Knicks vs Lakers Picks and Predictions: New York's Road Trip Starts Strong Under LA Lights

The Los Angeles Lakers have been losing the war of attrition all season long and suffered another loss on the NBA betting front Thursday, as they dropped the battle of L.A. to the Clips. 

That battleground will be the theater of another fight Saturday, as the New York Knicks start a road trip on the West Coast against their fellow marquee team. New York's five-game road trip out west will see some tough nights, no doubt, but our NBA picks and predictions expect a bright start for the Knicks tonight.

(Editor's Note: These picks were made prior to Saturday night's news that Lebron James would return to the lineup for Knicks-Lakers.)

Knicks vs Lakers odds

This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.

The Lakers opened as 1.5-point favorites on Friday night and action on L.A. saw that grow to -2.5 by Saturday morning. The total opened between 214.5 and 214 and has since been bet down to 213 or 212.5, depending on the book.

Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until tip-off and be sure to check out the full NBA odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.

Knicks vs Lakers predictions

• Prediction: Knicks +2.5 (-110)
• Prediction: Under 213 (-110)
• Best bet: Davis Over 36.5 points + rebounds (-110)

Predictions made on 2/5/2022 at 10:00 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.

Knicks vs Lakers game info

• Location: Crypto.com Arena, Los Angeles, CA
• Date: Saturday, February 5, 2022
• Tip-off: 8:30 p.m. ET
• TV: ABC

Knicks vs Lakers betting preview

Key injuries

Knicks: Derrick Rose PG (Out).
Lakers: LeBron James PF (Out), Carmelo Anthony SF (Questionable), Kendrick Nunn PG (Out).
Find our latest NBA injury reports.

Betting trend to know

The Knicks are 5-1 in their last six games following a loss ATS. Find more NBA betting trends for Knicks vs. Lakers.

Knicks vs Lakers picks and predictions

Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.

Spread analysis

Much was made about the Lakers' misguided acquisition of Russell Westbrook over the offseason but it's been his costars at the center of L.A.'s struggles this season. That, however, is the case not due to poor play from LeBron James or Anthony Davis (though Davis wasn't without struggles early) but rather an inability to have that pair share the floor. After Davis missed over a month through December and January, he returned only for James to then be ruled out indefinitely after just one game together. 

The vague terms James' most recent injury has come with means this, with Westbrook and Davis leading the way, is the Lakers' reality for the foreseeable future. It isn't a great situation, either. In the five games since Davis returned and James went down, L.A. is 20th in net rating, sitting in the second half of the league in both offensive and defensive rating.

Shooting has been an issue for these Lakers all year but it has cratered as of late, with L.A. 25th in effective field goal and 27th in true shooting percentage over its last five, while it was 12th in eFG% and 15th in TS% up to that date. Put simply, everything about L.A.'s offense has just been hard this year but it's gotten worse since James went down, as the Lakers' assist rate has sunk down to 25th from 19th. 

While things have gone from bad to worse for the Lakers recently, New York's pretty much continued down its path of mediocrity. While the Knicks are just 1.5 games back of the play-in, the only real bright spot has been the recent emergence of Quentin Grimes, who's proving to be a tough-as-nails defender who will no doubt spend some time pestering Westbrook on Saturday.

Yet, despite so few reasons for optimism, New York should be able to hang tough in Los Angeles. It has a superior net rating, adjusted for opponent, as well as boasting better adjusted rating on each individual side of the ball.

A LeBron-less Lakers team came up short against the Knicks in the first meeting, losing 106-100. That was despite getting a genuinely positive performance from Westbrook, who posted a 31-point, 13-rebound, 10-assist triple-double (albeit with six turnovers) and finished with a +/- of 0 in the six-point loss.

Those sort of positive impact games from Westbrook are few and far between, and without James, L.A. is too undermanned to cover this spread.

Prediction: Knicks +2.5 (-110)

Over/Under analysis

With two teams in the Bottom 7 in the NBA in adjusted offensive rating here, it's not a big surprise to see a low total of 213 for tonight. That's a touch higher than New York's per game average of 209.1 and lower than L.A.'s of 222.9.

In the Lakers' five recent games without James, there have been a few high-scoring outputs and a couple of duds, twice finishing below 100 points. The possessions will always be high, as they lead the NBA in pace, which is entirely typical of Westbrook's team. 

The Knicks are the other side of the coin, as the halfcourt-heavy offense of Tom Thibodeau has New York sitting 30th in pace. That methodical approach will no doubt be emphasized in this matchup, with the Knicks bleeding out the clock on the offensive end.

On defense, pressure on the ball — especially on Westbrook, hence Grimes' importance here — will be crucial, with Westbrook far more likely to turn the ball over, take a bad shot, or speed into the big in New York's drop coverage in the halfcourt as opposed to in transition. 

Ultimately this pick is about doubling down on the belief in New York tonight. If it's going to keep things close and cover the spread, then it will have successfully made this game ugly, methodical, and low-scoring. These two played to a 206-point total in the first meeting, going under the 214.5 total, and will again go Under the total tonight.  

Prediction: Under 213 (-110)

Best bet

In the four games Davis has played without James since returning from injury, the power forward is doing everything he can to lift the Lakers up, at least statistically. Davis is averaging 29.5 points on 55% shooting, adding 12.3 boards, and 2.5 blocks to go along with it. As AD has shown throughout his career, particularly in New Orleans, as the number one option he can absolutely fill up the box score independent of team success. 

We should count on that continuing Saturday night against the Knicks, with Davis fully capable of exploiting New York's drop coverage, both at the rim and in the midrange. On the glass, New York is without anyone to adequately deal with Davis' length and could be hesitant to put its best rebounder, Julius Randle, on Davis for fear of getting him into foul trouble after finishing with five fouls in the first meeting. 

There's a whole lot of uncertainty around both the Lakers and Knicks, but Davis putting up big numbers is something we can count on tonight. 

Pick: Anthony Davis Over 36.5 points + rebounds (-110)

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