Filip Tomic
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The Miami Heat and New York Knicks renew their rivalry today at Madison Square Garden as they meet for the 2nd time this regular season. I have cashed 3 different Same Game Parlays over the last 8 days, today’s game is the perfect opportunity to cash in on yet another one. It’s an early tipoff at 3:00 pm ET on ABC.
For picks on the side and total for the rest of Saturday’s games, simply head over to our NBA Picks page.
Let’s dive into my SGP bet now!
OG Anunoby Over 1.5 made threes (-150)
Jimmy Butler 20+ points (+115)
Terry Rozier Over 1.5 made threes (-150)
Same Game Parlay odds: +423
OG Anunoby Over 1.5 made threes (-150)
So far it’s been a match made in heaven between the Knicks and OG Anunoby. Since his arrival they have lost only twice, rising to a top 4 spot in the East. His elite defense on the perimeter was exactly what this team was missing, but he’s doing far more than just guarding the opposing team’s best player on a nightly basis. At 39% he’s one of the most efficient Knicks from downtown, making 1.8 threes per game on just 4.5 attempts. One of his best games of the season came against the Heat earlier in the year, when he was still a member of the Toronto Raptors. Anunoby went for 23 points in that game while shooting 61.5% from the field and making half of his 3-point attempts, as well. He has cleared this line 3 times in the last 5 games against the Heat while making an average of 2.8 threes per game. Miami’s 3-point defense has been a disaster; opponents are averaging 46.2% against the team from the perimeter in the last 3 games. We just saw the Celtics make 22 threes against the Heat on Thursday.
Jimmy Butler 20+ Points (+115)
Although his numbers are down across the board in the 6 games he has played in January, that shouldn’t discourage people from having a bet on Jimmy Butler. He is taking only 10.7 shots per game, down from his 13.6 average in December. However, his efficiency is up from 46.7% to almost 60% — which is remarkable even for a player of his caliber. After not taking a single 3 in the first 3 games of the month, he has now scored an average of 2 per game over his last 3 games at 60% efficiency. Butler loves playing against the Knicks — he is averaging 23.6 points per game in the last 10 meetings, plus in his last 3 visits to MSG he’s scored 23, 19 and 25 points. Miami needs to snap out of it real quick if it plans on making the postseason without having to play in the play-in tournament. Without a strong game from Butler I don’t rate their chances highly. You just know Butler will be extra motivated to do well against an elite defender like Anunoby, I think he will score at least 20 points in this one.
Terry Rozier Over 1.5 made threes (-150)
So far in two games with Miami, Rozier hasn’t had the impact I thought he would. It’s only a matter of time he turns it around, though, and what better place to do so than Madison Square Garden? Despite 2 single-digit games against Memphis and Boston, let’s not forget Rozier is still averaging 22.3 points per game this season — which ranks 29th in the NBA. He is also one of those rare players that perform better on the road than at home. He averages a 3% higher efficiency from 3-point land in road games, while over his last 10 outings overall he is at 33.3% made threes. He has also made at least 2 threes in 7 of his last 10 games against the Knicks, so even if New York’s defense has been elite in the month of January, I still feel like Rozier can make 2 threes on Saturday. In 32 games so far this season he has done so 19 times.
