Meet the Opponent: Knicks, Magic Do Battle for NBA Cup Group Crown

NEW YORK – The scene in New York Tuesday night should be a special one.

High stakes. Two teams riding extended stretches of good play into a titanic clash. Madison Square Garden. A national television audience.

The Orlando Magic’s clash with the New York Knicks is set to determine who advances to the knockout round of the Emirates NBA Cup from East Group A. Each team enters the contest 3-0, but the Magic lead the Knicks in point differential.

As for regular season implications, the matchup pits the East’s third and fourth seeds against one another for the first time this season. The Magic have won six straight games and 12 of its last 13 – all without All-Star Paolo Banchero, who only just returned to the court for light action during this trip. The Knicks have won seven of their last 10, and will surely have a rowdy Garden atmosphere to accompany it.

After TNT initially flexed the game out of the spot, it picked the contest back up last week for its Tuesday early primetime window. As early season games come, few have bigger magnitude than this one.

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On paper, this game sets up as a classic contrast of styles. Orlando’s snarling, take-no-prisoner approach meets New York’s high-octane, efficient offense in a battle of strengths. The Magic have made it an emphasis to take their third-ranked defense wherever they go, but the Knicks’ attack will be the toughest to contain yet.

Jalen Brunson has himself a new All-Star caliber forward in Karl-Anthony Towns, who is averaging 25 points and 13 rebounds in his new digs. The late shake-up trade sent KAT to New York in exchange for Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo, who are now in Minneapolis and still struggling to adjust with the Timberwolves.

It wasn’t the first big deal Leon Rose and the Knicks front office made this offseason. They dealt for crosstown star Mikal Bridges, a longtime Villanova Wildcat teammate of Brunson and Josh Hart’s. DiVincenzo was also on that Villanova team, and but the full-fledged ‘Nova Knicks never once took the floor together.

The offseason, the Knicks believe, better suited them to tackle a team like Boston, who has a seemingly endless supply of versatile wings that need defensive attention on the offensive end. It also helps cover up Brunson for being a traditionally “small” guard on the perimeter when so many others can assist Brunson defensively.

That said, some metrics suggest the Knicks’ defense is far behind its offense – one of just three teams in the NBA with a winning record and a bottom-10 defensive rating. But in terms of points allowed, they’re 11th in the league (111.5). Orlando’s offense only scores 108.0 points a game, but they allow the fewest points per game across the Association.

One team will try to outscore you, and the other will try to prevent you from scoring at all.

Something has to give Tuesday night. There’s a load of positive implications in store for whoever imposes their will on the other.

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