The New York Knicks are coming off a 50-win season in which they finished second in the Eastern Conference, placing as one of the top teams in the league.
After one of their most successful seasons in over a decade, the Knicks upgraded their roster, trading for Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets for a heap of future first-round picks and three players.
The Knicks’ improvements have led DraftKings sportsbook to place New York’s win total for the upcoming season at 51.5, which is tied for fifth in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks.
Only the Denver Nuggets (52.5), Minnesota Timberwolves (52.5), Oklahoma City Thunder (54.5) and defending champion Boston Celtics (57.5) rank higher than the Knicks. On the flip side, the Nets rank last after trading Bridges to the Knicks with just 19.5 wins projected.
The Knicks are hoping to be fully healthy going into the season after dealing with the injury bug throughout the entirety of last year. Julius Randle, OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson all missed significant amounts of time, and none of the three were on the court in the latter part of the team’s critical Game 7 against the Indiana Pacers in the playoffs.
Those three are projected to join the aforementioned Bridges and superstar Jalen Brunson in the starting lineup for the Knicks for the upcoming season, and the group could become one of the league’s best.
When Brunson, Anunoby and Randle all played together last season, the Knicks were 20-3. If that trio can stay healthy and maintain that level of success, New York should easily surpass that 51.5 win mark. However, injuries are to be expected, and the Knicks should want to keep their players healthy in order to be able to withstand the long postseason run they expect to have.
Luckily for the Knicks, their new acquisition in Bridges has yet to miss a game due to injury in his six-year career, and if he can keep up that perfect attendance record in New York, the team has a great chance to hit the over.
