The Knicks punched their ticket to the NBA Cup title game on Saturday night, coming out on top in a back-and-forth affair with the Orlando Magic in Las Vegas.
Not only did that game improve the team’s real record to 18-7 and allow them to play for the questionably important NBA Cup on Tuesday against the Spurs, but it also concluded the season series with the Magic. Saturday was the fourth time the two potential playoff opponents faced each other through 25 games (side note: by Christmas, the Knicks
will have faced the two Florida teams eight times), but it will be the last time unless fate brings them together in the playoffs.
Four games against one opponent in three different venues with a variety of injuries on both sides can tell you a lot, especially when the four happen in quick succession. What have we learned from this, and what does it mean for a potential playoff meeting down the road?
Jalen Brunson was unstoppable, regardless of matchup
Jalen Brunson, as James Edwards III of The Athletic puts it, is the best pound-for-pound scorer in basketball.
There are times and matchups where he struggles, sure, but usually he gets it done. It was no different in every single matchup against the Magic.
In four games against Orlando, Brunson averaged 33.5 points and 8.5 assists (2.0 turnovers) on a solid true shooting percentage of 60.0%. The captain struggled from three and was below average at the line, but he was absolutely on fire in the midrange and doing the things he does best. Inside the arc, Brunson shot 41-for-69 (59.4%).
It didn’t matter if it was Anthony Black, Jalen Suggs, Tristan de Silva, whoever. Even before his 40-bomb on Saturday, the tracking stats showed that every primary defender the Magic has thrown at him has been unsuccessful. He’s getting to his spots effortlessly, and his teammates are doing a great job at putting him in good positions.
Franz Wagner is a problem, but he’s not alone
Undoubtedly, the Knicks had a much easier time winning the last two matchups when Franz Wagner was on the shelf.
The German wing sustained a high ankle sprain early in last Sunday’s matchup at Madison Square Garden on a scary collision under the basket with Ariel Hukporti, and nobody has been able to fully pick up the slack since. It’s a real shame, because I was curious to see how the Knicks planned to slow down a guy that had cooked them for 28 and 37 in the two games in Orlando.
But Wagner isn’t the only threat. When he’s not chucking the basketball at his opponents for no real reason, Desmond Bane is pretty good, too. He’s not quite shooting to standard this year (35% from three), but he’s still been capable of taking over for stretches. Before he left with an apparent knee injury, Jalen Suggs was cooking on Saturday, as well.
Paolo Banchero holds them back
If you frequent NBA Twitter, you’re well aware of the narrative growing around former No. 1 overall pick Paolo Banchero. Feel free to skip past this if so, as this’ll just be more of that.
Banchero frustrates me. He has all the talent in the world to be a star and he’ll show glimpses, but he just cannot put it together. Patience for young players is warranted, but once you reach Year 4 and have $200 million guaranteed going forward, we need to see more.
The Magic are flat-out worse when Banchero is on the floor, especially when Wagner isn’t out there with him. Their suffocating defense is obviously worse with an offense-first player like Banchero, but the way he plays offensively is frustrating. He went 10-for-13 in the paint on Saturday, but missed all nine of his jumpers. His insistence on making his inconsistent jumper work is bizarre. He is a career 31.9% three-point shooter, and it has not improved one bit. They are better when he’s off the ball and more willing to use his size and slashing ability.
If I’m being unreasonable, I apologize, but I expect more from a player who, according to some, was better than Julius Randle almost three years ago and who others think is currently better than Brunson.
Orlando still can’t shoot
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, it won’t surprise you to know that the biggest weakness for the Knicks is the number of wide-open threes they allow. Entering Saturday, they allow 35.4 open/wide-open threes per game, with their opponents making 37.4% of those shots. It’s not ideal.
When you’re facing a team that can shoot the lights out, it can spell your demise. When you’re facing one that struggles from downtown? It can be a blessing in disguise. The Magic have fared well in the season series in the paint (54.5 per game), but have shot just 33.3% from the perimeter.
That’s par for the course for them. They’re a mediocre shooting team, even with the addition of Bane. They have six players who attempt more than three triples a night, and the best shooter of the bunch is De Silva (36.5%). Suggs shoots six a game, but makes just 32.8%. Banchero and Black are both under 30%. Their best percentage shooters are Wendell Carter Jr. and Jett Howard, who both attempt a hair under three a night.
Every team in the NBA is capable of a hot shooting night, but more often than not, if you’re late on a rotation against the Magic, they aren’t going to make it hurt.
Neither team was at full-strength
Let’s be completely honest, both teams were missing key players in every meeting.
Mo Wagner should be back at some point for Orlando, but he hasn’t played yet this season. Banchero missed 1.5 games, Franz Wagner missed almost two whole games, and Suggs got hurt late in the finale on Saturday.
Landry Shamet missed three whole games after hurting his shoulder in late November on a Carter Jr. hard screen. OG Anunoby missed a game, Deuce McBride missed 2.5, turning an ankle last Sunday. Even Karl-Anthony Towns missed a game due to calf tightness.
Both fanbases will say, “Just wait until we’re healthy”. We’ll see if they meet when they are.
This would be a fun playoff series
Personally, this is not a team I want to face in the playoffs.
It’s not because I’m scared of them. It’s not because I think the Knicks don’t match up well. I don’t want to face them because it could be the Pistons series on steroids.
Orlando plays hard, plays with an edge, and has enough scoring to make you sweat. It would undoubtedly be an extremely annoying series, even if the Knicks would probably be able to win in the end. Series like those can have a dragging effect on a team (well, not last year), and I think most of us would prefer the Knicks not to be bruised and battered in the early rounds.
For 28 other fanbases, though, it’d be fun.
