New York opens the week at home against an 0-5 Brooklyn team playing on no rest. Win that one and the Bulls and Cavaliers decide whether this is a slump or a season.
Take Brooklyn
The Knicks play the Nets on Monday, November 2, at home, after two days off. Brooklyn is 0-5 and has lost five straight. It plays the second night of a back-to-back and its second game in a row on the road. New York is 2-4 and 12th in the Eastern Conference. This is the game to take.
Thin Nets
Over five games, Brooklyn scores 104.8 points per 100 possessions and allows 115.2. That is a net rating of -10.5, a small sample but a loud one. Julius Randle averages 21.0 points and Michael Porter Jr. 20.8. Mikel Brown Jr., Egor Demin and Tyler Bilodeau are all out for coach Jordi Fernandez. The Knicks owe Brooklyn their 2027 and 2029 first-round picks. Beating the Nets is the one cheap way to make the debt hurt less.
Bulls, then Cleveland
Chicago comes to the Garden on Wednesday, November 4. The Knicks won there 133-127 on October 28. Jose Alvarado is listed to return that day. He is the only Knick out now, and he plays 19.9 minutes a game. Saturday, November 7, is at Cleveland on NBA TV. The Knicks swept the Cavaliers in the 2026 conference finals, and the same team shows up again at home on November 11. That makes Saturday the hardest night of the week.
Race is tight
The standings are close. Tenth place is the Heat at 2-4, level with New York. Sixth is the Wizards at 3-3, one game up. Two wins this week would put the Knicks in the middle of that pack. Two losses would leave them 12th with 76 games left.
Fix the margins
New York scores 109.6 and allows 110.6 per 100 possessions through six games. That is a net of -1.1, which is a fixable gap. Jalen Brunson is at 25.5 points a game. Karl-Anthony Towns is at 21.8 points and 13.5 rebounds. The supporting cast has to match them. Three games, two at home, and a winless Brooklyn first on the list. Anything less than two wins is a bad week.
When do the Knicks play this week?
They host the Nets on Monday, November 2, host the Bulls on Wednesday, November 4, and visit the Cavaliers on Saturday, November 7. The Cleveland game is on NBA TV.
Who is out for the Nets against the Knicks?
Brooklyn lists Mikel Brown Jr., Egor Demin and Tyler Bilodeau as out. The Nets are 0-5 and playing the second night of a back-to-back.
