- 1 New York Knicks vs Brooklyn Nets: a 4-0 series sweep and a Nets team on its third game in four nights
- 2 New York Knicks: Towns averaging 13.8 rebounds, and a rotation still being sorted out
- 3 Brooklyn Nets: 0-4 with two one-possession losses, and 124 points allowed per game
- 4 Free NBA Prediction: New York Knicks vs Brooklyn Nets
- 5 About our free predictions
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About visuals
New York Knicks vs Brooklyn Nets: a 4-0 series sweep and a Nets team on its third game in four nights 
The Knicks beat Brooklyn 120-66 at Madison Square Garden on 21 January. It was one of four New York wins over the Nets last season, and three of them came by 13 points or more: 134-98 in November, 113-100 later that month, then the 54-point game in January. Only the last meeting, 93-92 in Brooklyn on 20 March, was close.
The first of four meetings this season is on Monday 2 November at Madison Square Garden, tip-off 7:30pm ET. The reigning champions went into Friday’s NBA Cup game in Philadelphia at 2-3. Brooklyn was 0-4 before hosting Detroit on Friday night.
The context that shapes this game is the calendar. Brooklyn plays Detroit on Friday, travels to Indiana for Sunday’s game and then comes back to New York for Monday, which makes it the second night of a back-to-back and a third game in four nights. The Knicks play in Philadelphia on Friday and then have two full days off.
Rest matters more for this Nets team than for most, because of how it defends. Brooklyn allows 124.0 points per game, 27th in the league, and opponents are shooting 49.1% against it. Its defensive rating sits at 118.1. A team that is already conceding at that rate doesn’t usually improve with tired legs.
New York’s numbers point the other way. The Knicks allow 109.6 points a game, 10th in the league, and lead most of their opponents on the glass with 48.2 rebounds per game. Their problem has been at the other end, at 109.8 points per game, 24th in the NBA, though they’ve scored 111 and 133 in their two wins.
New York Knicks: Towns averaging 13.8 rebounds, and a rotation still being sorted out 
Karl-Anthony Towns has been the Knicks’ most efficient player through five games. He’s averaging 21.8 points and 13.8 rebounds on 58.3% shooting, 40.9% from three, and he had 27 points and 20 rebounds in the 111-97 win over Detroit on 27 October.
Jalen Brunson is the main scorer at 25.8 points and 5.0 assists, though on 40.2% shooting. His best night came in Chicago on Wednesday, when he scored 38 with seven assists as the Knicks came back from 19 points down to win 133-127. OG Anunoby added 23 that night and averages 17.6.
The start to the season explains why the record is 2-3. New York lost its first three games by six, four and nine points, against Philadelphia, Boston and Orlando, and in all three the offense stopped at 103 points or fewer. The two wins since have both come with Towns and Brunson scoring well and Josh Hart averaging 7.8 rebounds and 2.2 steals around them.
Mike Brown has started to change his rotation. Mikal Bridges, a starter in the first five games, is averaging 5.0 points on 27% shooting and played only 13 minutes in Chicago, sitting the whole fourth quarter. Brown said after the game that the staff had found combinations that worked, so Bridges’ place in the starting five is uncertain.
The injury list is short. Jose Alvarado has an ankle problem and was listed between out and a game-time decision for Friday, and Towns and Landry Shamet both picked up knocks against Chicago, to the left wrist and right ankle, but both returned to the game.
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Brooklyn Nets: 0-4 with two one-possession losses, and 124 points allowed per game 
Brooklyn’s winless start includes two games it could have won. The Nets lost 125-121 in Cleveland on 24 October and 125-124 in overtime in Boston on 27 October, when Jayson Tatum hit a jumper at the buzzer. Rookie Mikel Brown Jr. had forced overtime with a three-pointer with 0.2 seconds left in regulation.
The other two defeats were less competitive. Charlotte won 110-103 in Brooklyn on opening night, and Indiana won 136-109 at Barclays Center on 25 October, after which Jordi Fernández called his team’s play unacceptable. Brooklyn plays at Indiana again on Sunday, the night before this game.
The scoring comes from two forwards. Michael Porter Jr. is averaging 22.8 points and 7.0 rebounds with 40.5% from three, and he had 27 points, 12 rebounds and six threes in Boston. Julius Randle, acquired from Minnesota in the summer trade that sent Nic Claxton to Chicago, is averaging 22.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.8 assists.
Behind them the production drops off quickly. Brown Jr. and Moritz Wagner both average 10.3 points, and the Nets turn the ball over 18.0 times per game. They shoot 42.9% from the field, 26th in the league, while taking 42.3 threes a game.
Injuries thin the backcourt further. Egor Demin has a bone bruise in his right leg and is out until at least 7 November, Tyler Bilodeau has a shoulder injury, and Noah Clowney was a game-time decision on Friday with an illness.
Probable lineup New York Knicks: Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, Karl-Anthony Towns (Bridges’ spot uncertain)
Probable lineup Brooklyn Nets: Not announced at time of publication
Free NBA Prediction: New York Knicks vs Brooklyn Nets
Our prediction: New York Knicks to win by 9 points or more (handicap -8.5)
A straight Knicks win would price well below anything worth backing, so the handicap is the play, and no line was posted for Monday at the time of writing. Brooklyn comes in on a back-to-back, third game in four nights, with a defense already allowing 124.0 points per game and 49.1% shooting.
New York has two days of rest, the stronger rebounding team by almost five a game, and a 4-0 record against the Nets last season with three of those wins by 13 or more. Towns against a Brooklyn frontcourt that allows that much inside is the matchup I’d expect to decide the margin.
The argument against is the Knicks’ own offense, which managed 103 or fewer in each of its three defeats. But those games came against Philadelphia, Boston and Orlando. Brooklyn’s defense isn’t in that group, and tired legs on Monday make the gap wider.
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