Reigning NBA champions New York Knicks head to Xfinity Mobile Arena on Friday to face a Philadelphia 76ers side rebuilt over the summer with a title as the ultimate goal, in what will be the second meeting between the two teams this season.

Philadelphia traded Paul George and draft capital to Boston for Jaylen Brown, then signed LeBron James as a free agent, directly after the Knicks swept them out of last season's play-offs on their way to the title.

The 76ers won the teams' opening fixture of this campaign 106-100 at Madison Square Garden on October 20, and New York arrives for the rematch at 2-3 against a 4-1 Philadelphia side that has started life with its new starting five looking every bit the contender it was built to be.

New York Knicks vs. Philadelphia 76ers, what do the early numbers say?

Five games is a small sample, so New York's 2-3 start and eighth-place standing should not be read as a verdict on a team that won it all last season. The headline result is Thursday's 133-127 win at Chicago, the back end of a back-to-back, in which Jalen Brunson produced 38 points and seven assists to drag his side over the line.

Philadelphia's only blemish came in the second night of its own back-to-back, a 93-106 loss to Detroit on October 25, and the 76ers responded immediately with a 114-109 road win at Indiana three days later. Joel Embiid sat out that Detroit defeat entirely, which likely contributed to the loss.

Both sides arrive on a single day of rest, and fans leaning on the NBA schedule will notice neither team gets much of a breather either side of this one, with New York already through a back-to-back this week and Philadelphia walking straight into another the night after.

The picture that emerges is not one-sided. New York actually carries the better offensive rating of the two teams and out-rebounds Philadelphia by six boards a game, numbers that sit awkwardly alongside an 8th-place record until pace is factored in.

Philadelphia plays five more possessions a game than New York does, which inflates raw scoring totals without necessarily meaning the 76ers are the more efficient side, and the team that actually separates the two is defence, where Philadelphia's rating is nearly eight points better.

The detail most relevant to Friday night sits in the schedule rather than the stat sheet. Philadelphia plays again at Charlotte the very next evening, the second leg of a back-to-back, which is a realistic reason for Nick Nurse to manage minutes carefully in this one, particularly LeBron James's at 41 years old.

Who is missing for Knicks vs. 76ers?

New York's only absentee is backup guard Jose Alvarado, still nursing the ankle sprain he picked up against Orlando, which leaves Jalen Brunson with no real relief at point guard after already logging 35 minutes in a back-to-back finish at Chicago.

Philadelphia's list is longer but shallower in impact, with Jabari Walker, Dominick Barlow and Tacko Fall all out of the frontcourt rotation and Ariel Hukporti done for the season with a ruptured Achilles. None of the four was a starter, and Nick Nurse's first-choice five of Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, LeBron James and Joel Embiid is fully available.

Bench scoring has quietly been a Philadelphia strength early on, with Jordan Clarkson doing similar work for New York, and Anfernee Simons shooting seven-of-eleven from the field for 20 points off the bench in the win at Indiana.

Expect both coaching staffs to lean on their most recent starting fives rather than anything confirmed closer to tip-off, since no fixture-specific lineup had been released as this preview was written.

Knicks vs. 76ers, the two duels that could decide it

New York's path to an upset likely runs through Brunson out-organising Maxey rather than out-scoring him outright, since Philadelphia's bench already has scoring covered through Simons and Clarkson has shown he can match that for the Knicks.

Up front, Towns enters with a genuine rebounding edge over Embiid in the numbers so far, though Embiid's defensive gravity around the rim is the bigger reason Philadelphia's overall rating holds up, and foul trouble for either man would hand the other side a real advantage.

Player props for Knicks vs. 76ers

The history behind Knicks vs. 76ers

New York has by far the stronger recent record in this rivalry, having swept Philadelphia 4-0 in last season's Eastern Conference semifinals before going on to win the NBA play-off bracket outright, but the 76ers turned around and won this season's opening meeting at Madison Square Garden regardless.

That is the whole point of Philadelphia's summer. Trading for Jaylen Brown and signing LeBron James were moves made specifically to close the gap that last year's sweep exposed, and an early win over the champions, even without the play-off stakes, is exactly the kind of signal the rebuild was designed to produce.

James himself is the storyline threaded through all of it, entering his 24th season at 41 years old and still fielding questions about how much longer he intends to play, and every game against the team that ended his new side's title hopes before they began will carry a little extra weight.

Betting tips and prediction for Knicks vs. 76ers

Philadelphia's defensive edge and home comfort should be enough to get the job done, even with one eye on Saturday's trip to Charlotte, and a tight finish feels more likely than the eight-point swing in Friday's opening line suggests.

New York's rebounding and ball movement keep this competitive deep into the fourth quarter, but Embiid and Maxey carrying the larger individual scoring loads tips a close game Philadelphia's way.