For the second game in a row, the New York nicks will face off against an inferior opponent that is not only having a rough year, but also going through a tough stretch. The New Orleans Pelicans’ three-game
losing streak may not be as bad as the five-game losing streak that the Atlanta Hawks carried into their matchup with New York, but they enter tonight having gone 5-5 in their last 10 games, and are last in the west with an abysmal 8-25 record.
They have shown the glimpses of being competitive though. They recently lost back-to-back games against a good Suns team by single-digits, beat fellow struggling teams in the Mavericks, and Pacers, and beat the Rockets, and Bulls, a contender, and a play-in team respectively. But as bad teams often do, they show their ugly side just as often, if not more. They got blown out 141-118 by the Cavaliers just three games ago, gave up 119 points to the 25th ranked offense in the league without Cam Thomas, and went through a 1-16 stretch not too long ago.
Zion Williamson, who has been coming off the bench, has looked good, averaging 21.7 PPG in just 28.4 MPG, as has Trey Murphy, who is averaging 20.6 PPG, and a career-high 6.1 RPG, and 1.7 SPG. And rookies Jeremiah Fears, and Derik Queen have given the organization and it’s fans something to look forward to. The former is averaging nearly 15 PPG, 3.6 RPG, and 3.1 APG, while shooting 43.6% from the field, while the latter is averaging 13.5 PPG, 7 RPG, and 4 APG.
But the team remains an inconsistent one devoid of direction. They are very clearly not good enough to compete for even a play-in spot in the Western Conference, and their best player has all the potential in the world, but cannot stay healthy. Their most recent draft class has shown some intriguing promise, and there’s reasons to be optimistic about what they could turn into. Yet New Orleans has continued to hang on to pieces that don’t align with a rebuilding timeline. They are 26th in offensive rating, 27th in defensive rating, 27th in net rating, are just 5-12 in what NBA.com defines as “close games”, and don’t do anything particularly well besides get to the free-throw line, and grab offensive rebounds.
The Knicks, thankfully, are in a much better position. For those on analytics watch, the Knicks come into tonight’s game boasting the third best offensive rating, 15th best defensive rating, fourth best net rating, and are among the top 10 in a plethora of other categories including, but not limited to, assist to turnover percentage, offensive, defensive, and total rebound percentage, true shooting percentage, and effective field goal percentage. They also are among the hottest teams in the league, going 8-2 in their last 10 games, and will once again have the best player on the court in Jalen Brunson-something the Knicks can say in most games.
On top of that, even when Brunson, and or Karl-Anthony Towns struggle, their other pieces have picked up the slack. Thanks to Mike Brown’s trust in his bench pieces, and sophomores, the Knicks have looked like a much deeper team than expected, especially when considering that Josh Hart, Deuce McBride, and Landry Shamet have been sidelined by injuries. During their recent stretch, Tyler Kolek, Jordan Clarkson, Mo Diawara, and most recently, Kevin McCullar Jr. have all played significant roles in wins, and they’ve started to not only look, but also feel, like a team that can do something special.
Prediction
The Knicks are currently 8.5-point favorites, and ESPN.com favors the Knicks at 74.4%. Even with Hart, Shamet, and Mitchell Robinson expected to miss the game tonight, New York should win this matchup. Even with Williamson, and Murphy playing well, they are the better, deeper, and more experienced team, will have the best player on the court, and will be getting a boost with McBride expected to return for the first time since injuring his ankle against the Magic on December 7th.
It won’t be easy keeping Williamson out of the paint, and the Knicks will have to be disciplined not to get into foul trouble. Murphy, who is a good three-point shooter, may also get his way against what continues to be a shaky Knicks three-point defense. But the Pelicans putrid defense should have even more troubles against the Knicks’ high octane offense.
They, like the overwhelming majority of the league, don’t have anyone that can stop Brunson. They don’t match up particularly well with Towns. And the Pelicans three-point defense is even worse than the Knicks, which could lead to a lot of open looks for Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, McBride, Clarkson, and Kolek. All in all, the Knicks, if they don’t succumb to a slow start, should win this one pretty handedly. Knicks improve to 23-9 to pull within one game of the first-seed Pistons after a 130-115 win.
Game Details
Teams: New York Knicks (22-9) vs New Orleans Pelicans (8-25)
Date: Monday, Dec. 29, 2025
Time: 8:00 PM ET
Location: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, LA
TV: MSG
Follow: @ptknicksblog and bsky
