Both New York NBA franchises as well as the Cleveland based Cavaliers have been a part of the sport for a long time now. The New York Knicks in particular have been around since the 1940s, founded in 46 as part of the BAA (Basketball Association of America) before it became the National Basketball Association in 1949. The Brooklyn Nets were founded in 1967 and the Cavaliers were founded in 1970.
So over the years the New York teams have met with the Cavaliers MANY times, Plenty in the regular season and plenty in the playoffs, in fact, the Nets have played a total of 15 games against the Cavaliers in the playoffs, across 3 series, being on the losing end 5-10. The Knicks on the other hand have had a pretty good time against the Cavs when it comes to the playoffs, again 3 series, but they have played 9 games winning 8! Not a bad turn around that. But outside of the playoffs, outside of the games that MATTER how do these games go? Is it more of the same or is it a completely different story?
Since the Knicks are the oldest team of the two New York based franchises here, we’ll start with their history. Over the years some real great players have donned the Knicks colours, from Earl Monroe to Patrick Ewing. From Walt Frazier to Dave DeBusschere. Taking them to 2 championships in Franchise history, arguably not a fantastic return in 73 seasons, but hey, you take the wins when you can get them, right? With the Knicks AND the Cavaliers being part of the NBA together since the 70s, I’m sure you can imagine these two teams have played a LOT of games.
As we already mentioned briefly, they have played 3 series in the playoffs and won 8 of the 9 games they played, but what about regular season games? Well, since their induction to the NBA in 1970, the Cavs and the Knicks have played 220 regular season games in total and across those games the Knicks JUST edge it, winning 116 games to the Cavs 104. However, in those games, this is one for the stats nerds, the LONGEST WIN STREAK goes to the Knicks, between February 23rd 1980 and February 17th 1983, the Knicks won 18 games in a row against the Cavaliers. The Cavs longest streak is 11 games between March 5th 2008 and March 4th 2011.
Next up there is the Nets, the Nets have yet to win a championship in 47 seasons, which is crazy when you think of some of the talent they have had in their ranks. Players like Jason Kidd, Julius Erving and Vince Carter with many more we do not have time to mention. Both of these teams are around the same age, both coming into the NBA in the 70s, but how does their head to head compare versus the head-to-head of the Knicks/Cavs?
Well, not great news for Nets fans as the two teams have played a total of 188 regular season games. The Cavaliers come out on top overall as they have won 105 games to the Nets 83, recently however it has been a bit of a mixed bag with the Nets actually winning more than they lose, and funnily enough they hold the longest win streak between the two teams also, with a 14 game win streak between February 18th 1981 and April 9th 1983, crazy, right?
Now seems as good a time as any to check out some of the upcoming fixtures of all of the teams we’re talking about today, starting with the oldest team of the bunch, the Knicks. Coming up on Saturday the Knicks host the Detroit Pistons at Madison Square Garden, with both teams not doing anywhere near as well as they would’ve liked to be doing so far this season, how do the experts see it? The Knicks are quite heavy favourites here at -320, returning $6.56 from a $5 stake. The Pistons here are +260 underdogs returning $18 from the same stake.
Checking out Sports Betting Ohio odds for the next games for the Cavaliers as they travel to San Francisco to take on the Golden State Warriors. The Cavs go into this one a 2 game losing streak and the Warriors are coming off the back of what is a rare win for them this season as they currently sit 4-7. The Cavs are underdogs here, probably due to the Warriors having home court advantage really, but at +110 you can get a $10.50 return from $5, with the Warriors sitting -130 which will net you a $8.84 return from the same $5, not too bad either way here. I see a tight game ahead.
So, New York Basketball fans. Who are we following? Let’s get a discussion going. Nets fans, Knicks fans. Speak up, who do you follow and why? Is it a location thing? Did your friends get you into the sport so you follow the team they did? Was it because of a family member? It is always interesting hearing what sparked people’s love for certain teams. It is always a laugh when people pick the OPPOSITE team in a city because all their mates follow one of them.
That will be that for this one. We are currently anywhere between 11 and 13 games through the season, depending on which team you follow. There is plenty of sport to see us through until the playoffs start in April, lets not forget. The regular season ends 9th April with the play-in tournament starting 2 days later. Who do we all think will take it? Will it be a New York team or is it going to be somebody else? The Bucks are looking really good this season, but can they go all the way?
