The defending NBA champions New York Knicks host the Brooklyn Nets at Madison Square Garden on Monday, an early Tuesday morning tip-off in the UK, with Brooklyn chasing a first win in this rivalry since January 2023.

The Knicks raised their title banner on October 20 and then lost their first three games, while the Nets ended an 0-5 start by beating Indiana on Sunday and now face New York on the second night of a back-to-back.

What is the form like for the Nets and Knicks?

The Knicks have been unable to turn a title into early momentum, losing to Philadelphia, Boston and Orlando before beating Detroit and Chicago, then going down at Philadelphia again on Friday, and they became the first defending champions to start 0-3 since the 2011-12 Mavericks.

Philadelphia shot 78.9% at the rim in that defeat, a sign that New York are struggling to contain the ball, and Josh Hart has admitted the squad is feeling fatigue after a shortened offseason.

Brooklyn finally found a win at Indiana on Sunday, 98-90, leading throughout the second half behind 23 points from Michael Porter Jr. and 20 from Julius Randle, although Indiana were without Tyrese Haliburton, Ivica Zubac and Obi Toppin.

The Nets still sit bottom of the Eastern Conference standings, yet they held the Pacers to 90 points after conceding 110 or more in each of their first five games.

The comparison favours New York at the defensive end by a distance, and Brooklyn's slim scoring edge says more about how many points the Nets concede than about any attacking strength, since a side that allows that much rarely controls the tempo of a game.

Brooklyn also turn the ball over more and rebound less than the Knicks, although Day'Ron Sharpe's 13 rebounds helped them win the battle of the boards 43-37 on Sunday against the Pacers.

The NBA schedule has the Nets travelling from Indianapolis on the second night of a back-to-back, their third game in four days, while the Knicks have been off since Friday.

The Knicks have scored 100 points or fewer in two of their six games, and Jalen Brunson needed 22 shots to reach 24 points at Philadelphia.

Nets vs. Knicks team news and rotations

Egor Demin (right leg bone bruise) and Tyler Bilodeau (right shoulder sprain) are out for Brooklyn, while Mikel Brown Jr. is day-to-day after sitting out Sunday's win for rest.

Chaney Johnson, Nolan Traore, Porter, Randle and Sharpe started in Indianapolis and are the likeliest Nets five again, so Brown's availability is the main rotation question.

Jose Alvarado is questionable with a left ankle sprain, which leaves Brunson, Josh Hart, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby and Karl-Anthony Towns as the probable Knicks starting five.

Landry Shamet averages 24 minutes off the bench and Miles McBride 19, so Mike Brown's reserve rotation leans on those two ahead of Jordan Clarkson and Andre Drummond.

Knicks vs. Nets and the matchups that could decide it

Towns has recorded a double-double in all six games this season, so the rebounding contest with Sharpe, who dominated the boards against Indiana, is the clearest physical test for both sides.

Brunson will be tested by Traore, who scored 16 points against Indiana, while Randle returns to face the Knicks side he once played for and Bridges meets the franchise that traded him. Porter, the Nets' leading scorer, shot 7 of 16 in Indianapolis, and Brooklyn will need more from him given they made only 13 of 39 from three.

Which player props stand out for Nets vs. Knicks?

Both props focus on the Knicks' primary options, since Brooklyn's rotation is thinner at guard without Demin and neither line depends on New York suddenly finding a hot shooting night.

Knicks vs. Nets head-to-head and the streak Brooklyn want to end

The Knicks have won 14 straight against the Nets, the longest run by either side in the series, and Brooklyn's last win came on January 28, 2023, while last season's four meetings were decided by margins from one point to 54.

Brooklyn led 87-84 with just over three minutes left at Barclays Center in March before the Knicks closed on an 8-0 run to win 93-92, with Towns finishing on 26 points and 15 rebounds.

Nets coach Jordi Fernandez also lost all four meetings with Mike Brown's Knicks last season, having served as Brown's associate head coach in Sacramento.

Our Nets vs. Knicks tips and prediction

The Knicks should win with the better defence and an extra day of rest, but covering a spread this big asks for more offence than they have shown, since none of their wins has reached that margin and the Nets have kept most of their losses closer.

We expect New York to win without covering the spread, with the total staying under the line, since the Knicks' games have averaged fewer combined points than it and they set the slower pace.