The Knicks are Done – New Orleans at New York

BetOnline NBA Basketball Odds: NEW ORLEANS -5, Total 207

Here are some of the NBA basketball betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

* NO has covered two of its last six games

* NO has won 12 of its last 16 games SU

* NO has played its last seven games UNDER the total

* NO has covered four of its last 13 road games

* NO has won five of its last seven road games SU

* NY has covered six of its last nine games

* NY has lost its last six games SU

* NY has played six of its last seven games UNDER the total

* NY has covered one of its last five home games

* NY has lost its last five home games SU

* NY has played 11 of its last 15 home games OVER the total

Also…

* NO has covered six of the last eight meetings

* NO has won seven of the last eight meetings SU

* NO has won and covered four of the last five meetings as the road team

* NY has won 13 of the last 19 meetings SU as the home team

* Five of the last six meetings in New York have gone UNDER the total

* NO has made more three-pointers in four of the last five meetings

The story with the Knicks is this: they have fallen 15 games under the .500 mark after six straight losses. They’re also six games out of the eighth playoff spot in the East, so the season is pretty much over for Mike D’Antoni’s team. They have basically shut down rookie Danilo Gallinari, who was having back problems. There was a low point on Wednesday night; after scoring 44 points in the first quarter, they blew a 19-point lead en route to dropping a 140-135 overtime decision. Zach Randolph, who was dealt by New York earlier in the season, had 33 points, and rookie Mike Taylor, who has come out of nowhere, had 35. The Clippers shot 58% and scored its first road win after nine straight defeats. Do you sense a bit of a pattern there? Didn’t Sacramento come into the Garden a week ago riding a 28-game losing streak against Eastern Conference teams and come out with a 121-94 victory in which they shot a season-high 55%?

The Hornets have a little revenge on their minds, as the Knicks came into the New Orleans Arena on January 12 and came away with a 101-95 win. New York got 24 points out of David Lee in that one, and Al Harrington had 20 off the bench. The Hornets were healthy, but got awful shooting (38%) and just 11 points from its reserves. Chris Paul scored 23, and David West added 25. Both Paul and Tyson Chandler had double digits in rebounds.

We know the Knicks can’t defend; they are next to last in the NBA, giving up 48.2% field goals. Meanwhile, the Hornets are impressing coach Byron Scott with the way they are stopping people. "I think if you look since the All-Star break when we got back into it," he said. "I think our defense has been fantastic." New Orleans is in an intense situation right now, as the Hornets are tied for the fifth spot in the West, a half a game in front of Utah and one game behind Denver. They are 2.5 games in back of Southwest Division leader San Antonio, who they play in a couple of days. I wouldn’t bank on them being in "look-ahead" mode, and I wouldn’t count on injuries to Tyson Chandler or Peja Stojakovic to give the Knicks a much better chance. We’ll lay the points with New Orleans, the five-point favorite in the BetOnline NBA pro basketball sports betting odds.

JAY’S PLAY: NEW ORLEANS -5 **

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)