2024-25 Knicks Opponent: Brooklyn Nets

Roles reversed.

A couple years ago, the Brooklyn Nets were the talk of New York.

Their big three of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden were set to take over the league, and the flailing Knicks were still in search of a franchise savior. The contrast was abundantly clear in their head to head matchups.

The Nets absolutely dominated the Knicks head-to-head. Brooklyn rattled off nine (!) straight wins over their cross-town rivals, dating from January 2021 to February 2023. One team was bad, the other good. Simple as that.

These days, the big brother-little brother dynamic still holds true, but the roles have been reversed. Brooklyn has since cleared shop of all three aforementioned players, and it’s the Knicks hoping to make a deep playoff run come postseason time. They’ve been getting their revenge on the court too, winning six straight over BKN since breaking the Nets’ win streak against them.

While the Knicks are clearly the superior team, there is, of course, another dynamic worth watching: Mikal Bridges.

Bridges was considered a centerpiece of the Nets’ trade return in their deal that sent Kevin Durant to Phoenix, but the allure of the Nova Knicks was too much, and New York shipped a draft haul that involved four unprotected first-round picks (2025, 2027, 2029, and 2031), an unprotected pick swap (2028), a top-4 protected 2025 first-round pick (via Milwaukee Bucks), and 2025 second-round pick. Phew. Meanwhile, New York hopes that Bridges can be the straw to break the camel’s back, and push them over the top for championship contention.

With the Nets overhauling their roster and the Knicks looking to compete for the Larry O’Brien, let’s take a look at what to expect between these two teams this year.

Knicks’ record against Brooklyn last season: 4-0

As mentioned before, the Knicks have had the Nets’ number.

On December 20th, in their first matchup of the season, Julius Randle led the Knicks to a comfortable 121-102 win with 26 points, seven rebounds, and four assists.

Their nationally televised January 23rd matchup was a bit more fun. New York entered the fourth frame down nine points, but Randle took over down the stretch, and the Knicks eked out a 108-103 dub.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lJ0qV0vNSo

Game three of the season series was another double-digit win, this time courtesy of Donte DiVincenzo. His 31 points helped the Knicks pull away in the second half and eventually win by a dozen, 105-93.

Finally, game four was in the waning days of the regular season. The Nets’ Cam Thomas had 41 of his own, but Jalen Brunson posted a steady 30 point/11 assist statline that helped New York sweep the series, taking this one by a score of 111-107.

Knicks/Nets 2024-25 schedule:

• Friday, November 15th, 7:30 ET (Home) (In-Season Tournament)
• Sunday, November 17th, 7:00 ET (Home)
• Tuesday, January 21st, 7:30 ET (Away)
• Sunday, April 13th, 1:00 ET (Away) (Game 82)

Brooklyn’s offseason news:

The Nets are in full rebuilding mode.

It looks like Cam Thomas will be scoring 25 a game this season, as the Mikal Bridges trade marked a genuine retooling phase for the Nets. Offense will be hard to come by for the team, and they lack direction in terms of roster construction. With future picks at their disposal, this year seems like a test run to see who will stick around for the next chunk of time while the front office tries to land a cornerstone player.

Projected starters:

PG: Dennis Schroder/Jalen Brunson

SG: Cam Thomas/Mikal Bridges

SF: Cameron Johnson/OG Anunoby

PF: Dorian Finney-Smith/Julius Randle

C: Nic Claxton/Mitchell Robinson

Knicks’ projected record against Brooklyn this season: 4-0

No offense, but the Nets suck. I don’t think the Knicks blink while dismantling their lowly crosstown rivals.

That’s what you can expect. The difference this year between the two teams should be stark. The Nets should do little to stand in the way of the Knicks’ championship hopes.