Inconsistent. Slow-start. Disappointing. We’ve heard all of these words, plus more, to describe the Knicks’ season so far. But after Wednesday’s Christmas Day thriller, they’re 20-10, have managed to go 9-2 in December, and are in the midst of a five-game winning streak that has inched them to just two games behind the defending champion Boston Celtics for second place in the conference.

Tonight, they’ll look to continue their hot streak and extend their aforementioned winning streak against the Magic, who the Knicks have seemingly played two years’ worth of games against already this season. Even crazier than the fact that this is the third meeting between these two teams over the last three and a half weeks is the fact that the Knicks will be playing the third different iteration of this team over that span.

When these two teams first met on December 3rd, the Magic were already without Paolo Banchero, who had suffered a torn oblique. But they still had Franz Wagner, who was in the middle of his breakout season, and he gave the Knicks all they could handle, going for 30 points and six assists. Unfortunately, just four days after that game, Wagner was diagnosed with the same exact injury that had sidelined Banchero. So when these teams played again on the 15th, Orlando was playing without either of their two best players. In their absence, Moe Wagner, the older brother of Franz, stepped up and scored a career-high 32 points on 10-15 shooting from the field. Just a week after that game, Wagner went down with a non-contact knee injury that was later revealed to be a torn ACL.

With Banchero, and both Wagners out, the Magic are as shorthanded as any other team in the league, but have consistently put up great efforts- a credit to head coach Jamahl Mosley, and their young players for buying in. They won the game against Miami, in which the older Wagner went down. Then they beat the Celtics in Boston by four, and then barely lost to the Heat by one last night. And Rob Perez, in the tweet pictured below, explains so perfectly, what makes the Magic so fun to root for, but also annoying to play against. Regardless of who is playing, and who they are missing, the Magic do two things consistently. They defend at an extremely high level. And they try harder than you.

With Orlando putting up valiant efforts on a nightly basis, New York, despite being heavy favorites tonight, will have a tough task ahead of them.

Projected Starters

Jalen Suggs, who is 6’5” will start as the de facto “point guard”. Suggs is averaging a career-high 16.5PPG on the season, but is shooting just 40.8% from the field, and 30.1% from three. And he has games of 32, and 29 points against the Bucks, and the Heat recently, but also has games of just nine points in back-to-back games against the Knicks, and Thunder. While he’ll likely continue to be inconsistent while being tasked with a heavy offensive load while the Magic navigate life without Banchero and Wagner, his main responsibility tonight will be to contain Jalen Brunson. Suggs remains one of the premier perimeter defenders in the league, but Brunson has actually had success against him this season, averaging 26PPG, and 4.5APG while shooting 48% from the field in two games.

Starting alongside Suggs in the backcourt will be Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. The pair are the only players on the team to have played in, and started, over 25 games this season. Pope was brought in to be the floor spacer the Magic have so badly needed in recent years, but he’s been anything but that this season, shooting a career-low 30.2% from three and an eight-year low 40.3% from the field. That being said, he’s still a solid defender and did go off for 24 points just six days ago against the Heat.

Getting his third start will likely be Trevelin Queen. The 27-year-old, who is in his third season in the league, is a bit of an unknown commodity, but he’s coming off of a 17-point outburst against the Celtics just two games ago. He’s also been incredibly active on the defensive end, racking up eight steals in the three games since he’s been thrust into the rotation.

Starting at power forward will be rookie standout Tristan da Silva. The 23-year-old out of Colorado is averaging just 8.7PPG, 3.6RPG, and 1.5APG on the season, but has seen a significant uptick in minutes as of late, and he’s rewarded the Magic, with stellar play. In his last five games, he is averaging 15.8PPG while shooting 58.3% from the field, and 37% from three on 5.4 attempts per game. And Knicks fans may remember that in their last meeting, he went off for a career-high 20 points.

Manning the middle will be Goga Bitadze, a name Knicks fans became very familiar with during the offseason due to New York’s reported interest in the 25 year-old center. Bitadze is having a career year, averaging 9.4PPG, 8.3RPG, 2APG, 1.7SPG, and 0.9BPG in 24.2MPG, which are all career-highs. He’s been an incredibly steady, and reliable rock for the Magic and if they are to win this game, he’ll likely be a big reason why.

Injury Report

Orlando: Gary Harris (hamstring) out, Paolo Banchero (oblique) out, Moe Wagner (knee) out, Franz Wagner (oblique) out

New York: Mitchell Robinson (ankle) out, Kevin McCullar Jr. (knee) out

Prediction

New York has dropped games to the Utah Jazz, the Detroit Pistons, and the Atlanta Hawks. Orlando, despite missing a plethora of players throughout the season, have beaten the Suns, Lakers, Heat, and Celtics. So do not let the recent records, or the injury report, fool you.

The Magic are a very very solid team that plays incredibly hard and makes opponents beat them. If the Knicks are not careful, and play down to competition, this could very well go the Magic’s way.

That being said, it does feel like the Knicks have somewhat turned a corner. Maybe THE corner. But they’ve been better as of late. While their offense has slowed down slightly, they still rank fourth in offensive rating in December, and their much-improved defense ranks fifth in defensive rating for the month. And overall, their net rating is also fourth in the league for December, which is ahead of contenders like the Celtics, and Mavericks.

The Knicks may come out slow, and the Magic may keep this game close with their stingy defense, physicality, and toughness. But like they did against the Raptors, and Spurs, I think the Knicks eventually get enough for their offense to take over and come out on top. Expect the trio of Mikal Bridges, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Brunson to all play well again tonight. Bridges is coming off of a 41-point masterpiece against the Spurs, and scored 17 or more in both games against the Magic this season, while both Towns, and Brunson have scored 20 or more in both meetings against Orlando as well. Knicks take this one 105-95 and extend their winning streak to six.

Game Details

New York Knicks (20-10) vs Orlando Magic (19-13)

Location: Kia Center, Orlando, FL

Date: Friday, December 27, 2024

Time: 7:00 pm ET

Watch: MSG

Follow: @ptknicksblog and bsky