Tip-off: Wednesday, 10:30 p.m. ET
Line: Utah -10.5, Total: 202.5

The tanking Knicks visit the playoff-bound Jazz on Wednesday.

The New York Knicks continued their season-long downward spiral on Monday night, losing 114-105 against the Clippers (NYK +11) in the first leg of a four-game Western Conference road trip. It wasn’t as close as the score would indicate, as New York had to outscore Los Angeles by 16 points in the fourth quarter to cover the spread. It was the Knicks’ fifth loss in their last six games, and they dropped to 27-43 (36-34 ATS) with the defeat. Their apparent tanking has yielded success, as they inch ever closer to the Sixers and Magic (but not the Nets) at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. And while their Wednesday night opponents, the Utah Jazz, find themselves in much more favorable circumstances at fourth place in the West, they too have struggled in losing three straight games, all to Eastern Conference teams. In their last two defeats to Chicago and then Indiana, they have lost by 24.5 total points against the spread. Over the last five seasons, games involving home teams that have a winning record on the season but have gone Under the total by at least 18 total points in their last three games (UTAH) are 184-127 Under against totals of at least 200. The Jazz are 8-17 ATS this season coming off of non-conference games. PF Derrick Favors remains out indefinitely for the Jazz with an injured knee, while PG Shelvin Mack is questionable—although he will likely be left out of the rotation whether or not he is deemed healthy.

On Tuesday, Knicks F Carmelo Anthony (22.8 PPG, 6.0 RPG) told the media that coach Jeff Hornacek would be shortening his minutes for the rest of the season. It’s unclear exactly what that means—it’s possible that he sits out entirely for multiple games—but he had been playing at a baseline of about 35 minutes per game recently before playing only 25 against the Clippers. He had 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting in that one. New York’s best player in that game—and their best player, period—was PF Kristaps Porzingis (18.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 2.0 BPG). The second-year big man had 18 points, 11 rebounds and two steals, and posted the best plus/minus of any Knicks starter at -7. PG Derrick Rose (17.8 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 4.4 APG) also had 18 points on efficient 6-for-11 shooting, but his -20 plus/minus was the worst of all players. At 18.3 PPG in the team’s last six, he is averaging only .2 less than Anthony over that stretch. Scoring falls off after those three, but SG Courtney Lee (10.5 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 1.0 SPG) plays consistently solid on the wing. He has had a couple duds lately, though, scoring five points or fewer in two of his last three games. Aside from Porzingis, C Willy Hernangomez (7.2 PPG, 6.6 RPG) is the most promising young player on the roster. He is averaging 17.1 minutes per game on the season, but that number is up above 23 over the last month as veteran C Joakim Noah is out for the season. PF Kyle O’Quinn (6.3 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.3 BPG) had a season-high 23 points to go along with eight rebounds against the Nets two games ago.

If you’re looking for someone to blame for the first two losses of Utah’s three-game losing streak, star SF Gordon Hayward (22.0 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 3.5 APG, 1.0 SPG) could certainly take some blame. He struggled from the field against Cleveland and Chicago, scoring 27 total points on 9-of-30 combined shooting. That narrative didn’t hold up against Indiana, however, as the Jazz managed to lose despite getting a career-high 38 points from Hayward on 16-of-24 shooting. The Jazz also got a landmark performance from their other star player, as C Rudy Gobert (13.2 PPG, 12.8 RPG, 2.6 BPG) posted a career-high eight blocks to go with 16 points, 14 rebounds and three assists. PG George Hill (17.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 4.2 APG, 1.0 SPG), didn’t play all that bad either in putting up 16 points, six rebounds and six assists, but his 0-for-7 three-point shooting didn’t help things much. He has struggled with various injuries throughout the season, but has scored at least 16 points in four of his last five games and appears ready to fully contribute down the stretch. A pleasant surprise for the squad has been SF Joe Ingles (6.9 PPG, 1.1 SPG), who has played more minutes over the last month than any wing other than Hayward. Ingles is shooting a deadly 44.2% from three this season. While he has shined, SG Rodney Hood (13.1 PPG, 3.5 RPG) has wilted somewhat. Like Hill, he has struggled with injuries, but he has underwhelmed even when supposedly healthy. SF Joe Johnson (8.6 PPG, 3.1 RPG) and SG Alec Burks (7.5 PPG) also get key minutes for the team.