WE look to keep things rolling this NBA season as we prepare for another day on the hardwood.
Here’s a look at the best play on offer today:
New York Knicks @ Brooklyn Nets
The Battle of New York is set to take place at Barclays Centre as the Knicks visit the Nets to kick things off on today’s slate.
New York will be hoping for positive injury news on RJ Barrett, Taj Gibson, Nerlens Noel and Derrick Rose in this one, although the Nets depth is also being tested with the news that Joe Harris is set to undergo ankle surgery to keep him sidelined for some time.
Both these teams come in well rested though having enjoyed a rare two-day break. This spot lines up invitingly for Brooklyn in particular, with this game isolated as just the lone outing in a five-day period, which should see us getting their best and undivided attention as a result.
The Knicks have certainly tumbled from their early season high-rises, with their inconsistencies at both ends of the floor starting to become problematic. New that Kemba Walker is officially out of the rotation is interesting, with the team set to try and move him after his arrival in the offseason.
The move isn’t overly surprising given the fit never really worked for team or player but blaming him for their poor defence seems a stretch given how far they’ve failed off in that regard.
The Knicks are 27th in defensive location EFG%, which is basically where the team would rank in defensive efficiency if teams shot league average against them based on the shots they’re able to generate. Effectively, the Knicks give up a lot of good looks and teams with an above average offence should be able to take full advantage as a result.
Although Brooklyn isn’t putting up eye popping scores on a nightly basis, they are scoring the ball incredibly efficiently. They hold the leagues best effective field goal percentage and, quite simply, they make shots when they matter most.
A lot of this is attributed to Kevin Durant, who is having one his most efficient seasons scoring and has carried the bulk of the load while James Harden continues his in-season conditioning.
While the Nets have struggled against a top tier opponents I can’t include New York in that conversation yet. They have a lot to prove before I can take them seriously against contenders and quite honestly I can see them being taught a lesson today.
While we are paying a premium for the favourites in this one it’s either Nets or pass for me in this matchup. This game has the potential to get ugly for the road team.
Our best bet: Brooklyn Nets -7.5 $1.87 at PlayUp
