The Knicks are on the brink of disaster as they head back to Madison Square Garden, licking their wounds as they prepare for an elimination scenario in Game 5.
The disaster starts with the lack of rotational depth for the Knicks, which we’ve talked about ad nauseam ahead of this series, and ends with sporadic play from Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Tom Thibodeau’s group has really struggled this series after blowing a 17-point lead in the final minutes of the fourth quarter in Game 1.
The Knicks have been against the wall since that moment, even trailing by 20 points in the third quarter of Game 3 with a 3-0 series deficit staring them in the face.
Thanks to some rotation changes and defensive prowess, the Knicks staved off the insurmountable deficit by rallying for a 106-100 win.
But just because they won Game 3 doesn’t give me confidence that they can win at Madison Square Garden on Thursday in a potential elimination game.
Since blowing that 17-point lead in Game 1, the Knicks have been outscored by 28 points in this series.
Not a whole lot has gone right for the Knicks, but the betting public is not respecting oddsmakers’ optimism about a turnaround at MSG.
New York opened Game 5 as 5.5-point favorites at BetMGM and that number has cratered down to 4.5, with the moneyline opening at +185 odds and dropping to +160.
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They may be favored, but it’s hard to deny that the Knicks have not looked or played like the better team here.
Bettors of this column should have a bet sitting in the pending spot in their account that features the Pacers wining Game 1 and the series +240, and I suspect that bet will cash Thursday.
The Knicks lost both games at home earlier this series, and they should not be moderate-sized favorites in Game 5 here either.
The Pacers are 6-1 on the road in these playoffs, as their style of play translates very well away from Indiana.
Meanwhile, the Knicks are a terrible 3-5 at home in the playoffs.
We’ve seen this song and dance before. It’s been a good season, but the Knicks have some retooling to do this offseason.
PICK: Pacers +4.5 (+102, ESPN BET) | Pacers moneyline (+160, DraftKings)
Erich Richter is a brazilian jiu-jitsu blue belt but he has a black belt in MMA betting. During the football season he’s showcased massive profits at The Post in the player prop market the last two seasons. While constantly betting long shots, his return on investment is 30.15 percent since 2022.