On Monday, March 15, the New York Knicks head to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York for an 8:00 p.m. ET meeting with the Brooklyn Nets. And while Brooklyn has more firepower than New York this season, the Knicks aren’t ready to concede the battle for this basketball-centric city. New York is one of the feistiest teams in the league this season, and it just isn’t going to back down to anybody.
Does Tom Thibodeau’s team have a shot at pulling off the upset here? Find out in our Knicks vs. Nets picks and predictions.
New York Knicks at Brooklyn Nets betting preview
Injuries
Knicks: G Derrick Rose (Questionable), G Elfrid Payton (Questionable), G Austin Rivers (Questionable), C Mitchell Robinson (Out).
Nets: F Kevin Durant (Out), F Blake Griffin (Out), G Spencer Dinwiddie (Out).
Find our latest NBA injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Nets are 7-1 ATS in their last eight games as favorites. Find more NBA betting trends for Knicks vs. Nets.
NBA sharp money and line movement report
By Patrick EversonAs of 5:30 p.m. ET, Brooklyn is out to -8.5 from a -7.5 opener at TwinSpires, where it's all Nets action on the point spread, with ticket count running 5/1 and money 8/1. The total moved from 225 to 224, though tickets and money are 2/1 on the Over.
Check out the full line movement for this gameAgainst the spread (ATS) pick
The Knicks have been one of the most surprising teams in the league this season, as they looked to have one of the worst rosters in the NBA, but they currently sit at seventh in the Eastern Conference. One of the reasons this New York team has had so much success is that Tom Thibodeau currently has his group Top 5 in defensive rating. However, that doesn’t exactly tell the whole story.
While the Knicks have been very good on the defensive end — and much improved from last season — the team has been rather fortunate this year. Opponents are shooting just 33.2 percent from the outside against New York, and that has really skewed the numbers. Against Brooklyn, simply hoping for misses isn’t going to fly. The Nets are currently second in the NBA in three-point percentage, hitting 40.5 percent from the outside. Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Joe Harris and Landry Shamet can all hit the three at a high clip, and they’ll be looking forward to facing the Knicks in this one.
Over the last 10 games, the Nets have also been the 12th-best team in the league in defensive rating, which is a rather shocking development. If Brooklyn can hover around that mark moving forward, there isn’t a team in the league that can beat them four times out of seven. That uptick in defensive quality is also bad news for a Knicks team that can occasionally struggle to score efficiently — New York is just 23rd in the NBA in offensive rating.
PREDICTION: Nets -8 (-110)
Over/Under pick
The Knicks pride themselves on their ability to get stops and the Nets are defending well at the moment, but this is still a low number for a Brooklyn team that has so many weapons. Even with Kevin Durant out, Harden and Irving are both still capable of going for 30 on any given night, and Harris is the most lethal shooter in the entire league right now. Meanwhile, the Knicks are averaging 111.3 points per game over their last three contests, which means they should be able to do enough to help the number hit here.
PREDICTION: Over 225.0 (-110)
Player prop pick
Harris has scored at least 13 points in 14 of the last 19 games for the Nets, and he now has one of his better matchups of the year. New York is a good defensive team this season, but the Thibodeau scheme is known for packing the paint and giving up some open looks from deep. If those looks end up going to Harris, he’s going to bury them.
Harris had 15 points in the first meeting between these teams this season, and that was in a game in which Brooklyn didn’t have Irving or Harden. Durant did play for the Nets in that one, but there was nobody on the floor that can create the way the two guards can. Look for them to set Harris up with enough opportunities for him to easily hit the 13 mark.
PREDICTION: Joe Harris Over 12.5 Points (-118)
Knicks vs Nets betting card
- Nets -8 (-110)
- Over 225.0 (-110)
- Joe Harris Over 12.5 Points (-118)
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