Boston At New York
When: 7:30 PM ET, Sunday, March 31, 2013
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Comcast SportsNet New England (Boston), MSG (New York)
PREDICTION: Knicks 111, Celtics 102

Oddsmakers currently have the Knicks listed as 6½-point favorites versus the Celtics, while the game’s total is sitting at 193½.

Veteran Paul Pierce and forward Jeff Green have excelled during Boston’s back-to-back wins. Pierce posted a triple-double with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in Friday’s victory over Atlanta, two days after falling two assists shy of a triple-double. Green had 27 points against the Hawks and is averaging 24 points over the past two games. Green has reached double digits in 10 straight games. Shavlik Randolph gave Boston 22 solid minutes in the post against Atlanta with nine points and tying his career high with 13 rebounds in just his seventh outing of the season.

Boston won its last outing, a 118-107 result against the Hawks on March 29. The Celtics covered in that game as a 2.5-point favorite, while the 225 combined points took the game OVER the total.

Team record: 38-34 SU, 34-35-3 ATS
Current streak: won 2 straight games.

The total has gone OVER in 4 of last 5 games when playing on the road against New York
is 13-4 SU in its last 17 games when playing on the road against New York
is 19-6 SU in its last 25 games when playing New York
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of last 7 games on the road

When playing on Sunday are 5-5
Before playing Minnesota are 6-4
After playing Atlanta are 8-2
After a win are 6-4

Smith has put together three consecutive 30-point outings, marking the first time a reserve has done that since Milwaukee’s Ricky Pierce did so during the 1989-90 campaign. Smith’s streak began with a 32-point outing against the Celtics and he followed up with 35 points against Memphis and a season-best 37 against the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday. “Last run I was on like this was in high school and that was too easy,” Smith said after the contest against Charlotte. He is averaging 34.7 points and shooting 58.3 percent from the field during the streak.

The Knicks were a 111-102 winner in their most recent outing at home against the Bobcats. They failed to cover the 14-point spread as favorites, while the total score (213) made winners of OVER bettors.

Team record: 45-26 SU, 37-33-1 ATS
Current streak: won 7 straight games.

is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 5 of last 6 games

When playing on Sunday are 4-6
Before playing Miami are 6-4
After playing Charlotte are 6-4
After a win are 7-3

The post Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks Free Betting Pick & Matchup appeared first on IdealCapper.

Irving made it through a full practice on Sunday and took part in the Cavs’ morning shootaround Monday. Barring any setbacks, Cavs coach Byron Scott said Irving will start against the Knicks. The Cavs rested Irving all last week, holding him out of games against Chicago, Toronto and the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Cavs listed Irving as “probable” for the game with the Knicks, who were beaten at home on Sunday by the streaking Miami Heat, winners of 14 straight. Cleveland also listed rookie guard Dion Waiters and center Tyler Zeller as “questionable” because of illness.

The Cavs went 2-1 last week without Irving, who has missed 14 games in his second NBA season because of injuries. He banged knees in practice last month with teammate Omri Casspi and played in two road games despite soreness before the team sat him out. Irving missed 11 games with a broken index finger.

The NBA’s Rookie of the Year in 2012, Irving is averaging 23.3 points, 5.6 assists and 3.6 rebounds.

He scored a career-high 41 points on Dec. 15 in a loss to the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Irving played that game wearing a protective mask over a broken jaw.

The Knicks have lost 10 consecutive games in Cleveland.

The post Kyrie Irving back; missed 3 games appeared first on IdealCapper.

NBA commissioner David Stern fielded numerous questions Saturday but provided little news about the future of the Sacramento Kings during his last All-Star weekend news conference. A Seattle group has reached an agreement to buy the team from the Maloof family with the goal of moving it to the Northwest, and Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson is trying to keep the Kings in California’s capital.

Stern said owners will continue to discuss the plans and will hear from Johnson with the goal of deciding at their April board meeting. Without saying how, Stern said Sacramento has a chance of beating out what he has said is a strong bid from the Seattle group.

