76ers vs. Knicks: The best player props for Oct. 26

The New York Knicks will try to right the ship Tuesday night as they host a battered Philadelphia 76ers team at Madison Square Garden. While the Knicks went undefeated in the preseason and looked impressive in their first two outings, they coughed up a large third quarter lead to the rebuilding Orlando Magic in what was a desultory loss in their last game. The Sixers, meanwhile, are doing their best to play through the deafening noise of the Ben Simmons situation as well as Joel Embiid’s knee issues.

With the injury report for the Sixers murky and Embiid’s status uncertain, we zero in our favorite prop bets for the Knicks as they try to end a 15-game losing streak to their Atlantic Division rivals.

Tip off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET, and we have the three best player prop bets below.

JULIUS RANDLE OVER/UNDER 22.5 POINTS

Randle won Most Improved Player last year on his way to both his first All-Star appearance and All-NBA second team selection. It was a magical season, where he improved in every statistical category, both in volume and efficiency. But his jumps were so stark, that many have been doubting whether he is capable of repeating his performance. His shooting jump in particular on the surface just looks like an outlier - from 27.7% from deep in 2019-20 to 41.1% last season. And through three games, Randle is shooting just 29.2%.

But that doesn’t mean the Under is the play here. The Knicks upgraded their offensive spacing significantly in the offseason by bringing in Kemba Walker and Evan Fournier, which has given Randle much space to work with.

And he’s responded by changing his shot profile, swapping out some of his more difficult midrange shots for isolation attacks at the rim. Randle is shooting about 25% of his shots within 0-3 feet of the basket this season, which is more than double last year's mark. And he’s getting 1.2 points per possession out of his isolation attempts, simply by bullying his man into the basket in single coverage, because the Knicks have given him real surrounding shooting. With no Ben Simmons, there isn’t a Sixer with both the size, speed, and strength to prevent Randle from dominating the interior tonight. 

PICK: OVER 22.5 POINTS (-113)

---

RJ BARRETT OVER/UNDER 1.5 3-POINT FIELD GOALS MADE

For as much skepticism as Randle has faced for his shooting improvements, RJ Barrett has faced even more. Going from a non-entity from deep his entire career to a 40% guy isn’t something typically seen from second-year players, but RJ did exactly that, all the while increasing the volume of his attempts until a dismal playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks.

Barrett has traditionally been a slow starter. He started slow his rookie campaign before figuring some things out late, then his sophomore campaign was the same way, and he’s traditionally been a second-half kind of player. Barrett has started slow again this year, after a nice showing against Boston where he went 3-for-7 from 3, he’s down to 21.1% on the season.

But don’t expect that to hold. The improvements to his mechanics are real and repeatable, and while his volume as an on-ball guy will probably decline this year as he finds a new place in the offensive pecking order, he’s still going to get his spot-up shots from distance. In the preseason, RJ took 6.3 3s a game and hit 48% of them. 1.5 is just such a low number for a player that is going to be taking six or more 3’s per game this season that the Over here is a good bet.

PICK: OVER 1.5 3-POINT FIELD GOALS MADE (-125)

---

KEMBA WALKER - OVER/UNDER 13.5 POINTS

Kemba Walker’s signing was New York’s signature offseason move. To paraphrase The Dude, he was the missing piece that kind of tied it all together. But there’s a reason that the Boston Celtics were willing to dump Walker in the first place and pay a first-round pick to do so. So far, Walker has shown that he’s still a capable shooter and facilitator, but he’s also shown that he might be officially entering a new stage of his career. 

Walker has struggled to attack the rim and beat his man off the dribble the way he used to, and at just 8.0 field goal attempts per game, he is taking by far the fewest shots of his career. Given the Sixers' size on the interior, there’s no reason to think that Walker’s fortunes inside will change tonight.

PICK: UNDER 13.5 POINTS (-113)