The Golden State Warriors are on their way to take on the Knicks this Tuesday night. Both teams look solid coming into the home stretch of the season. With Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, and Steph Curry pulling this team out of the play-in, they've been hot. Not to be outdone, the Knicks continue their dominance as they get closer to locking in the 3rd seat in the East.
Karl-Anthony Towns Questionable
Stephen Curry Probable
Gary Payton II Questionable
Jonathan Kuminga Questionable
This game will be an excellent tester for the Warriors. This group has thrived after landing Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline. However, they haven’t faced anyone at the top of a conference since Milwaukee on February 10th. Since then, they’ve primarily played with teams under 500.
The matchup between these two will be very revealing, showing us how legit this Golden State group is.
The Knicks haven’t been able to knock off the top-end teams themselves, but they’ve been a gatekeeper at the top of the conference. With an elite starting lineup, New York has been tough. The combination of Brunson and Towns has been unstoppable at moments.
The Warriors may struggle tonight. They didn’t do anything to their front court beyond add Butler, leaving them small at the five. That hasn’t mattered as much in the West this year, but against the Knicks, it might be a problem. If Towns ends up playing tonight, which looks likely, and having Mitchell Robinson back, they'll have the size advantage in the post all night.
Green and Butler have done a solid job keeping the paint clear for GS, but this is different. They’ll have two 7-footers who can score at the rim and rebound coming down on them—even the Knicks wings match up well with Golden State, with Bridges and OG to toss at Butler.
Still, the Warriors are no pushovers. Steph just had a 50-point night; this group can turn it on and be a threat to anyone. Especially if the defense between Green and Butler is clicking.
Overall, though, the Knicks are the better team coming into this one. Even after adding Jimmy to the roster, they still need to prove that they're a top tier team again. This is that prove-it game, but the Knicks are still my pick tonight.
Money line: GSW (+154) / NYK (-185)
Total Points: 229
Spread: +4.5 GSW (-112) / -4.5 NYK (-108)
Homecourt might be the key factor in this game. With both of these teams playing well, it’s going to be a close match, but playing in MSG is always a challenge. It’s not like the Warriors shrink under bright lights, but as evenly matched as these teams are, the small things will decide this game.
Golden State has been running up the score a bit recently. Now having a second go-to scorer in Butler has opened the court for the rest of the team. With the Knicks having a decisive paint advantage, they should managed to keep up with the Warriors. Expect to see a solid amount of scoring from both sides tonight.
The Warriors have looked good lately, winning six of their last seven games. Even in their recent losses, they’ve kept it close. On the other side of things, the Knicks have been snagging games by only a few points. With a 4-win against Miami, a 1-point win against Memphis, and a 5-point win against the 76ers. This will likely be a close game at the final horn.
Brunson has been putting in work offensively. Recently putting up 31 and 34 this past week. Going against Golden State might be a challenge, but their backcourt isn't anything terrifying defensively. If Brunson can get his usual trips to the line, and hit some threes, 27 points should be in his wheelhouse.
Towns is still a maybe for tonight's game, but even if he's playing 14 boards seems high. Adding Robinson back to the lineup, and the way Hart has been rebounding, KAT probably won't have enough opportunities to hit this. This looks like a safe take tonight.
Hart has been perfect Swiss Army Knife of a player. He rebounds, he scores, he hustles every play. He's been amazing over the last month and a half almost averaging 10 rebounds a game in February. With the combined line sitting at 24.5, he should be able to hit this easily against GS.
Curry has been feeling it recently. Hitting 12 three a couple nights ago you never know when this guy is going to go off. Looking at the matchup, Curry will likely have to do most of with work on the perimeter. With so many long defenders, his ability to spread the floor will be key for the team. It's a bit of a coin flip on weather he'll hit 5 threes tonight, but he'll likely have the shot volume to make it happen.