The first iteration of the Clash of the Boroughs this season gets underway Friday night as the Nets visit Madison Square Garden to take on the Knicks.

Both teams are coming off a loss, with Brooklyn suffering a 25-point defeat to the Celtics, while the Knicks came up short in a 124-123 home loss to the Bulls.

It’s been quite an uneven start for the Knicks, who have somewhat underperformed early in this campaign with their 5-6 record. 

There is some sense that the team is still learning how to play with one another since adding Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns via trade before the start of the season.

As a result, the Knicks are probably at their most vulnerable stage early in games, a weakness the Nets are well poised to exploit.

Nets vs. Knicks odds

(7:30 p.m. ET, MSG)

Nets vs Knicks prediction

Brooklyn Nets betting preview 

Saying that Brooklyn has been better than advertised would be an understatement. After all, the Nets opened with the league’s lowest projected win total at 19.5 games.

With a 5-7 record, Brooklyn is already ahead of schedule to surpass that projection.

Trading away a 20-point scorer in Bridges to your crosstown rival would undoubtedly lead to some pessimism for the Nets in the upcoming season.

The goal for the Nets was to keep its core young players together while trading the pieces that could at least return some draft picks.

It’s worth noting that the Nets didn’t have a single pick in the 2024 draft after mortgaging their future to acquire James Harden in 2021. 

Thus, without any star power to really compete for a title, one can understand why expectations were low.

There were also questions about whether the Nets would get any contribution this season from the oft-injured Ben Simmons. Simmons has played in eight games this season, starting six. 

And while he’s not nearly the same caliber of player we saw early in his career with the 76ers, he can still play a vital role in running the offense as a playmaker. 

New York Knicks betting preview

Neither the Knicks nor the Timberwolves have benefited from the blockbuster three-team trade that saw Julius Randle and Towns swap teams.

Both teams are off to slow starts as the 6-6 Timberwolves are well off the pace of their 56-26 record last season, while the 5-6 Knicks haven’t been able to build on their 50-32 finish.

Minnesota’s Net Rating is down almost 3.5 points (6.3 to 2.9), whereas the Knicks have dropped from ninth in defensive efficiency down to 20th.

In an attempt to try and match the Celtics’ perimeter shooting, the Knicks appear to have sacrificed defense for offense.

However, when you look at the data, their perimeter numbers are slightly down from 13.3 to 13.2 field goals while attempting fewer shots (35.8 to 34.3).

The Knicks have been trending in the wrong direction on both ends of the floor since making the trade, which explains why their record lacks consistency.

As a result, it’s difficult to have a ton of confidence in this team until we start to see a clear strategy on how they plan to play moving forward. 

Nets vs. Knicks pick

It’ll be interesting to see how the Nets continue to use Simmons, who is in the final year of his five-year, $177 million deal.

When Simmons received the max deal, he averaged around 16 points per game but hasn’t averaged even seven points in either of his last three seasons.

Thus, since the Nets are not committed to Simmons beyond this year, they could limit his involvement should they try to tank the season and race to the bottom.

Betting on the NBA?

As a result, I’m a bit cautious about backing the Nets for an entire game should they limit Simmons’ minutes in the second half.

However, the first half is an intriguing way to back the Nets, as they’re 11-1 in this spot against the spread.

Look for the Nets to keep things competitive in the first half of this rivalry game as 6.5-point underdogs.

Best Bet: Nets 1H +6.5 (-115, FanDuel)

Why Trust New York Post Betting

Michael Arinze handicaps most major sports for the New York Post. He’s cashed two 15-leg teasers in his betting career as well as a 12-leg parlay that included eight Little League World Series games. More recently, he accurately picked finalists in the 2024 European Championships and Copa America.