From mid-December until just last week, the Knicks played the worst stretch of basketball they’ve played since 2022. So naturally, it’ll take more than a three-game winning streak, with two of the wins coming against the Nets and Kings, to win back the trust of the fanbase and the belief of the national media. But if they are going to turn around the narrative and go from pretenders back to contenders, the upcoming stretch will go a long way in doing that.
Over the next few weeks, New York has tough
games against the Lakers, Nuggets, Pistons (twice), Celtics, Rockets, Cavaliers, and Spurs. But they can’t look too far ahead as they travel north to Toronto to take on a 29-19 Raptors team tonight that sits just one loss behind them in the standings.
The Raptors came into the season expected to be a play-in level team due to their lack of a superstar and relative youth. And they have had an up-and-down season, not dissimilar to the Knicks. But thanks to their hot start and recent surge, they’re overperforming, and have legitimized themselves as a very good team, one the Knicks cannot take lightly.
They come into tonight fifth in the league in defensive rating, and 12th in net rating, and are just a few days removed from wins against the defending champion Thunder, a solid Trail Blazers team, a Kings team that the Knicks lost against not that long ago, and an 18-point blowout of the Warriors.
They are led by Brandon Ingram, who enters tonight averaging 21.5PPG, 5.9RPG, and 3.8APG, but their most important player remains Scottie Barnes, who averages 19.5PPG, 8.3RPG, and 5.6APG, while being one of the best and most versatile front-court defenders in the league. But former Knicks RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley have proven to be pivotal parts of the team as well.
Barrett started off the season incredibly strong, and his downhill attacking was crucial to the team’s early-season success. When Barrett went down with a knee injury in November, Toronto’s offense quickly fell apart. But with him now back in the fold, albeit on limited playing time, the Raptors look like their former selves again.
Quickley, on the contrary, struggled to start the season. And while he was still doing some of the little things that made him a fan favorite in New York, some Raptors fans were starting to sour on the 26-year-old, asking for him to be traded. But Quickley has bounced back in a major way, averaging 25.3PPG, 6.8APG, and 6.8RPG, while shooting 61.1% from the field and 61.5% from three over his last four games.
Prediction
Tonight will be an incredibly revealing matchup between two teams that are in the top three in the league in net rating over their last four games and are looking to make a statement. The Knicks, who are 2-0 against the Raptors this season, could secure the season series win against them with a win tonight. But the Raptors, who have yet to play the Knicks with Barrett in their lineup, are likely looking to get some revenge now that they are closer to being fully healthy.
A big predictor of tonight’s matchup will likely take place in the front court for multiple reasons. One, both teams likely aren’t sure about the availability of some key big men. Mike Brown said last night that he’d consult with the medical staff on whether Mitchell Robinson could play tonight in the second half of a back-to-back, but that still seems somewhat unlikely given his inability to do so thus far this season. If he does get the go-ahead, though, it would give the Knicks a significant advantage on the boards, as the Raptors will be without Jakob Poeltl, who is out with a back injury, and have listed standout rookie forward Collin Murray-Boyles as a game-time decision due to a thumb injury.
On another note, though, Karl-Anthony Towns has had some mixed results against the Raptors. In the past, Towns has had some very good games against the Raptors, including a pair of 27-point games and a 31-point game against them last season. But in his first two meetings against them this season, he is averaging just 18 points against them, largely due to the excellent individual defense of the aforementioned Barnes.
Regardless of what happens down low, though, all eyes, at least from an entertainment standpoint, should be on the backcourt, where the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week, Quickley, will face off against the player he used to back up, Jalen Brunson.
The Raptors have the talent and matchups needed to win this game, regardless of who does or doesn’t show up on the injury report. They just did so against a Thunder team that is still widely regarded as the best team in the league. And the Knicks are on the second night of a back-to-back. But, and I may be a foolish optimist, the Knicks, despite making it look ugly last night, are in the midst of their own three-game winning streak, and I have them winning a close one 110-105.
Game Details
Date: Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Time: 7:30 PM ET
Place: Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, ON
TV: MSG
Follow: @ptknicksblog and bsky
