Knicks vs Raptors Prediction, Pick Tonight | NBA Best Bet for Friday

Here's everything you need to know about Knicks vs. Raptors on Friday, Dec. 1 — our expert prediction and betting picks for tonight.

The Toronto Raptors are coming off a big win against the Phoenix Suns and will look to make it two in a row Friday night against the Knicks.

New York is seeking a third consecutive win after walloping the Hornets to qualify for the knockout stage of the In-Season Tournament. They’ll travel to Toronto after a close home win against the Pistons on Thursday night.

Let's get to our Knicks vs. Raptors prediction and pick.

Pick: Scottie Barnes Under 5.5 Assists

The Knicks have somewhat exceeded expectations this season. They’re 10-7 and on pace for 48 wins — about three wins over than their preseason win total. Julius Randle has had his ups and downs, but has stabilized since the beginning of the season. In the first six games, Randle averaged 13.7 points, 10.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists on just 27.1% shooting. Since then, his scoring and efficiency has raised significantly. His rebound and assist numbers have stayed constant, but he’s averaging 23.8 points on 41.7% shooting. That’s still not efficient, but it’s better.

Under head coach Tom Thibodeau, the Knicks have historically taken care of the bad teams and done well on back-to-backs. They’re 36-26-1 ATS vs. teams with a sub-.400 winning percentage, according to BetLabs. That doesn’t apply to the Raptors, who are 9-10, but it should be noted that Thibodeau’s Knicks are an impressive 25-15-2 ATS on the second night of a back-to-back — a situation they find themselves in tonight.

Toronto has consistently been a .500 team this season. Outside of a three-game losing streak at the end of October, the Raptors haven’t lost or won more than two games in a row all season. They’ve bounced back well after losses — an important trait for teams looking to stack regular season wins. Off a loss going back to the 2021-22 season, the Raptors are 48-36 ATS. However, Toronto just won against the Suns in a game where the Raptors refused to give up despite a brutal stretch of the schedule.

Friday’s game against the Knicks will be the seventh game in the past 11 days for the Raptors and they might be feeling some tired legs late in the game, although I was expecting that against the Suns and it never came. That said, we could see fatigue set in after almost two weeks of consistent playing, but it’s unclear if that would show in the form of them not keeping up with New York, or failing to hit shots down the stretch.

Scottie Barnes has been a standout for the Raptors this season as he's averaging 19.1 points, 9.1 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game. However, the Knicks' defense is a strong counter for Barnes, who averages just 12.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.7 assists against New York. With little rest lately, a look at Barnes' unders could be a strong angle. The Raptors will also be without Christian Koloko (illness) tonight.

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Based on my numbers, I’d be looking to the Raptors and the over in this spot, but after a long string of road games, I’m staying away from a side and total.

Instead, I’ll look to Scottie Barnes' assists prop. His line last game was 5.5 and I like that number a lot for this game as it’s a line he’s gone under in four of his past five games and in six of seven games against the Knicks. At 4.5, I’d pivot to his rebounds + assists line at 13.5 down to 12.5. Barnes has been rebounding a lot lately, but against the Knicks, I expect that number to drop as they’re the best rebounding team in the league.

Pick: Scottie Barnes Under 5.5 Assists