The New York Knicks will be looking to rebound from an embarrassing loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder when they host the Brooklyn Nets at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday. These crosstown rivals are both playing some lousy basketball coming into this one, but there should be plenty of emotions when these two take the floor.
Will Brooklyn end up pulling out a victory without Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving? Continue reading our Nets vs. Knicks NBA picks and predictions for February 16 to find out.
Nets vs Knicks odds
This odds widget represents the best odds available for each betting market from regulated sportsbooks.
The Knicks opened as 6.5-point favorites against the Nets in this game, but the Nets can be found only 5 or 5.5 elsewhere. Meanwhile, the total opened at 217.5 in this one and hasn’t moved very much.
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 2/16/2022 at 1:35 a.m. ET.
Click on each prediction to jump to the full analysis.
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Nets vs Knicks game info
• Location: Masison Square Garden, New York, NY
• Date: Wednesday, February 16, 2022
• Tip-off: 7:30 p.m. ET
• TV: ESPN
Nets vs Knicks betting preview
Key injuries
Nets: Kyrie Irving G (Out), Ben Simmons F (Out), Kevin Durant F (Out), Joe Harris G (Out).
Knicks: Nerlens Noel C (Questionable), RJ Barrett F (Questionable), Derrick Rose G (Out), Solomon Hill F (Out).
Find our latest NBA injury reports.
Betting trend to know
The Knicks are 1-5 against the spread in their last six games against teams with winning records. Find more NBA betting trends for Nets vs. Knicks.
Nets vs Knicks picks and predictions
Our predictions are compiled from the analysis of the spread and total and are indications of where we are leaning for this game.
Our best bet is the play that we like the most for this game, which we would actually put some of our bankroll behind.
Spread analysis
The Nets snapped an 11-game losing streak when they beat the Sacramento Kings on Monday, and Brooklyn’s reinforcements, Seth Curry and Andre Drummond, came up big in that game. Curry had 23 points in his first game with the Nets, while Drummond had 11 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals in that one.
With Brooklyn being extremely thin with its superstars out of the lineup, all it was going to take was some rotation-level players to help the Nets play some better basketball. Now, the team will turn its attention to a Knicks squad that has lost 12 of its last 15 games.
New York really should come away with the outright win over Brooklyn in this one, but it’s just hard to ask this Knicks team to comfortably win a game at the moment. And this spread is rather large for a team that doesn’t know how to close out games right now. New York had Oklahoma City on the ropes last game, but the Thunder went on a late run to force overtime and eventually win outright as 10-point underdogs.
Julius Randle has played a lot better for the Knicks in recent games, but he’s the only New York player that has been reliable on the offensive end. Randle also happens to be lousy on the other end of the floor, so he tends to give back everything he gets on offense. A healthy return of RJ Barrett would definitely help the Knicks, but it’d still be hard to trust New York to win this game by seven.
The Knicks are 25th in the league in offensive rating this year, so their offense isn’t going to strike fear in the Nets. New York is also just 19th in the league in defensive rating over the last 15 games, so the team could struggle to stop Curry and rookie Cam Thomas.
It’s also worth mentioning that the road team is 5-1 against the spread in the last six meetings between these two teams. On top of that, the Knicks are 1-8 against the spread in their last nine home games against teams with winning road records.
Prediction: Nets +6.5 (-110)
Over/Under analysis
The Over is 5-2 in the last seven road games that the Nets have played against teams with losing home records. With Brooklyn playing extremely shorthanded right now, the team also can’t be counted on to consistently get stops. And the Nets will also have a bunch of offensive-minded players out there here.
Considering the Knicks are struggling on the defensive end recently, the Nets should be able to do their part to help Over bettors cash in this one. New York, which has been lousy on the offensive end, also has a chance to turn in back-to-back solid performances on offense here. The team looked much better in that regard against Oklahoma City and that confidence should carry over a bit.
Prediction: Over 217.5 (-110)
Best bet
Curry had 23 points in 32 minutes of action in his debut for Brooklyn, showing that it isn’t going to take him very long to fit in with his new team. The sniper now gets to face a Knicks team that has allowed opponents to shoot over 45.0% from the floor in five of the last six games. He’s also going to be playing without Irving, which means Brooklyn will be counting on his services.
With more on-ball opportunities than usual, it’s hard to see a scenario in which Curry doesn’t score at least 16 points here. In fact, it’d be pretty surprising if the veteran guard didn’t reach the 20-point mark tonight.
Pick: Seth Curry Over 15.5 Points (-125)
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