Once Upon A Time in America Betting Show

This Saturday, the (18-18) New York Knicks will travel to Houston, TX to take on the (10-25) Houston Rockets. Tipoff will be at 7:00 PM EST inside the Toyota Center (Houston). This will be the first time that these two teams have matched up this regular season, as I am expecting a battle in this one!

The Knicks are coming into this one after falling to the San Antonio Spurs, 122-115. They struggled on both ends of the court, as they will have to be more efficient in this one if they want to challenge the Rockets on the road.

The Rockets are entering this game after losing to the Dallas Mavericks, 129-114. They struggled on the defensive end of the court, as they couldn’t make enough stops to stay competitive in that game. They will have to heat up in this one if they want to take down the Knicks at home.

Are the Knicks Legit?
The New York Knicks are currently in eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings, as they trail the first-place Celtics by eight games. They have also lost five games in a row, as they will have to heat up if they want to break this losing streak. On offense, they are scoring 114.6 points per game and they have shot 45.8% from the floor. This is the 13th most points scored per contest and the 25th-highest team shooting percentage. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Knicks have an adjusted offensive rating of 114.6, which is the 10th-highest rating in the NBA. Julius Randle continues to lead the way on the offensive end of the court, as he is scoring 23.8 points per game on 47% shooting from the field. New York has also shown that they struggle to consistently knock down shots from behind the arc. They are shooting 33.9% from deep, which is the 25th-highest three-point shooting percentage. The Knicks have also shot 78.4% from the charity stripe, as this is the 16th-highest free-throw shooting percentage in the league.

On the defensive end of the court, the Knicks have continued to hold their own. They are currently surrendering 112.7 points per game and their opponents have shot 45.5% from the floor. This is the 14th least amount of points given up per contest and the fifth-lowest shooting percentage allowed. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Knicks have an adjusted defensive rating of 112.9, which is the 13th lowest rating in the NBA. They have also shown that they will consistently contest shots in the paint and on the perimeter. They have only allowed their opponents to shoot 34.3% from deep, which is the fifth-lowest three-point shooting percentage allowed in the league. New York has also grabbed 47.2 rebounds per game, which is the third most. They will have to crash the defensive glass if they want to keep the Rockets from scoring second-chance points.

Injury Report: Jalen Brunso PG () is questionable. RJ Barret SG (Finger) and Obi Toppin PF (Knee) are out.

Can the Rockets Bounce Back?
The Houston Rockets are currently in last place in the Western Conference standings, as they are 12.5 games back from the first-place New Orleans Pelicans. On offense, they are scoring 110 points per game and they have shot 44.5% from the floor. This is the 27th most points scored per contest and the 21st-highest team shooting percentage. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Rockets have an adjusted offensive rating of 110.2, which is the 27th-highest rating in the NBA. Jalen Green continues to lead the way on the offensive end of the court, as he is scoring 21.6 points per game on 41.9% shooting from the floor. Houston has also shown that they struggle to consistently knock down shots from behind the arc. They have only shot 33.2% from deep, which is the third-lowest three-point shooting percentage. The Houston Rockets have also struggled at the charity stripe. They are shooting 77.3% from the line, which is the 22nd-highest three-point shooting percentage in the NBA. They can’t continue to miss out on these free points and still expect to stay competitive in these games.

On the defensive end of the court, the Rockets have struggled to keep teams off the scoreboard. They are surrendering 116.1 points per game and they have allowed their opponents to shoot 47.6% from the floor. This is the 22nd most points given up per contest and the 21st-highest shooting percentage allowed. According to dunksandthrees.com, the Rockets have an adjusted defensive rating of 115.9, which is the third-highest rating in the NBA. Houston has also shown that they struggle to consistently contest shots near the rim and on the outside. Their opponents have shot 36.6% from behind the arc, which is the 23rd-highest three-point shooting percentage allowed in the league. The Rockets have grabbed 46.9 rebounds per game as well. This is the fourth most, as they will have to control the boards if they want to challenge the Knicks at home.

Injury Report: Jae’Sean Tate SF (Ankle) is out.