The 2019-20 regular season is right around the corner. There’s optimism aplenty in New York City but will the teams deliver or let us down? Let’s check out the Knicks & Nets NBA odds for 2020.
Let’s take a look at the 2019-20 versions of the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets, and see what the best bets are for them in terms of their regular season futures at the best NJ online sports betting sites.
New York Knicks NBA Odds 2020
- Odds To Win NBA Championship: +25000
- Odds To Win Eastern Conference: +16000
- Odds To Win Division: +20000
- Regular Season Win Total: 27.5
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The Knicks offseason didn’t go as planned. With so many superstar free agents on the board, the Knicks somehow swung and missed on everybody. On top of that, they didn’t get Zion Williamson in the NBA Draft and now their short-term and long-term prospects will require a lot more patience than the fans in New York typically have.
What has to be a bit frustrating for the Knicks is that the team still went out and spent money on veterans who don’t move the needle. Paying $15 million to guys like Marcus Morris and Bobby Portis, and another $25 million combined to Elfrid Payton, Taj Gibson and Wayne Ellington doesn’t really do much for this squad.
They wanted to either add young players with potential or superstars, and these guys fit neither of those categories. This team added seven veterans who played at least 24 minutes per game last season; how will they all find minutes here while allowing the young player’s space to grow?
The key to the season will be the growth of guys like Dennis Smith Jr., R.J. Barrett, Kevin Knox, Allonzo Trier, Julius Randle, and Mitchell Robinson. This is now the core of the team. The question is whether or not head coach David Fizdale can help them grow into a cohesive, winning unit or at least a team that’s competitive on a nightly basis.
I actually want to believe in them and say that they will get 28 or more wins this year but is that wishful thinking? There’s a reason why guys like Portis, Ellington, and Payton have floated around; they aren’t exactly proven winners. Smith Jr. is still a wild card, Barrett is in his rookie season and this team didn’t play a lick of defense last season.
They lacked playmaking, shooting and defense heading into the offseason and while they’ve improved in those areas, it’s just marginal. At the same time, traditional, 28 wins is a very low barrier to hop over. Only four teams in the NBA had less last season.
While I still think the Knicks are a long way away from the playoffs, the veterans should help this team get to the 30-win range.
Pick: Over 27.5
Brooklyn Nets NBA Odds 2020
- Odds To Win NBA Championship: +2700
- Odds To Win Eastern Conference: +1200
- Odds To Win Division: +550
- Regular Season Win Total: 44.5
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The Nets had a banner offseason as they convinced both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant to sign with the franchise. For the first time in recent memory, the Nets outdid the Knicks and should be the better team in New York for the foreseeable future.
When you’re betting the Nets futures, you have to remember that Durant is expected to miss most of the regular season – if not all of it. The team did get Irving but they also lost All-Star D’Angelo Russell in the process, so it’s unclear whether they’ll be better, worse or about the same.
This was a Nets team that was on the rise with the cast that they had; how will the change from Russell to Irving impact the roster? Remember, in Boston, the Celtics figured that adding Irving to a young cast would elevate the team but thinks went really sour last season. The Nets traded culture for talent, so we’ll have to see if it works.
My bet is that it does work. Although all of the headlines mention Irving and Durant, this team added a lot more than just those two. They picked up center DeAndre Jordan, which will help them on the boards and on the inside. They also picked up Taurean Prince, who should be a solid starter.
The key to their 2019-20 campaign could very well be Caris LeVert, who was arguably the team’s best player in the playoffs (21 points per game). He was having a breakout year before suffering an ugly injury in mid-November. If he emerges as a star next to Irving, this team is going to be a Top 4 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
In terms of NJ sports betting tips the Nets, I can’t see this team winning the conference or the championship.
The division figures to be out of reach as the Philadelphia 76ers are the cream of the crop. However, I do like the Nets to finish with more than 44.5 wins.
They had 42 last season and should be at least three games better given what they’ve added.
Pick: Over 44.5
