After waking up in the second half to take care of business against the lowly Nets on Monday night, New York continues their road trip by going into Charlotte to take on the 4-13 Hornets. Charlotte started the season off on a relatively good note, going 2-1 in their first three games, but has struggled mightily since, going just 2-12.
They have had some bright spots coming in the form of rookie standout Kon Knueppel, who is averaging 19.4PPG, and 5.8RPG while shooting 43.8% from three, and fellow
rookie Ryan Kalkbrenner, who is averaging 9.4PPG,6.9RPG, and 1.9BPG while shooting 80.3% from the field. But other than that, it’s been another year filled with a lot of unknowns. LaMelo Ball, who made headlines a few weeks ago with his rumored frustration with the organization, continued to be an enigma- one that shows promise, but also cannot stay on the court. Brandon Miller has also been hit with the injury bug once again. And will they ever figure out what to do with Miles Bridges?
To be fair to the Hornets, though, questions like this are often an unavoidable part of a rebuild. In the process of accruing talent and developing young players, there are often going to be questions about injuries, fit, and what to do with the older players. The answers to these questions are often difficult. And unfortunately for the Hornets and their fans, they’ve found it even more difficult to answer these questions than some past rebuilding teams.
Knicks fans can relate in a way, because not that long ago, the fanbase was having intense internal dialogues about whether RJ Barrett could be the number one option on a playoff team, and if guys like Julius Randle’s presence made sense for the team in the long run.
While New York has solved said problems from their rebuilding years, it does have a completely new set of questions to address. Ones that revolve around their defense, health, depth, youth, archetypes, and lack of size on the wings. This isn’t the time or place to dive deep into those questions, but it is proof that unless you are one of the top couple of teams in the league, there will always be different questions that arise. The nature and seriousness of those questions will differ, but both the Knicks and the Hornets, who are on completely different timelines and have completely different expectations, are dealing with unknowns of their own.
Prediction:
This has the makings of a get-right game for the Knicks. The Hornets are one of the worst defensive teams in the league, ranking 24th in defensive rating and last in opponent three-point percentage. They are also just middle of the pack in terms of offensive rating, meaning they shouldn’t be able to take advantage of the Knicks’ defense, which has suffered since OG Anunoby’s injury.
New York may still struggle to contain Miles Bridges, who has had some big games against the Knicks, as well as Colin Sexton, who is the kind of downhill slashing guard Knicks players not named Deuce McBride have struggled to slow down. And don’t forget about the aforementioned Knueppel, who could have a big game against the Knicks’ shoddy three-point defense.
But for as many problems as the Hornets offense could cause the Knicks’ defense, New York has even scarier problems for Charlotte’s defense. Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson, both of whom are coming off great performances against the Nets, should have no problems getting whatever they want tonight. The Hornets don’t have any defenders that can reliably slow down, let alone stop, either of the Knicks’ top two options. Expect a high-scoring affair early on, with the Knicks pulling away in the second half much like they did against the Nets.
Knicks take it 120-105
Game Details
Date: Wednesday, November 26, 2025
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Place: Spectrum Center, Charlotte, NC
TV: MSG Network
Follow: @ptknicksblog and bsky
