route to another disappointing season, but they've rattled off seven straight victories. If the season ended today, they'd be the No. 6 seed, bypassing the play-in tournament. Most importantly for bettors, the Knicks have covered the spread in all seven games of their current winning streak.

Julius Randle has averaged 26.7-points per game over the seven game winning streak. Jalen Brunson has two 30-point performances in his last three games. The Knicks' best players have been the catalysts for the winning streak.

On Tuesday, the Knicks get a team without their best player. New York will play host to Golden State, who are without Steph Curry as well as Andrew Wiggins. Curry will miss his third straight game after suffering a shoulder injury. The Warriors have split their two games without Curry, losing to Philadelphia while beating Toronto. The Knicks are 4.5-point favorites at Madison Square Garden.

The Knicks will try to keep the good times rolling and extend their winning streak to eight games. Their fans are certainly enjoying the ride. They haven't had much success to celebrate in the last decade.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 7: Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks reacts against the Atlanta Hawks during the second half at Madison Square Garden on December 7, 2022 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Adam Hunger/Getty Images)
Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks have won seven straight games. (Adam Hunger/Getty Images)

What else is on the NBA schedule?

The Knicks-Warriors game is one of just five games on Tuesday's NBA schedule.

The best game of the night is in Denver, where the two top teams in the Western Conference meet. The Memphis Grizzlies are 1.5-point road favorites against the Nuggets. Michael Porter Jr. will be out for Denver while the Grizzlies remain without Desmond Bane. Nikola Jokic will look to repeat one of the most ridiculous stat lines you will ever see, as he had 40 points, 27 rebounds and 10 assists on Sunday against Charlotte.

Elsewhere, the Jazz are 2.5-point road favorites against the Pistons, the Heat are 5.5-point home favorites over the Bulls and the Suns are laying 7.5 points at home against the Wizards.

Bowl season marches on

We haven't reached the marquee bowl games yet, but nobody will turn down some football to bet on.

The afternoon game is the Idaho Potato Bowl featuring San Jose State and Eastern Michigan. San Jose State is a 4-point favorite. The Spartans finished the season by failing to cover in seven consecutive games. Eastern Michigan covered four of their final five games and head coach Chris Creighton is 3-1 against the spread in bowl games.

In the night cap, Toledo is a 3.5-point favorite over Liberty in the Boca Raton Bowl. Toledo's head coach Jason Candle is just 1-4 against the spread in bowl games while Liberty will be coached by interim coach Josh Aldridge as Hugh Freeze has departed for Auburn.

Some solid college basketball games

With the calendar about to flip to 2023, the college basketball season is ramping up. We have some solid games on Tuesday's schedule.

Providence is a 1.5-point home favorite against No. 24 Marquette in Big East play. In the ACC, Virginia is a 2.5-point road favorite against Miami. Additionally, Syracuse is a 3.5-point home favorite against Pittsburgh and Duke is favored by 7.5-points against Wake Forest. In non-conference play, Florida is a 3.5-point favorite over Oklahoma on a neutral court in the Jumpman Invitational.

Rangers-Penguins highlights NHL slate

The New York Rangers got off to a slow start this season coming off an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals last season. However, it's safe to say they've found their game. The Rangers have won seven games in a row. Despite that, they're an underdog on Tuesday night as they visit Pittsburgh. The Penguins are -140 favorites. The Penguins are coming off a loss to the Carolina Panthers, but before that, they had a seven game winning streak of their own. These are two of the hotter teams in hockey and it should be a great game between two Metropolitan Division rivals.

Elsewhere in the Metropolitan division, it's a tale of two teams trending in different directions. The New Jersey Devils shocked the hockey world by getting off to an incredible start, but they've lost five straight and have allowed the teams behind them to get within striking distance. One of those teams is the Hurricanes, who have won five games in a row. Carolina is a -130 home favorite over the Devils. The winner of this one will have sole possession of first place in the division, a role the Devils have held for nearly the entire season.

The marquee matchups don't stop there. Up north, the Toronto Maple Leafs are -135 home favorites over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Obviously, it's a rematch of the playoff series from last year where the Lightning eliminated the Leafs in seven games. Tampa Bay has won five straight games.

First look at Week 16

Week 15 wrapped up on Monday night with the Green Bay Packers covering the spread as a touchdown home favorite against the Los Angeles Rams. It was a rough final quarter for over bettors as the teams somehow went scoreless despite numerous scoring opportunities.

Week 16 gets underway on Thursday as the NFL takes over Christmas weekend. We've already seen an injury to Jalen Hurts make a big impact on the betting market. Let's take a look at the early betting lines at BetMGM for all 16 games this weekend.