The New York Knicks are to Christmas Day what the Dallas Cowboys are to Thanksgiving Day - always featured. After taking down the San Antonio Spurs inside Madison Square Garden last year, they’ll be trying to do the same against the Cleveland Cavaliers. To tip off the holiday tripleheader, we’ve got our best Cavaliers vs. Knicks predictions for Christmas Day.

To fully take advantage of the holiday spirit and not just our top Cavaliers vs. Knicks picks for Christmas, we’ve also hooked you up with a colossal BetMGM Sportsbook promo code bonus!

Cavaliers vs. Knicks Predictions for NBA on Christmas Day, 12/25

These Eastern Conference favorites didn’t play one another last Christmas, and they also didn’t fulfill the collision course they were on to the Eastern Conference Finals since the Cavs were eliminated by the Indiana Pacers. The Knicks were as well shortly thereafter, so both of these teams are looking to get over the hump.

We’ve also already made Cavaliers vs. Knicks predictions this year, which was on NBA Opening Night! So, these rivals of sorts are used to playing one another in the spotlight, and in that first meeting this season, New York came away with the 119-111 victory. That’s on par with what we’ve seen from these teams overall this year as well.

Despite being the betting favorites to win the entire Eastern Conference heading into the season, Cleveland has been quite mediocre thus far (New York had the second-shortest odds). With that in mind, Cavaliers vs. Knicks predictions for Christmas could still play a role come season’s end for more than just our NBA expert picks.

We’ll also look into guys who tend to perform in these holiday moments to provide you with the most value possible as our best bet!

 

 

 

Cavaliers vs. Knicks Best Bet: New York First Half Spread -3  Points (-115 at BetMGM)

As it seems many fans are, we’re expecting the Christmas Day slate to tip off with a New York victory in front of the faithful at Madison Square Garden. Cleveland may be the ones coming off a win in which they scored 141 points, but they were also the ones hosting, and it was against the lowly New Orleans Pelicans.

We also know that we’re backing New York with our Cavaliers vs. Knicks predictions after a loss on Tuesday night. However, they rested both Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby in preparation for this holiday matchup. Those were the two leading scorers when the Knicks beat the Cavs to start the season, not to mention one of Karl-Anthony Towns' several triple-doubles.

He’s set up to have another one, as Cleveland remains without Evan Mobley down low. That should help fuel New York to the fast start that are Cavaliers vs. Knicks predictions suggest. New York is the fourth-highest scoring team in the first half, and a rested Brunson and Anunoby should have them coming out hot.

They also rank inside the top 10 in terms of defense in the first half of games, and as for Cleveland, they rank 18th or worse in both of those aspects. Consider a 30+ game from Jalen Brunson, but we’ve got New York -3 in the first half (-115 at BetMGM) as the best bet from our Cavaliers vs. Knicks predictions.
 

 

 

How To Watch Cavaliers vs. Knicks On Christmas Day

With this being the very first game of the five-game holiday slate, make sure that you check out how to watch Cavaliers vs. Knicks on Christmas Day:

  • Where: Madison Square Garden in New York, NY
  • When: 12 PM ET on 12/25
  • Watch on TV: ESPN, ABC
  • Where to stream: ESPN+
     
 

 

Cavaliers vs. Knicks Odds, Spreads, Total & Betting Lines

With the game at MSG and Cleveland underperforming a bit this year, we aren’t shocked to see that New York is favored in the latest Cavaliers vs. Knicks odds for Christmas at BetMGM Sportsbook:

 

 

Cavaliers vs. Knicks Injury Report & Latest News

We’re going to start with Cavaliers vs. Knicks injury updates in Cleveland since they’re the ones who can’t seem to stay healthy. That said, Darius Garland was able to play on Tuesday and will be ready to go on Christmas. Of course, the absences of Evan Mobley and Max Strus are the negatives.

As for Cavaliers vs. Knicks injuries in New York, they are a team that is also no stranger to them. Miles McBride will be out for a bit yet, but we expect Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby’s day-to-day status to be a non-issue. As always, check on more than just Cavaliers vs. Knicks injuries with the Fantasy Alarm NBA injury report.
 

 

 

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