“Oh, certainly it’s plausible to me, but I don’t have a vote,” Stern said. “But I expect the owners to have a very open mind on this. And it isn’t plausible yet to talk about it until the predicates have been fulfilled.”

Stern plans to retire on Feb. 1, 2014, on what would be the 30th anniversary of his appointment to the job. The 2014 game is going to New Orleans, and deputy commissioner Adam Silver said the 2015 event is likely headed to either the Knicks’ Madison Square Garden or the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Silver didn’t say when a decision would be made. The New York bids are not the only ones the league is considering.

Sacramento may be out of the NBA business by then. A Seattle group led by Chris Hansen and Steve Ballmer has reached an agreement with the Maloof family to buy 65 percent of the franchise, which is valued at $525 million, and move the team to Seattle and restore the SuperSonics name. The deal will cost the Hansen group a little more than $340 million.

Johnson has asked for and been granted a chance to deliver a competing offer, which is expected by March 1, and to address the board. And he insists his city has a “competitive advantage” because the NBA previously approved Sacramento’s financing plans for a new arena last year when it thought it had brokered a deal between the Maloofs and the city that the owners later pulled out of.

“We’re going to deliver a brand new arena downtown. At the end of the day, that’s a key variable and I think it gives us a competitive advantage,” Johnson said in a separate news conference. “We have a deal that was approved by the NBA already, where the city has a significant public investment that we’re willing to put forward, to build a brand new arena. That’s a key reason why unfortunately a team left Seattle and why teams do leave, is you can’t get arena deals done.”

Stern was asked if the decision will come down strictly to the arena deal.

“This is strictly about what the owners decide,” he said. “There’s a great and strong application from a terrific city to bring in a third and possibly a fourth team in a brand-new building, well-financed ownership group, without the ability yet to build, because there are several things that have to be overcome. But that’s really good. So if you’re a commissioner, you like that.”

Johnson came to Houston in hopes of gaining support for Sacramento, though he and Stern have not met and there are no plans for a meeting. His fight for the Kings contrasts somewhat with the response Stern got from Washington politicians before the SuperSonics eventually moved to Oklahoma City. Stern recalled that the Seahawks and Mariners got public funding for new stadiums that wasn’t available for the Sonics.

Stern said it “saddened” him to depart because Seattle was a great city, but that “history was being rewritten” about the way the NBA left it.

With reporters from both cities jamming the room where his news conference was held, and occasionally appearing bored by their repeated questions, Stern added he couldn’t see any scenario in which both Seattle and Sacramento would be happy. He and Silver both doubt expansion is something that would be considered soon.

He said the committees that will decide in April have a difficult choice.

The post David Stern discusses Kings’ future appeared first on IdealCapper.

The Knicks were in Minnesota to play the Timberwolves on Friday night. They initially planned to fly home after the game, but coach Mike Woodson said that flight was postponed. The team opted to stay in Minnesota overnight and to fly to New York on Saturday.

The Knicks are scheduled to play the Los Angeles Clippers at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

Woodson said on Friday the team planned to get up on Saturday morning and go over scouting for the Clippers at the hotel before trying to leave for New York.

The Clippers stayed in Miami overnight after their game Friday night against the Heat. They are expected to fly into New York on Saturday afternoon.

Forecasters are estimating 1-to-3 feet of snow will hit the Northeast this weekend.

The post Blizzard delays Knicks in Minnesota appeared first on IdealCapper.

The NBA announced the suspension on Wednesday. Anthony will serve the suspension on Thursday when the Knicks take on the Indiana Pacers.

“There are no circumstances in which it is acceptable for a player to confront an opponent after a game,” NBA executive vice president basketball operations Stu Jackson said in a statement. “Carmelo Anthony attempted to engage with Kevin Garnett multiple times after Monday’s game and therefore a suspension was warranted.”

Anthony said before the suspension was announced that he did not believe he deserved to be disciplined.

“If you just go off the actual facts of what happened, I don’t think anything will happen,” Anthony said.

