Game Preview: Knicks vs. Magic, Nov. 12, 2025

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New York, Cleveland, and Orlando. Those three teams, in varying orders, were who many thought would be at the top of the Eastern Conference come playoff time. About 12% into the regular season, New York, which

enters tonight second in the conference, has held up their end of the bargain. Cleveland, who has dealt with injuries, has done so as well, as they find themselves in a four-way tie for third place. But Orlando? Not quite.

Analysts and fans alike believed in the Magic for good reason. They finished the 2024-25 campaign with an even 41-41 record despite their best players, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, missing a combined 56. Head coach Jamahl Mosley made the most out of a depleted roster and kept the young, but defensively tenacious team incredibly competitive. And in the offseason, they addressed one of, if not the, biggest question marks the team had- shooting. The front office pulled the trigger on a Mikal Bridges-esque deal to bring in former Memphis Grizzlies sharpshooter Desmond Bane. With their franchise cornerstones one year older, and hopefully healthier, it was reasonable to expect a good defensive team that added a career 41% three-point shooter to take the leap from good to great.

But 11 games in, the Magic have been among the most disappointing teams this season. Bane, much like the aforementioned Bridges did, has been slow in acclimating to his new team, shooting a career-low 27% from three. Banchero still struggled at times with shot selection, outside shooting, and playmaking. Wagner, who may actually be the best player on the team, has seen his PPG drop, despite having a career year from three. And Mosley, who was considered one of the better and more respected coaches around the league, has reportedly started to lose Banchero—something the organization is reportedly concerned about.

The Magic can, and likely will, turn it around eventually. Banchero has already seen some improvements after a slow start, Bane has to shoot better eventually, and the team defense, which ranked among the best last season, shouldn’t continue to be a middle-of-the-pack defense. But it’s clear that with the addition of a significant piece and newfound expectations that the majority of these players haven’t experienced, the team is having a hard time finding its identity and getting the most out of each other. Some of that falls on Mosley, who could find himself on the hot seat sooner rather than later, and some of it falls on the players, who simply need to be better.

The Knicks, on the other hand, are on a completely different trajectory. After a slow 2-3 start that included a brutal three-game losing streak, they’ve now won five straight games to catapult their home record to 7-0. They enter tonight’s contest with the third-best offensive rating, the seventh-best defensive rating, and the fourth-best net rating. Their stars, unlike the Magic’s, have continued to get better and better at playing cohesively. The defense, while still a work in progress, has slowly started to show some signs of life and is statistically better than the Magic’s. Their shot creation has been amazing. The shot distribution has been more balanced than it has ever been during the Jalen Brunson era. And their one of the best rebounding teams in the league once again. But the most encouraging part of it is that they’ve done all of that without playing their best basketball. It’s clear that they still have another level, or two, that they can get to.

If New York can start making some more shots, be more consistent defensively, while continuing their ball and player movement, and rebounding the way they have been, they have a very strong case for being one of the best teams in the league, and a very realistic shot at making the Finals—something Orlando cannot say at the moment.

Prediction

Orlando hasn’t done many things well this year, but one area they remain strong at is limiting threes. The Magic are just 23rd in opponent three-point percentage, but do give up the second fewest three-point attempts per game at just 31.7. That should make tonight a great test for a Knicks team that has made it a very clear priority early in the season to generate and shoot way more threes. New York comes into tonight averaging 17 made threes per game on 44.1 attempts per game, and they’ve shot it at a very high 42.9% clip during their current five-game winning streak.

The Knicks, unlike the Magic, give up a lot of three-point attempts. They currently give up 39.6 attempts per game, which ranks them 25th in the league. That means this could end up becoming a shootout. And if that’s the case, the Knicks, who average 6.5 more made threes per game, should have the clear upper hand. The very fun matchups of OG Anunoby and Bridges against Banchero and Wagner should be entertaining, but the clear difference maker in this game should once again be Mitchell Robinson, who continues to post some of the most absurd numbers this season. Knicks win 125-115.