Knicks vs Lakers Prediction, Pick Today | Monday, Dec. 18

Here's everything you need to know about Knicks vs. Lakers on Monday, Dec. 18 — our expert prediction and betting picks for today.

The New York Knicks went into Crypto.com Arena on Saturday and were run out of the gym by a hungry Clippers team in what was their fourth loss in six games. Now, they'll return to that same floor on Monday to take on a red hot Lakers team which has been dominant at home.

Can the Knicks ride their defense to a big road win here? Let's get to our Knicks vs. Lakers prediction and pick.

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If the Knicks have done one thing well this year, it's respond well to adversity. They're 8-2 straight up and 7-2-1 against the spread immediately following a loss this year, making them one of the five best teams in the league in these scenarios.

The path to victory for the Knicks has been clear this season. If they can knock down threes they will generally win, considering their defense has more or less been good this season and the offense is just outside the top 10 in frequency of shot from three. In their wins, the Knicks have shot 40.2% from three, and in losses they've hit just 30.8% of looks from outside.

The Clippers boast one of the top 3-point defenses in the league, which led to a 31.4% shooting night, but the Lakers may afford the Knicks some more open looks given what we've seen this season. While that may work in their favor, though, it's worth noting the Knicks have shot more than three points worse from three on the road this season.

New York's almost at full health entering this one with the exception of starting center Mitchell Robinson, who underwent ankle surgery last week and will be out at least a couple of months. Backup center Isaiah Hartenstein has been doing an excellent job this season with the second unit and has seen more minutes off the bench as a result, but one area the Knicks have been hurting in recent games without Robinson is rebounding, where their numbers have been plummeting. With that said, they're still grabbing 50.8% of available rebounds with Robinson on the bench ths year, so it might be reasonable to expect things to stabilize on that front.

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The Lakers have now won five of seven when you count their run in the In-Season Tournament, and their defense continues to look stronger and stronger. They've even seen a slight uptick in their rebounding numbers in the last five games despite the fact that both Anthony Davis and LeBron James have missed time, as has Christian Wood. All three enter this one as questionable, but considering the Lakers have made a habit of listing all three on the injury report with regularity this season there's not too much to worry about on that front.

L.A. has done a bang-up job on defense as noted above, ranking ninth in defense at the rim, but it's been burned at times this season from the perimeter. The Lakers currently rank 18th in 3-point defense according to Cleaning the Glass, and in recent games things have gotten even worse with 37.6% of all opponents' shots from three falling over the last five games. This is a potential area of concern against New York.

The Lakers will hope here that their 3-point defense doesn't burn them too badly against a Knicks team that has been wildly volatile from outside, and they will hope to continue scoring at will around the rim as they've done in all of their victories this season.

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On paper, this is another great matchup for the Lakers. The Knicks struggle to defend down low, they've been waning in the rebounding department without Robinson, and they've also ranked 21st in transition defense according to Cleaning the Glass, which plays right into L.A.'s hands here.

With that all said, the 3-ball is a major factor in this matchup and with the Lakers' inability to defend the three of late the Knicks have a puncher's chance. They should see a marginal improvement here considering the Clippers are one of the best in the league at contesting threes, and as an added bonus they're shooting at the same rims they shot at on Saturday, so perhaps the home/road splits won't be quite as damning here.

I also think that, while the Knicks have struggled on the glass without Robinson, the loss won't be felt quite as much as the team begins to adjust to life without him. Taj Gibson has been brought in to shore up the interior defense, and Hartenstein has provided this team an upgrade of roughly three points per 100 possessions when he's been on the floor. He's a better interior defender than Robinson and the team hasn't sacrificed much in the rebounding department when he's been on the court, so the matchup may not be as juicy for the Lakers as expected.

I'm going to back the trend of the Knicks showing up after a loss to continue, and I have the Lakers on upset alert here given they've slowed down over the last three games after winning the In-Season Tournament, particularly when it comes to defending the three.

Pick: Knicks +4