The rebuilding Knicks are making the most of what they have and it shows with the NBA's top-rated defense, showing the club is maximizing the factors it can control. But they still have the league's worst scoring offense, which is still an issue against a Wizards club even without top scorer Bradley Beal. At full strength, this club has some depth on offense and is naturally better equipped against an offense-challenged opponent. It's just a bit ambitious at this point to back New York as a road favorite.

The Wizards are 2-13 when Russell Westbrook plays, and he'll likely get big minutes tonight with Bradley Beal resting. Westbrook continues to commit about five turnovers per game and has a detrimental effect on the rest of the team. Lay the points with the defensive-minded Knicks.

The big news for this game is that Bradley Beal will sit out for rest. He’s averaging 32.8 points per game, so not having him against a team that has the fifth-best defensive rating in the league could be a problem. The Knicks received a jolt of energy with the recent acquisition of Derrick Rose, almost pulling off an upset against the Heat on the road in his debut. Look for them to get the win against a much easier foe Friday.

No Bradley Beal for the Wizards (see news feed story) as he will get some rest. Beal leads the NBA in scoring so that's obviously a huge break for the playoff-hopeful Knicks. They are an excellent defensive team so it's hard to see how Washington scores enough to win here -- although I also don't trust New York to cover this number on the road so we are going moneyline. Using the ML on short favorites has been working quite well of late.