Tip-off: Monday, 8:05 p.m. ET
Line: Houston -8.5, Total: 193.5

The Knicks look to win their second straight game on Monday night when they visit a Rockets team that already has 10 wins on the young season.

New York gained some confidence on Saturday with a 91-83 home victory over the winless 76ers. Houston, meanwhile, just beat the Mavericks 95-92 on Saturday to snap a two-game losing skid. The club did so without C Dwight Howard (knee) and PF Terrence Jones (leg), who are questionable, which is the same status that PG Patrick Beverley (hamstring) has. The Rockets have dominated the Knicks in recent years, winning nine straight games SU dating back to 2010. Houston has covered in eight of the past 10, but New York did cover in last year’s 102-100 loss at Toyota Center. Over the past three seasons, the Knicks are 24-13 ATS (65%) after a game where they made at least 85% of their free throws, but the Rockets are 5-1 ATS this season after a game where they made 12+ three-point shots. They are also 19-8 ATS (70%) after failing to cover in five or six of their previous seven games over the past three seasons. New York has no new injuries to contend with.

Can the Bulls pull out an important road win on Monday? For the answer, connect to The Platinum Sheet for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2014-15 season. StatFox Forecaster has a 60% ATS record (38-25) in featured games this season. StatFox Gary is off to a great start to the 2014-15 campaign at 58% ATS (11-8) in his Best Bets.

The Knicks got PG Jose Calderon back from a calf injury last game, but the point guard finished with just three points and three assists in 21 minutes. Regardless, the Knicks’ offense was flowing much better with somebody who is capable of placing his teammates in the right spots on the floor. SF Carmelo Anthony (23.9 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 3.4 APG) finished the win over Philly with 25 points and seven rebounds, and should really benefit from not having to deal with Terrence Jones on the other side of the ball. One player who really sparked the Knicks last game was PF Amar’e Stoudemire (12.0 PPG, 7.4 RPG). Stoudemire came off the bench and gave New York 20 minutes of action while scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. He’s averaging 17.5 PPG over the past two contests, and should be able to really help the Knicks in this game, especially if Dwight Howard actually does sit out. The Knicks are going to need SG J.R. Smith (10.2 PPG, 3.5 APG) to really step his game up going forward. Over the past three contests, Smith is averaging just 6.0 PPG. He should be able to get some good looks against a Rockets team that likes to get up and down the floor in a hurry.

The Rockets have been without C Dwight Howard (18.8 PPG, 11.3 RPG, 2.3 BPG) for two games now, and SG James Harden (24.4 PPG, 6.7 APG, 6.4 RPG, 1.7 SPG) has really had to put this team on his back. Harden was outstanding in Saturday's win over Dallas, finishing with 32 points, eight rebounds and four assists in 37 minutes of play. Harden will be looking to score against the very defensively aggressive Iman Shumpert. If Harden is going to need to work that hard on offense, he could struggle defensively. With Harden heading towards what is potentially going to be a rough night, SF Trevor Ariza (13.9 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 1.8 SPG) will need to shoot the ball well. Ariza had just seven points in 35 minutes against the Mavericks, and with Howard out, he can not get away with shooting the ball as poorly as he did (2-of-10 FG). PG Patrick Beverley (12.6 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 2.1 APG) would be a big loss for this team if he doesn’t give it a go on Monday night. Beverley had 20 points, five rebounds and two steals in 31 minutes of play against the Mavericks, and will be harassing Jose Calderon constantly on the defensive end if he is able to tough it out and play.