New York Knicks vs. Washington Wizards: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 2/24/2023

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Venue: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC

Where to watch: MSG, NBCSWA

DraftKings: Wizards -2

FanDuel: Wizards -1.5

BetMGM: NL

Caesars: Wizards -2

Knicks: 33-27

Wizards: 28-30

The All-Star break is over in the NBA and it's time to get on the horse and finish up the final home stretch of the season. Big trades, uncertainty, and absolute hilarity across the board all gearing up for the final home stretch of this season. You know who is also gearing up for the home stretch? Our champion handicappers at bigal.com who are ready to win their way all the way to the playoffs. There's a lot going on that we can't wait for in these final 23-25 games and you're going to need every bit of hardcore analysis you can get from this group. Just in the last 30 days we've had some big winners. Doc's Sports has posted a 16-6-0 record in the last month (+$9,200). AAA Sports has killed it at 17-8-0, and then Al McMordie with a dominant 20-11-1 mark over the last 30 days. Everything you need to know and more about what's going on this league and sports in general will be a fun finish to the end. All you have to do is go to bigal.com and find our Best Bets page and put forth something that only you think is good. Here's a hint: Go to the bigal.com website and happy betting!

Knicks - Wizards preview, prediction and analysis

Knicks: won 122-101 at Hawks

Wizards: won 114-106 at Timberwolves

The New York Knicks are going to try for their fourth straight win against the Washington Wizards in Capital One Arena on Friday when the teams resume play coming out of the All-Star break. And to say that there’s not internal pressure on the Knicks to play well in the second half would be an understatement.

 

The Knicks went into the break strong with three straight wins and five out of six, with the lone loss coming against Philadelphia at Wells Fargo Center. After that, they got wins at home against Utah and Brooklyn, and capped it with a 122-101 win at Atlanta.

 

The same theme in leading the way was Jalen Brunson. The star guard was the leading scorer in four of five games, which included a 38-point and 40-point outing, and then finished it off with 28 points against the Hawks in the victory. Julius Randle had 25 points and 11 rebounds, and RJ Barrett had 17 points to go with five rebounds.

 

“Whenever I step on the court, I try to be the best player I can be,” Brunson said. “There's always ways I can improve, no matter what's going on, whether I'm playing good or bad."

 

This is a huge stretch for the Knicks, who come out of the break sixth in the Eastern Conference and a game ahead of the Miami Heat. There’s still room for the Knicks to climb up the standings, with the Nets two games ahead. But with the uncertainty facing the Nets going into a post-break world without Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, it’ll be interesting to see how far up they can go.

 

The Wizards are also in a weird spot, but went into the break winners of four of five and capped off a strong road trip with wins over Portland and Minnesota. The Wizards beat the Timberwolves 114-106 thanks to a game-high 35 points from Bradley Beal. His star performance helped offset rough shooting nights from Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis, who combined for just 30 points.

 

All together, the Wizards had six players in double figures, including Corey Kispert with 15 points in 32 minutes.

 

“Probably this is the best game for me this season so far, because of how we showed our heart, we stayed in the game, we kept playing,” said Porzingis, who had 14 points. “Some guys were already like checked out a little bit. We locked back in and we pulled it out of somewhere.”

 

The Wizards are ninth in the East and just a half game behind the Atlanta Hawks for eighth. Again, with the Nets’ uncertainty, this is a good chance for the Wizards to move up, too. Whether or not they can actually gain ground out of the play-in area will solely focus on whether or not they can get consistent play from the other two in their big three. We know Beal is going to deliver. It’s going to come down to team defense and locking down like this going forward.

 

“We’re still learning each other, but now we feel like we can take off running,” Beal said.

 

I’m not sure how the Knicks will handle the size of the Wizards and I wonder if this is the sign of Washington has found a groove here. Something to watch for in the second half. Wizards 120, Knicks 113

Knicks are 50-29 ATS in the second half of the season the last 3 seasons.

Knicks are 18-10 ATS on the road this season.

Wizards are 16-8 ATS after a non-conference game this season.

Wizards are 16-15 ATS after a road game this season.

PG: Jalen Brunson

SG: Quentin Grimes

SF: RJ Barrett

PF: Julius Randle

C: Isaiah Hartenstein

PG: Monte Morris

SG: Bradley Beal

SF: Kyle Kuzma

PF: Kristaps Porzingis

C: Daniel Gafford

Knicks: Mitchell Robinson (thumb, out)

Wizards: None

Points: Julius Randle -- 24.8

Rebounds: Julius Randle -- 10.8

Assists: Jalen Brunson -- 6.2

Points: Bradley Beal -- 23.1

Rebounds: Kristaps Porzingis -- 8.6

Assists: Monte Morris -- 5.3