Blake Krass breaks down his prediction and pick for Wednesday’s game between the Memphis Grizzlies and the New York Knicks.

The New York Knicks take on the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night. The game tips off at 8:00 p.m. ET at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.

New York is a 14.5-point favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook with the total for this game set at 228.5 points.

Let’s get into my preview, prediction and pick for this Grizzlies vs. Knicks game.

Grizzlies vs. Knicks prediction, preview

The Knicks are still pushing to improve their seeding in the Eastern Conference, currently sitting as the three-seed. New York has been trying to chase down the Celtics for the two-seed over the last couple of months, but has never quite caught up. With just six games to play, the Knicks trail the Celtics by 2.5 games. However, one of those games is against Boston. So, if the Knicks can win the head-to-head matchup, they’ll at least have a an opportunity. New York’s struggles on the road have come back to bite it once again. The Knicks were surging on a seven-game winning streak and were right on Boston’s tail. However, after heading out on the road, the Knicks have now lost three straight games. This is a must-win game in Memphis if the Knicks want to get that pivotal home-court advantage in the second-round of the playoffs.

It has been a disappointing season for the Grizzlies. They have already lost 50 games, and currently sit atop the eliminated teams in the Western Conference. Memphis, New Orleans and Dallas are all within 1.5 games of each other, so none of those teams will have much interest in winning games down the stretch. This is a very young group currently trying to win games for Memphis. GG Jackson, Walter Clayton Jr. and Tyler Burton are among the inexperienced players leading the way for the Grizzlies. However, the team lacks depth and talent. The Grizzlies are 2-14 over their last 16 games and are really sputtering down the stretch.

Grizzlies vs. Knicks pick, best bet

The Knicks’ road struggles have been well-documented. New York is 27-9 at home, but 20-19 on the road. At Madison Square Garden, they are clearly a top-six team in the NBA. On the road, they are just an average team. The bigger problem on the road has been scoring, compared to defending. New York is scoring 5.8 points per game fewer on the road, but only allowing 1.4 points per game more. Even on this losing road trip, the Knicks have had back-to-back tough road games against Oklahoma City and Houston. In both of those games, they gave up just 111 points, a solid defensive effort against teams of that caliber.

My best bet for this game is for the Grizzlies to go under their team total of 106.5 points. New York allowed just 106.8 points per game in March, its best defensive month of the entire season. The Knicks have continued to improve defensively as the season has gone on. The Knicks desperately want that two-seed to have home-court in a potential Eastern Conference semifinals matchup against Boston. They know that they need to basically win out to have a chance. This should be a focused effort from the Knicks, and they should shut down this depleted Memphis depth chart.

Best Bet: Grizzlies Team Total u106.5 (-118)