The battle of New York will take place tonight as the rising Knicks take on the Nets at MSG! It's time to continue our NBA odds series with a Nets-Knicks prediction and pick.
Just when we thought the Nets were shutting down Ben Simmons for the rest of the season, it turns out that is not the case. That would be an unwise move, as the 26-year-old can still help contribute. The Nets will be a playoff team, whether they slide down to the play-in tournament or not, we will see the Nets play a meaningful game in April. Brooklyn is 6th in the East and a game and a half in front of the Miami Heat with a (34-27) record.
The Knicks (36-27) have jumped the Nets for the 5-seed and will likely end their season there unless they find a way to jump the Cleveland Cavaliers or Philadelphia 76ers. A win tonight against Brooklyn, and a loss by the Cavs against the Boston Celtics would put them just 1.5 games back of the 4-seed. The Knicks have figured it out and the addition of Jalen Brunson is proving to be one of the best acquisitions of the campaign.
Here are the Nets-Knicks NBA odds, courtesy of FanDuel
NBA Odds: Nets-Knicks Odds
Brooklyn Nets: +7.5 (-110)
New York Knicks: -7.5 (-110)
Over: 223 (-110)
Under: 223 (-110)
How To Watch Nets vs. Knicks
TV: MSG Network, YES Network
Stream: NBA League Pass
Time: 7:30 ET/4:30 PT
*Watch NBA games LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Why The Nets Could Cover The Spread
Simmons will sit tonight with left-knee soreness but you will see him play again at some point. Edmond Sumner is out for personal reasons and Yuta Watanabe is questionable with back soreness.
In six games so far for Mikal Bridges, he's proving his worth to the Nets by averaging 23.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game. He came with Cam Johnson, who is also playing very well averaging 16.7 points and 1.8 steals per game so far. Spencer Dinwiddie returned to the Nets where he played his best ball in his career. Now, he's back to averaging 17 per game and adds 4.1 rebounds and 6.0 assists on the year. For losing two superstars in Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, they got a really good core of players in return.
The Nets will still struggle the rest of the way through but they have the talent to win some games. They must contain Brunson and not allow him to have a huge game if they want to cover this spread.
Why The Knicks Could Cover The Spread
New York is as healthy as they can be and don't have anyone on the injury report. That is a big reason why they are surging right now. Julius Randle and Brunson are ballin' and the addition of Josh Hart at the trade deadline proved to be a big one. In six games off the bench, Hart has averaged 13.8 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.2 steals per game.
The Knicks played very well against the now 2-seed Boston Celtics last time out. They took advantage of a poor game from Jayson Tatum and even saw him get ejected for the first time in his young career. The Knicks will take that to heart as they are starting to form their identity. Can this be the start of a run that finally sees the Knicks win a playoff series?
The Knicks have won six straight and are (8-2) in their last 10 games. They have actually proven to play better on the road this year with an (18-10) record and are just (18-15) at MSG. Back on Deb. 13, the Knicks took down the Nets 124-106.
Final Nets-Knicks Prediction & Pick
The Knicks are too hot to not pick right now. It's a decent size spread, but the Knicks are capable of covering once again against the Nets.
Final Nets-Knicks Prediction & Pick: Knicks -7.5 (-110)
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