Time to Stop Betting the Knicks Past the Second Quarter

It may be time to stop betting on the New York Knicks altogether, but it is certainly time to stop betting on them after the second quarter. 

The Knicks have blown lead after lead as of late, and they are one of the worst second half and fourth quarter teams in the NBA, making them impossible to trust to cover the spread or even win outright, especially as favorites. 

New York simply cannot be trusted right now, especially with RJ Barrett out of the lineup due to an ankle injury. This problem isn’t just occurring though. The Knicks have been awful in the fourth quarter and second half for the majority of the 2021-22 season, and a lot of that has to do with the lineups Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau has been rolling with. 

Over their last 10 games, the Knicks have the worst net rating in the NBA by far in the fourth quarter of games. They are a shocking minus-29.1 in the fourth quarter, a number that seems fake when you see how far away they are from the next-worst teams. 

Miami has the next-worst offensive rating over this stretch at 100.4, and the Spurs (-20.6 net rating) are the next closest team to the Knicks in terms of fourth quarter woes. 

So why is this happening? Here are just a few reasons for the Knicks’ struggles, and why you should fade them when betting at WynnBET: 

The Knicks Miss Derrick Rose More Than Ever

Ever since Derrick Rose went down with an ankle injury, the Knicks haven’t been able to figure out their closing lineup, as Thibodeau clearly doesn’t trust Kemba Walker down the stretch, leaving Alec Burks as the team’s de-facto point guard. 

Burks has struggled in that role, as he isn’t a true point guard, and the Knicks have suffered all season because of it. 

Over the last 15 games, the Knicks are 29th in assist ratio in the fourth quarter, and they are dead last in effective field goal percentage at 40.6%. 

Thibodeau’s lineups of Burks, Evan Fournier and Julius Randle have led to the Knicks playing a ton of isolation basketball and rarely getting good looks at the rim. Thus, they’ve blown leads because the offense has been completely ineffective. 

While guard Immanuel Quickley seems like a logical fit to spark the Knicks’ offense, he is shooting a dreadful 30.4% from the field and 23.5 % from beyond the arc in February. 

Essentially, the Knicks don’t have a point guard, and their offense becomes stale late in games. The Knicks can’t rely on anyone to get them easy looks, something Rose is so great at, and it has cost them time and time again down the stretch. 

Watching Burks and Randle isolate to take tough fallaway jumpers possession after possession is maddening to watch, but it is the unfortunate game plan that Thibodeau has stuck with and failed to adjust all season long. 

Fading the Knicks After Halftime Is a Great Strategy

The Knicks’ struggles aren’t just a fourth quarter thing, they are a second half issue as well. 

Here’s how New York ranks in some key statistics in the second half over its last 10 contests: 

• Effective Field Goal Percentage: 46.1% (30th)
• True Shooting Percentage: 50.9% (30th)
• Assist Ratio: 15.5 (30th)
• Offensive Rating: 105.2 (27th)
• Defensive Rating: 116.7 (23rd)
• Net Rating: -11.5 (28th)

Downright awful. 

The Knicks just aren’t a good team right now, and they take a major step back from being one of the best against the spread teams in the NBA last season. 

Fading New York in the second half is a great move, whether it is taking the opposing team on the second half moneyline or simply to come back and win the game, the Knicks have found ways to blow just about every lead imaginable over the past month.