The New York Knicks have some massive games coming up in January and February. On January 21 they take on the Brooklyn Nets in a Battle of New York.
That’s followed by a home match against the Boston Celtics on February 8, so there’s going to be no shortage of excitement for the Knicks and their fans.
2025 began with the Knicks in second place in the Atlantic Division of the NBA Eastern Conference. A place in the Stanley Cup play-offs looks more than likely but they will need to improve their form if they want to be contenders to lift the trophy.
The New York Knicks finished second behind the Boston Celtic in the 2023-24 Atlantic Division. That’s not a bad place to finish in but they recorded 14 less wins than the Celtics. While their rivals went on to become NBA champions, the Knicks lost in the Conference semifinals. It was a painful loss to the Indiana Pacers after leading in the series.
A repetition of the form they showed in the final weeks of 2024 is what the Knicks are aiming for in the coming matches. Eight successive matches were lost as they cemented their position in the top two of the Eastern Conference. Being able to win on the road is important in any sport. Six of those eight wins came in away fixtures.
2025 began with a New Year’s Day win at home to Utah Jazz. However, the next two games at Oklahoma City Thunder and the Chicago Bulls both ended in defeat.
The Brooklyn Nets are fourth in the Atlantic Division and struggling to secure a place in the play-ins. Last season saw them finish fourth in their division and that was the end of their season as they finished one place outside of the play-in positions.
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This season sees them playing under a new coach with Jordi Fernandez joining in April. He didn’t get off to a great start with three of their first four matches of the new season ending in defeat.
It took a fair while for the Nets to find any positive consistency this season. Not until November did they manage to win three successive games and all were on the road. Victories came at Sacramento, Golden State and Phoenix but they still had a 9-10 season record.
Just before that run of success, the Nets lost twice on the road to the Knicks. The first match saw the Knicks only win by a couple of points but it was a ten-point margin in the next game.
A disappointing December saw them lose nine matches. Only one out of five games played on their home court ended in victory. Their woes continued in early January with two of their first three matches being lost.
There’s just one more meeting between the two sides after the upcoming fixture. That’s the last match of the regular season with the Nets being the hosts. That could well be their last match of the season though.
The Knicks are currently the third favorites behind the Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder to win the NBA title this year. According to New York sportsbook operators listed at NYBet, the third most likely final will see the Knicks take on the Thunder.
Only Utah Jazz have higher odds than the Nets to win the title and even the most ardent of Brooklyn fans must know that’s just not going to happen this time around.
It’s going to be an exciting end to the NBA season. The Knicks may well be on their way to the play-offs, while the Nets really need to up their game. It’ll be interesting to see just what happens.
