First off, this is a very early Sunday start time. That's often a plus for the Under as teams are used to playing at night.

Then you have the Knicks as the host team. New York has gone Under in six of its eight games. It's easy to see why looking at the statistics. The Knicks are last in field goal percentage and second-to-last in scoring. However, they have the No. 2 defense in the NBA allowing just 102.8 points. That number shrinks to 99 points if you go by their last six games.

The Hornets just played the Wizards in back-to-back-games. Washington is the worst defensive team in the NBA. Charlotte's previous two games were versus the Mavericks, who rank 23rd defensively, and the Pacers, who rate 26th defensively. So this is quite a defensive upgrade the Hornets are facing.

The Knicks haven't played since Wednesday. I see that extended layoff hurting their shooting more than their defense. New York figures to be rusty on offense. But the Knicks should have a solid defensive game plan given that their coach, Tom Thibodeau, is a defensive guru.