New York, New York, big city of dreams. Everything in New York ain’t always what it seems… like the eighth-seeded Brooklyn Nets.
Brooklyn secured a spot in the NBA’s play-in tournament with a win over Houston on Tuesday, but this team is much more than a fringe playoff qualifier. The Nets are postseason poison to whatever top-seed draws them in Round 1 (Should they advance…). Does Brooklyn really care about its play-in seeding? We’ll find out against the New York Knicks tonight.
Here are our free NBA betting picks and predictions for Nets at Knicks on April 6.
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Nets vs Knicks odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
Brooklyn opened as big as -7.5 and that has slimmed as low as -5.5 at some shops as of Wednesday morning. This is the second of back-to-back games, so the Nets may opt to rest or limit their starters. As for the total, this number hit the board at 232.5 points and has plummeted as low as 229. Could this market move be a tell for Steve Nash’s plans this evening?
Use the live odds widget above to track any future line movements right until tip-off and be sure to check out the full NBA odds before betting to ensure you get the best number.
Nets vs Knicks predictions
Predictions made on 4/6/2022 at 10:10 X.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Nets vs Knicks game info
• Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
• Date: Wednesday, April 6, 2022
• Tip-off: 7:30 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN
Nets vs Knicks betting preview
Key injuries
Nets: Seth Curry G (Questionable), James Johnson F (Questionable), Goran Dragic G (Out), Ben Simmons G (Out).
Knicks: Quentin Grimes G (Questionable), Miles McBride G (Questionable), Nerlens Noel C (Out), Julius Randle F (Out), Cam Reddish F (Out), Derrick Rose G (Out), Kemba Walker G (Out).
Find our latest NBA injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Knicks are 20-8 ATS in their last 28 meetings with the Nets. Find more NBA betting trends for Nets vs. Knicks.
Nets vs Knicks picks and predictions
Our side and total predictions are based upon our analysis of the line and total in this game. Our best bet is our favorite pick across all markets.
Spread analysis
These late-season games are already a nightmare to handicap. Now throw in mixed motivations for the Nets on the second night of two straight games. On the other side, the Knicks are saying the right things about this matchup, but a tank job wouldn’t be out of the question in order to slip inside the Top 10 draft selections. Ugh. Can someone please pass the Advil?
As of this writing on Wednesday morning, there’s no official news on the status of Brooklyn stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, with all systems go for a showcase in Madison Square Garden — a favorite venue for the league’s superstars to show out. But does Brooklyn really care?
If the Nets’ big guns are good, this spread feels a little short to begin with considering New York’s depleted roster and possible thin backcourt with reserves guards Quentin Grimes and Miles McBride on the fence tonight.
Books could be keeping things short while they feel out Brooklyn’s plans, but the market is often a good indicator of who’s in and out before official news hits the wires. This spread has slimmed to -5 or even -4.5 at some places and the total could be the most telling move, slimming by as much as 3.5 points this morning. The absence of player props at operators is also a red flashing light that there’s a solid chance the Nets’ stars sit.
As for the Knicks, they have nothing to play for but are coming off a win over Orlando and seem to be motivated for this Battle of New York, with young studs Obi Toppin and R.J. Barrett talking up a strong effort from the Knicks tonight. New York has dropped six straight clashes with Brooklyn heading into tonight but has covered in four of those games and is 8-2 ATS in its last 10 overall versus the Nets.
I could dive deep into the matchups and analytics for this all-NYC showdown, but it would likely be all for not if Durant, Irving, and any other Nets take a seat. So instead, we’re reading the sports betting tea leaves and I would advise that if you “have to” bet this game, grab New York as high as you can right now.
Prediction: Knicks +5 (-110 at bet365)
Over/Under analysis
As mentioned, the spread and total are tumbling with the markets expecting Brooklyn to park players tonight.
The Nets are a completely different beast with Durant out and if Irving sits too, this lineup is really lacking any dangerous scorers. Shooting guard Seth Curry is a question mark for this evening but the team was hopeful he could return after missing two games with a sore ankle.
As for New York, this team is missing plenty of punch on offense, most recently losing stud forward Julius Randle for the remainder of the season. The backcourt is dangerously thin and the bench is short, which means a lot of minutes from New York’s current starters.
This Knicks' side already runs one of the slower tempos in the NBA and owns a pace rating of 94.65 over the past 10 games. Defensively, New York has been a mixed bag in that span, but it checked tank-mode Orlando to just 88 points and has limited eight of its last 11 foes to fewer than 110 points.
We’ll go with the flow and grab the Under as high as we can, with this total slimming by the second.
Prediction: Under 229.5 (-110 at DraftKings)
Best bet
Oh boy. Narrowing down a best bet for this game is like trying to pick out Kyrie Irving’s best personality trait.
Honestly, sportsbook operators are being very careful with odds for this late-season Big Apple Craple and the list is limited as of Wednesday morning.
If the market moves are correct, Brooklyn is bailing on this second game of back-to-backs. The Knicks’ youngsters are showing more motivation to win this game than most teams in their position at this point in the schedule.
We’ll stick our necks out a bit here — it could completely backfire if the Nets go all-in — but pass on the points and take a stab at New York to finally snap this cross-town losing skid in MSG tonight. Knicks fans haven’t had much to cheer for.
Pick: Knicks moneyline (+175 at Betway)
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