Wanna Bet? Knicks' Projected Win Total Revealed

Et tu, Caesars? 

Caesars Sportsbook doesn't appear convinced that the New York Knicks' landing of Jalen Brunson will thrust them into the safe portions of the Eastern Conference playoff bracket. Releasing its initial over/under win totals for the 2022-23 season, the sportsbook places the Knicks at 39.5, in 10th place among Eastern Conference contenders. 

Though the Knicks have enjoyed an eventful offseason, it's easy to see why they haven't been able to make much headway as betting favorites: while Brunson is fresh off a breakout postseason campaign in Dallas, his time in New York, to the tune of a $104 million contract, will mark the first time where he's been a full-time top option. 

While this wouldn't put the Knicks back into the top eight, the Knicks would still have some semblance of a postseason in 10th place thanks to the NBA's newly-minted Play-In Tournament. Under Caesar's initial projections, the Knicks would play the ninth-place Cleveland Cavaliers (42.5) in the four-team battle for the seventh and eighth seeds (Toronto and Chicago meet in the battle above them). New York has gone over their initial projection only once in the past nine seasons, the exception being the shortened 2020-21 campaign that ended in the opening round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.

The initial projections, it should be noted, take only current rosters and events into account, meaning that the Knicks' number could be adjusted if they were to, say, land Donovan Mitchell before the season tipped off. Caesars' assistant director of trading Adam Pullen noted that the sixth-place Brooklyn Nets (45.5) were particularly affected by this scenario thanks to the uncertainty surrounding Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving's respective futures.

"We just have to go off of what we know now," Pullen told ESPN. "One thing I am not high on is predicting where players are going. If (Durant or Irving) gets traded, then we have to adjust to the news."

The defending Eastern Conference champion Boston Celtics (54.5) top both the Eastern Conference and the Association as a whole with the Phoenix Suns leading the West with one fewer on their docket. The last two NBA champions (Milwaukee and Golden State) are tied for third at 52.5 while the Los Angles Clippers (51.5) are among the final projected to be in the 50s along with Philadelphia, Memphis, and Miami (50.5 each).