Brooklyn Nets vs New York Knicks betting tips and predictions for Wednesday’s NBA game on ESPN. The 5-5 Knicks head over to Brooklyn to face their cross-town rivals the Nets who are 4-7 entering tonight’s match-up. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
Brooklyn Nets
The chaos surrounding the Nets has calmed down a bit over the past couple of days, but so has their offensive production as they’ve scored just 98 and 94 points over their last two games. They are coming off a 96-94 loss at Dallas, in a game in which Kevin Durant missed key free throws down the stretch, something we don’t see happen that often. Ben Simmons came off the bench and had just 2 points and 2 assists in 16 minutes of play, I think it’s pretty safe to say he hasn’t lived up to expectations since joining this team.
There will be no Kyrie Irving in the line-up yet again as he continues to serve his suspension for off-court issues. Brooklyn is actually 2-1 in games in which he hasn’t played this season, so it looks like they aren’t missing him too much on the court. They’ve pretty much owned the Knicks in head-to-head meetings winning 8 of the last 10, including the 3 most recent.
New York Knicks
New York actually ranks better than the Nets heading into tonight’s game, but at 5-5 after 10 games they are far from being an elite team in the East. They are coming off a win at Minnesota, their 2nd in 3 games, however the road form is a worry as they’ve won just twice in 5 attempts so far this season. Julius Randle is the leader of this squad, he is carrying the offense with 20.1 points per game and almost 9 boards. Jalen Brunson has adapted well to his new surroundings, he leads the team in assists dishing out 7.3 dimes a game.
The Knicks enter tonight’s game as 2-point underdogs, that’s not necessarily a bad thing considering they’ve successfully covered the spread in 14 of the last 19 meetings with Brooklyn. On the road they are 13-3 ATS over their last 16, so there is hope they might get something out of tonight’s game.
Although the Nets have been better in head-to-head meetings, I think it’s time the Knicks make a statement with a win on the road. Their ATS record speaks for itself, the Nets are still searching for consistency and until the off-court drama with Kyrie is resolved, I am not touching them. Back the road team to cover here.
Brooklyn Nets vs New York Knicks Predictions & Odds
Without the defensive liability that Kyrie Irving is, the Nets have actually performed really well on that end over their last 4 games. They’ve held opponents to under 100 points in 3 games in a row, something we haven’t seen them do in a long time. That run will be challenged tonight by a Knicks side that ranks 11th in pace of play and 10th in points per game this season. In seasons prior, New York really struggled with pushing the tempo and scoring the basketball, but the addition of Brunson and the evolution of R.J. Barrett and a few other players seems to have fixed those issues.
The projected total of 223 points does sound a bit high considering how well the Nets defense has played lately. The under has cashed in 6 of their last 7 games vs Eastern Conference teams. For the Knicks that has happened in 4 of 5 vs teams from their own division. With an average of just 213.1 points per game being scored over the last 10 meetings head-to-head, I think backing the under is the way to go in this game.
