Knicks vs. Nets prediction: NBA odds, picks, best bets Friday
The first iteration of the Clash of the Boroughs this season gets underway Friday night as the Nets visit Madison Square Garden to take on the Knicks.Both teams are coming off a loss, with Brooklyn suffering a 25-point defeat to the Celtics, while the Knicks came up short in a 124-123 home loss to the Bulls.It’s been quite an uneven start for the Knicks, who have somewhat underperformed early in this campaign with their 5-6 record. There is some sense that the team is still learning how to play with one another since adding Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns via trade before the start of the season.As a result, the Knicks are probably at their most vulnerable stage early in games, a weakness the Nets are well poised to exploit.(7:30 p.m.ET, MSG)Saying that Brooklyn has been better than advertised would be an understatement.
After all, the Nets opened with the league’s lowest projected win total at 19.5 games.With a 5-7 record, Brooklyn is already ahead of schedule to surpass that projection.Trading away a 20-point scorer in Bridges to your crosstown rival would undoubtedly lead to some pessimism for the Nets in the upcoming season.The goal for the Nets was to keep its core young players together while trading the pieces that could at least return some draft picks.It’s worth noting that the Nets didn’t have a single pick in the 2024 draft after mortgaging their future to acquire James Harden in 2021. Thus, without any star power to really compete for a title, one can understand why expectations were low.There were also questions about whether the Nets would get any contribution this season from the oft-injured Ben Simmons.Simmons has played in eight games this season, starting six. And while he’s not nearly the same caliber of player we saw early in his career with the 76ers, he can still play a vital role in running the offense as a playmaker. Neither the Knicks nor the Timberwolves have benefited from the blockbuster three-team trade that saw Juli...