Knicks vs Nets Odds and Picks
- The Brooklyn Nets are 7.5-point home favorites over the New York Knicks on Monday (March 15th, 8 pm ET)
- Brooklyn is riding a four-game winning streak, and is 10-1 during Kevin Durant’s absence
- See below for analysis, odds and a betting prediction
The Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks will square off for the second time this season on Monday (March 15th, 8 pm ET), except this version of the Nets will look much different than the one the Knicks lost to back in January.
Brooklyn had yet to trade for James Harden when these teams first met, and Kyrie Irving was away from the team due to personal reasons. Both of those All-Stars will be in the lineup on Monday, but Kevin Durant, the third member of their Big 3 will not be.
Knicks vs Nets Odds
| Team | Spread | Moneyline | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York Knicks | +7.5 (-110) | +245 | Over 225.0 (-113) |
| Brooklyn Nets | -7.5 (-110) | -305 | Under 225.0 (-109) |
Odds taken March14th from DraftKings.
The Nets opened up as a 7.5-point favorite, in a game that features a total of 225. Brooklyn has been without Durant for the past month due to a hamstring injury, but you’d never know it given their record over that stretch. The Nets are 10-1 without KD, and enter play riding a four-game winning streak.
Brooklyn Is Ballin’
The Nets latest victim was Detroit on Saturday, as they handed the Pistons their third straight loss 100-95. James Harden led the way with his ninth triple-double since joining Brooklyn, and the 55th of his career.
James Harden finished with 24 points vs. the Pistons and passed Larry Bird to sit at No. 34 on the all-time scoring list 📈 pic.twitter.com/3CdEt1CAKp
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) March 14, 2021
Kyrie Irving chipped in 18, while Landry Shamet added 15, and the Nets improved to 19-7 since trading for Harden. Their 100 points was unusually low for them, and marked just the second time in their past seven outings they’ve failed to reach the 120-point mark. They lead the NBA in points per 100 possessions and field-goal percentage, while ranking second from beyond the arc.
They held the Pistons to 40% from the field and 25% from three which sounds impressive until you glance at Detroit’s roster. Make no mistake, Brooklyn is far from an elite defensive team as they rank 25th in points allowed, and are 20th at defending the three-point line.
Knicks Bounce Back
New York meanwhile, rebounded from an embarassing 33-point loss to Milwaukee two days earlier, to beat OKC 119-97 on Saturday. RJ Barrett led the way with a career-high 32 points, while Julius Randle recorded his second triple-double of the season. Randle, who’s averaging 22.9 points and 11 boards per outing, became the first Knick since Mark Jackson in 1988-89 to record multiple triple-doubles in the same season.
Julius Randle and RJ Barrett went off on OKC 🔥
Randle: 26 PTS, 12 REB, 12 AST
Barrett: 32 PTS (career-high), 5 REBKnicks currently in the sixth spot in the East pic.twitter.com/u9roWgxGNA
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 13, 2021
New York shot 48.4% from the field, and 40% from three versus the Thunder, outrebounding them 53-44 and forcing 18 turnovers. Defense has been the Knicks calling card all season, as they allow the league’s fourth fewest points per 100 possessions, and yield the league’s lowest field-goal percentage to enemy shooters. Although, that didn’t seem to matter when these teams first met.
Over and Out
Brooklyn put up 116 points on 48.4% shooting without both Harden and Irving. As good as New York’s defense has been all season, lately we’ve seen cracks. They allowed 134 points to the Bucks last Thursday, and 119 to San Antonio two games before that. They’ve beaten exactly one playoff team over the past month, and just two since January 17th. A slight dip in productivity at the defensive end has helped the over hit in six of their past seven outings.
The Nets meanwhile, have seen 64% of their games fly over the total this season, including 17-of-26 outings since acquiring Harden. Yes, their last game came in well under the number, but that may have caused online sportsbooks to overreact. This is the lowest total for a Nets game since January 22nd, and just the fifth time since late January that a Brooklyn game has had an over/under below 230.
Pick: Over 225 (-113)
As SBD's resident Swiss Army Knife, Chris covers virtually every sport including NFL, PGA, NBA, MLB, NCAAB, NCAAF and the Olympics. A true grinder, he'd rather pick off small edges in the player props market than swing for the fences with a 5-leg parlay.
