Opening night at Madison Square Garden pairs two teams whose preseason rows say very little. Neither side has played an official game this season, and the only games with real rotations on both sides are last spring's playoff series. That series was lopsided, and it is the sturdiest evidence in the file.
New York won all four playoff meetings, by margins that ran from a single-digit squeeze to a 39-point blowout, and added a lopsided win in February. The Knicks are described as returning the same starting five, with five days of rest and a ring ceremony at home to set the tone.
The key matchup is the Knicks wing group and Towns-led spacing against Philadelphia's perimeter creation and whatever the 76ers have at the rim. Philadelphia's preseason win over New York in early October was a rotation game and carries little weight; the Knicks' own bad preseason scores belong in the same bucket.
On absences, the Knicks list nobody. Philadelphia has a few fringe names out and three rotation pieces listed as doubtful, which would thin the depth rather than remove a star, though that feed is a few days old and the game-day report is the one to watch.
I expect New York to start with full energy, control the half-court and pull away once the benches come in. That's why I'm siding with the Knicks to win by a clear margin.
