LA Lakers vs New York Knicks Date and Time: Tuesday, April 13,2021 5:00 AM IST Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY. Prediction: LA Lakers Bookmaker: 1xbet
The LA Lakers will look to continue their winning ways in the 2020-2021 NBA when they face the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. The Purple and Gold will hope to sweep the two New York-based teams in back-to-back games when they face Julius Randle and company to start the week.
In a nationally televised game on Saturday, the LA Lakers routed the Brooklyn Nets 126-101 despite missing LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kyle Kuzma and Marc Gasol. Dennis Schroder, who was ejected along with the Nets’ Kyrie Irving in the third quarter, called it the LA Lakers’ ‘best win of the year’.
Meanwhile, the New York Knicks have struggled in the past few weeks but were able to stop the bleeding with a pair of wins. On Sunday, they escaped with a thrilling 102-96 win against the Toronto Raptors after they led by 18 points. That was the Knicks’ first win in ten attempts against the Raptors. The Knicks’ last win against the 2019 champions came in 2017.
In their last seven games, the LA Lakers have alternated between wins and losses but will hope to snap that trend against the New York Knicks. Coach Frank Vogel would want his team to continue from the Brooklyn Nets team with another victory.
Facing a team that featured All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, the LA Lakers came out aggressively and made their opponents play catch up. That’s the type of mentality they would like to have on their match against the New York Knicks as well.
Schroder will have to keep his composure in check if he wants to continue contributing to the LA Lakers’ success, while Andre Drummond will have to be dominant in the paint once again.
The New York Knicks had lost five of their last six games before winning their last two. Their recent victories brought them back to .500 on the season (27-27), good enough for eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Their game against the LA Lakers will be the last of their three-game homestand before they take a short two-game road trip.
Kyle Kuzma could make his return to the LA Lakers lineup on their match. He will be an important piece to consider for the New York Knicks, who will be playing on back-to-back nights.
The LA Lakers (1st) and New York Knicks (4th) are among the best defensive teams in the league this season. However, they are also among the worst offensive squads (19th and 21st, respectively) in the league, so a low-scoring game could ensue. In the end, it might come down to which team performs well in the clutch.