After he and Garnett were called for technical fouls for jawing at one another in the closing minutes of Monday’s game, Anthony approached Garnett at the Celtics’ team bus. Madison Square Garden security, New York City Police officers, team security and even Knicks coach Mike Woodson intervened before the incident could escalate.

Anthony said Tuesday that his “motivation” in finding Garnett after the game was to have a “one-on-one conversation” with him after the Boston big man spewed a verbal insult at Anthony.

“It’s certain things that you just don’t say to men, another man,” Anthony said Tuesday. “I felt that he crossed the line. Like I said, we’re both at an understanding right now; we handled it the way we handled it. Nobody needs to know what was said behind closed doors. So that situation is handled.”

Anthony’s teammate, Tyson Chandler, was on the floor at the time and agreed that Garnett crossed the line.

“I think it was a little too much, in all honesty,” Chandler said Wednesday in an appearance on “The Michael Kay Show” on ESPN New York 98.7 FM. “I felt like Melo wanted to have a conversation man to man (with Garnett), and I respect that.”

According to a source close to Anthony, he and Garnett had a phone conversation after the confrontation to clear the air.

The Knicks’ star said Wednesday that he was ready to move on from the incident.

“That’s over with, don’t even want to go back to that,” Anthony said after practice. “Whatever happened between me and Kevin, that’s done. That’s settled. It’s done and over with. We move on, got Indiana (on Thursday). No disrespect, but I don’t wanna keep talking about the same thing and beating a dead horse.”

Anthony is averaging 29.0 points and 6.1 rebounds per game and is converting 42.8 percent of his 3-point attempts in one of his finest seasons as a pro.

It’s unclear at this point who will start in place of Anthony against the Pacers, who have won eight of 10.

The post Carmelo Anthony suspended 1 game appeared first on IdealCapper.

Neither Woodson nor Stoudemire termed the latest development a “setback” in Stoudemire’s attempt to return from Oct. 31 left knee surgery.

“He was probably a little sore and that’s probably the reason for (limiting his minutes). So I’ve got to be open-minded to that and do what’s asked. That’s the right thing to do,” Woodson said after practice Wednesday.

The coach added that he “shouldn’t have” played Stoudemire 28 minutes in the Knicks’ 102-96 loss to the Celtics. That was a season-high for Stoudemire, who has played four games since coming back from the debridement procedure.

Stoudemire admitted that he felt “a little bit sore” after the Boston game but, like Woodson, downplayed the notion that he has suffered a setback.

“I feel great,” said Stoudemire, who’s averaging 10 points and 2.3 rebounds in 20 minutes through four games. “I just think we’re taking a precautionary route. Just making sure that everything [continues] to improve. I think that’s about it, really. No setbacks, no re-injury, anything like that. I feel great.”

Stoudemire played between 17 and 21 minutes in his first three games and logged 28 against Boston, when he was on the floor for most of the fourth quarter.

Woodson said Stoudemire would play between 20 and 23 minutes Thursday at Indiana. He will come off the bench for the Knicks (23-11), just as he’s done in the previous four games. Stoudemire’s status for Friday’s game against Chicago is uncertain because it’s the second game of a back-to-back.

“This is a long haul, guys. I’m not going to sit here and jeopardize STAT’s situation,” Woodson said. “I feel good about what we have with [Marcus] Camby and Kurt [Thomas] and if doctors are saying that we have to limit him, then that’s what we have to do.”

Any issue regarding Stoudemire’s knee is treated with caution because he has a history of knee ailments. He had microfracture surgery on his left knee in 2005. He recovered well from that procedure, but the knee is still considered vulnerable. He also has had a procedure on his right knee.

Most teams were scared off by Stoudemire’s history of knee ailments during summer 2010, when he was a free agent. The Knicks signed the former Phoenix Suns player to a five-year, $100 million contract, but the deal was uninsured because of the condition of Stoudemire’s knees.

The post Fewer minutes for Amar’e Thursday appeared first on IdealCapper.