Knicks vs. Spurs prediction: NBA Finals Game 3 odds, pick, best bet
There’s a strong chance Mike Breen’s popular call, “it’s bedlam at The Garden,” will be uttered at one point or another during Game 3 of the NBA Finals.It might even happen for the tip-off.The anticipation for the first Finals game at Madison Square Garden since 1999 is palpable, especially with the Knicks up 2-0 over the Spurs in the series.Unlike Game 5 of the Finals nearly 27 years ago, when the Knicks were eventually eliminated, the orange and blue are not the anxious team in the matchup, though they are, in their own words, a desperate team.So too are the thousands of fans who will be in attendance who have waited decades to see the Knicks playing in the Finals on their home court.The Knicks enter Game 3 as 2.5-point favorites on the spread with a total sitting at 216.5 in a series that has been defined by its intense physicality.After 13 straight wins, the Knicks are familiar with having a 2-0 lead entering Game 3, but tonight’s game presents an interesting dynamic they haven’t experienced yet in the playoffs.
The Knicks had home court advantage in every series, so all of their Game 3 matchups have been on the road.The Finals will be the first time they play Game 3 at home, and with a commanding lead in the series, they are in an interesting spot.One could view this spot as a huge pressure cooker for a New York team that is more used to being doubted than lauded with praise.Pundits were already throwing out the possibility of a sweep ahead of Game 2, and the chorus has only grown louder as the Knicks continue to prove they are capable of winning close games and blowing teams out of the water.I think it will have a positive effect.
Every player on the Knicks seems focused on the task at hand and generally unfazed by anything outside of basketball.They quickly move on from their wins regardless of how impressive, and have lived every cliche in the book: approach every game like it’s 0-0, don’t just match the intensity, exceed it.The key in G...