Knicks Eyeing Second Road Win of the Year Against the Magic
The New York Knicks head into Saturday afternoon’s matchup against the Orlando Magic third in the Eastern Conference with a 9-5 record after pulling off an anxiety-ridden win in Dallas against the Mavericks. While the Magic are 8-7 thus far, they’ve defeated the Knicks in their first encounter back on November 12th when Orlando pulled off a 124-107 win. New York claimed their first road win of the season when they defeated the Mavericks 113-111 on Wednesday night. They now eye a second straight road win and look to stay afloat as a top seed in the East. A second road win would give the Knicks tons of confidence going into their next matchup on Monday night in Brooklyn against the struggling Nets.
Orlando may be without Paolo Banchero, who suffered a left groin strain during the Magic’s first matchup with the Knicks. He’s expected to miss Thursday night’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers and may very well miss Saturday night’s game as well. In his absence, expect Franz Wagner and Desmond Bane to be the two main offensive threats for the Magic. Wagner and Bane combined for 50 points in Orlando’s win over New York on November 12th. The Magic may certainly keep this offensive game plan going, especially if Wagner and Bane can steer the ship to a Magic win.
While the Knicks are still without OG Anunoby, New York’s main focus during Saturday’s game is rebounding. Orlando outrebounded New York 49-37, and that cannot happen again if the Knicks want to win this game. Mitchell Robinson and Karl-Anthony Towns must be huge contributors on glass. Another spark would be their three-point shooting, which has been hit or miss throughout the better 14 games of the season for New York. In the Knicks’ win over the Mavs on Wednesday night, they shot 12 for 42 from beyond the arc, which was hard to watch. With Mike Brown’s new offensive system, New York must find a way to get the ball in the bucket consistently.
New York is 6-5 against Eastern Conference opponents but still looks to maintain dominance in the East. A win would get momentum going heading into Monday’s game against the Nets and during the Knicks’ NBA Cup game against the Charlotte Hornets next Wednesday. Jalen Brunson and the Knicks are hungry for a second straight road win. Will they be able to overcome a hungry Orlando Magic squad? This matchup airs Saturday at 5 p.m. EST.
