Four weeks ago, this matchup would have been considered a sneaky pick for the Eastern Conference championship. However, the public is cooling on the Magic after an underwhelming 5-6 start to their season.
Can Orlando get back on track this evening with an upset on the road? Or will the Knicks win their sixth straight contest? Let’s preview tonight’s matchup with the help of some of some odds and lines on the DraftKings Sportsbook.
Magic vs. Knicks prediction, preview
Even when factoring in the team’s 2-3 start, the Knicks have been the best team in the Eastern Conference by a pretty wide margin when it comes to net rating. In fact, New York is outscoring its opponents by a whopping 9.5 points per 100 possessions, carried by an offensive attack that is managing 121.6 points per 100 possessions — just a tenth of a point off the league’s best mark. Still, it’s not like there isn’t some opportunity for more growth. The Knicks are doing all this despite relatively poor early results from Karl-Anthony Towns, who is averaging just 20.7 points per game with a career-low 43.2% field goal rate. Imagine what this starting unit will be capable of when the big man actually gets going from three-point range. It’s sort of terrifying.
One man who isn’t struggling is Jalen Brunson. The NBA’s reigning Most Clutch Player of the Year is doing his usual thing on the court, and he’s coming off maybe his most impressive showing of the season on Tuesday night. In 36.1 minutes against the Grizzlies, Brunson nailed six of his nine three-point attempts, finishing with a double-double of 32 points and 10 assists. Brunson suited up for both legs of a back-to-back set in early November, so I’d assume the All-Star is good to go on Wednesday at MSG.
On the other side of this matchup, we find a Magic team that is the dictionary definition of “middle of the pack” 11 games into the regular season. To wit, Orlando’s net rating is literally 0.0 through three weeks of action. You can’t get more on the nose than that. However, things have undoubtedly been looking better since the Magic’s 1-4 beginning to 2025-26. In the 4-2 run since, Orlando’s boasted top 10 marks in both offensive rating (118.3) and defensive rating (110.5), and that’s also coincided with Paolo Banchero showing some signs of life. The former first-overall pick has registered exactly 28 points in three of his last five starts.
The Magic are still waiting on key offseason acquisition Desmond Bane to find his footing, though. Bane is averaging only 14.9 points per contest and he’s shooting a paltry 27.7% from three-point range. For his career, Bane has canned over 40% of his attempts from distance. Orlando traded for Bane specifically for this purpose. After finishing dead-last in three-point shooting rate in 2024-25 (31.8%), the Magic are only 24th so far this season (33.3%). They’ll need some organic improvement in this category if they have any aspirations of a championship.
Magic vs. Knicks pick, best bet
Best Bet: Over 226.5 (-112)
Equipped with the NBA’s third-highest offensive rating (121.6), the Knicks are 7-3 to the over so far this season. In fact, New York is averaging 130.2 points per game in November. The Magic won’t need a herculean effort to help get this total across the line.
