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Welcome to the NBA on Christmas Day, where we kick off the festivities with a matchup between the two preseason Eastern Conference favorites. One of those favorites, the New York Knicks, has more than lived up to the billing. They won the NBA Cup earlier this month and are hovering around a 60-win pace under new head coach Mike Brown. The other, the Cleveland Cavaliers, have struggled quite a bit more. 

After losing just 18 games all season a year ago, the Cavaliers are in danger of reaching that total in January this season. With Darius Garland and Jarrett Allen underwhelming and nobody's shots falling, Cleveland's contender status is in serious doubt. The Cavs enter Christmas with a 17-14 record and in seventh place in the East.

How could they get their season back on track? A marquee win over the Knicks would be a good start. So to prepare for the Christmas action, below are our best bets for Knicks-Cavs, both against the spread and through props.

Bold predictions for each NBA Christmas Day game: Thunder-Spurs tension, a Curry flurry and more
Jack Maloney
Bold predictions for each NBA Christmas Day game: Thunder-Spurs tension, a Curry flurry and more

Cavaliers at Knicks: Where to watch

  • Time: 12 p.m. ET | Date: Thursday, Dec. 25
  • Location: Madison Square Garden -- New York
  • TV channel: ABC/ESPN | Live stream: fubo (Try for free)
  • Odds: Knicks -6.5, O/U: 239.5 (via DraftKings) 

Cavaliers at Knicks odds, prediction, best bet

Has Cleveland really righted the ship, or the Cavaliers just making their shots? They've won their last two games, but allowed 250 points in the process. Those wins came because they took 93 3-pointers and made 44 of them. Now, Cleveland lived off of its shooting a season ago, but there are still major problems here. Darius Garland is starting to right the ship, but with Evan Mobley dealing with a calf strain, it'd be hard to pick against a Knicks team that's rolling at home in a marquee game even with some injuries of their own. Jalen Brunson sat on Tuesday for load-management purposes, so he should be good to go in this one. The Pick: Knicks -6

Mitchell Robinson averaged just under 10 rebounds per game when the Knicks played the Cavaliers in the 2023 playoffs. He's faced them three times since then in the regular season and pulled in 30 total rebounds. He just has a way of bullying Jarrett Allen, who was so shaken after that playoff series that he admitted "the lights were brighter than expected." So I'm not overthinking this one. Expect Robinson to own the glass. The Pick: Robinson Over 7.5 Rebounds