warriors knicks preview march 4

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Tyler Everett

By Tyler Everett

Sports Betting Editor

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With about five weeks left in the regular season, we've reached the point where at least half the teams in the NBA are in action every night.

The slate on Tuesday, March 4, includes nine games, with two airing on TNT in an intriguing doubleheader.

At 7:30 p.m. ET, the Warriors face the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

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Later, the Clippers and Suns clash at 10 p.m. ET in another pivotal game for Phoenix. The Suns are in danger of not even making the Western Conference Play-In (though Kyrie Irving's torn ACL should give this team a great chance to at least claw its way to a 10th-place finish in the West).

In this piece, though, we're locking in on the best player props and betting picks for Warriors vs. Knicks.

Warriors vs. Knicks Betting Odds

Best Player Prop Bet for Warriors vs. Knicks

Jimmy Butler Assists: 6+ at +104 (FanDuel) -- 1 unit

Butler has been everything Golden State hoped for when it acquired him a few weeks ago. The Warriors have gone 8-1 over the last couple of weeks with Butler in the lineup. They suffered a bad loss to Philly on Saturday in the only game he's missed since joining this team.

At first glance, his assists numbers as a Warrior don't quite jump off the page. He's totaled 49 dimes for his new team, an average of 5.4 per game, and there's good reason to expect him to reach and/or exceed that milestone tonight.

First of all, Golden State has won five of its games with Butler on the roster by at least 18 points. His team nursing big leads late in games has resulted in limited minutes for Butler, who has logged 29 or fewer minutes in three of those blowouts.

However you expect tonight's game to go, it feels safe to bank on this one being competitive for 48 minutes given A) how well GSW is playing lately and B) the Knicks' defensive issues over the last few weeks. In its last 13 games, New York has allowed at least 110 points 12 times.

The high probability of a competitive, high-scoring game makes betting on Butler to get to at least 6 assists a great value play, especially at plus-money. He's reached the 6-assist barrier four times in nine games with his new team. Also encouraging: he's recorded at least four assists in every game of his Warriors tenure.

Warriors vs. Knicks Betting Analysis

The Warriors (8-2 in their last 10 games) have been impressive lately, but several of their big wins have come against weak competition. The 40-20 Knicks boast easily the best record of any team Golden State has faced in recent weeks, making tonight's game a key measuring stick as we inch closer to the playoffs.

New York (7-3 last 10) is also playing well right now, with a record of 4-2 since the All-Star break in mid-February. But the Knicks' two recent losses, to the Cavs on Feb. 21 and the Celtics on Feb. 23, came by 37 and 13 points, respectively.

N.Y. has otherwise been successful despite its defensive issues, but Karl-Anthony Towns, Jalen Brunson and the rest of this squad will need to level up defensively in April and/or May for the Knicks to make a playoff run.

Golden State has scored 119 points or more in six straight games, and it has not only won, but won big, on "quiet" nights (below his season scoring average) by Stephen Curry three times in the last 10 games, including:

Warriors vs. Knicks Prediction, Best Bets

We're hardly going out on a limb by predicting a high-scoring, entertaining matchup this evening. The Knicks have been an oustanding offensive team all year, as evidenced by their scoring average (117.6 ppg, fifth-most in the NBA) and offensive rating (119.9, No. 3 leaguewide).

On the year, the Warriors are just 15th in both scoring average and offensive rating. But in four of their last five games with Butler on the court, (excluding Saturday's loss to the 76ers), Golden State has posted an offensive rating of 126 or higher.

Warriors vs. Knicks Best Bets (Spread, Total)

Both the box-score and advanced numbers suggest a shootout tonight, leading us to bets on the over and the Warriors to cover as 4.5-point dogs. The Knicks' last five wins all came in contests decided by five points or fewer, including three that went to overtime.

Last but not least, let's go with Golden State to go over its team total.

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