Categories
Game Thread

2024-25 Game Thread: Knicks @ Magic: Trying to End 2024 In Style

The Knicks gets to play the Wizards TWICE after the Magic tonight to finish out 2024, and they have a VERY good chance to end the year on an eight-game winning streak, going from a humdrum 15-10 to, well, a pretty fucking amazing 23-10.

So, it would be very nice if they could just do that! The Magic are in shambles due to injuries, so the Knicks should really win this game (and, well, the less said about the shitty Wizards the better).

Let’s go, Knicks!

58 wins might have been too low of a goal!

135 replies on “2024-25 Game Thread: Knicks @ Magic: Trying to End 2024 In Style”

Based on their recent history, the Knicks will likely start slow in a trap game like this. It’s the Holiday season, the Magic are depleted, and we came off a big win two days ago.

But I don’t particularly care how the Knicks get to a win so long as it a win.

yep, except for us crazy fan people, nobody usually cares how you won, just if you won…

somehow though, the magic are a good team, even with a bunch of key players hurt…

it was fun last game watching jalen and mikal work over suggs…he’s a pretty annoying player to compete against, because he’s good…

KAT was whistled for a tricky-tacky offensive foul earlier and since then he’s back at keeping his hands down on defense, scared to be targeted by the refs…

KAT dropping 10 ft on the pick n rolls is some defensive strategy. I know Orlando is awful offensively but even middle school kids can make the shots Knicks are allowing Orlando to take.

Have to respect this Orlando team for playing so hard but they’re really fucking annoying

I’m stuck with the Magic’s announcers and they just called Suggs “the mercurial point guard” 😁

Have to respect this Orlando team for playing so hard but they’re really fucking annoying

it’s that thing where the ball keeps finding the team playing super hard…

24 minutes of ugly basketball so far, exactly what I was waiting for… 🤓

Playing the Magic is like skating on quicksands but can we stop missing free throws?

Edit: 0-4 in the last 30 seconds… 😤

It’s nights like this where our weaknesses on the boards get exposed. They are killing us with OREBs and extra possessions.

We’d eventually prevail, but I really don’t want to meet these fuckers in the playoffs.

Ugh, missing consecutive 4 FTs against a team like this to close out a half is annoying as fuck.

Mike Brown got fired?

They should have fired whoever was making the personnel decisions instead of Mike Brown.

Orlando games make it for a terrible viewing experience when the refs are (correctly) calling fouls.

They should have fired whoever was making the personnel decisions instead of Mike Brown.

coach goes first normally, then the gm…

that derozan pickup was bad…

The Knicks having six attempts from deep halfway through the third quarter is really wild.

Here i am. We can’t win easily against the Magic no matter the number of their good players that are out? :O

I mean we’re getting no open looks from 3, it’s not like we’re passing them up

Magic defense is really good

We’re missing a lot of FTs. I did see the end of the 1st half, where we missed 4 FTs in the last minute.

I’m at my parents’ house so I’ll have to use the Gotham Sports App to catch this one. If I start logging in now I might be able to catch the last two minutes.

Knicks finally contesting perimeter shots and what do you know Orlando now can’t make anything.

I’m at my parents’ house so I’ll have to use the Gotham Sports App to catch this one. If I start logging in now I might be able to catch the last two minutes.

Magic are playing really tough defense, especially from 3, hitting the boards hard and generally making life difficult, but we are not playing well.

Unless the Knicks take 12 shots from deep in the remaining 15 minutes of this game, I think they will have the record for were 3PAs in a game this season.

The Orlando Magic style of basketball reminds me of what Mark Twain famously said about arguing with idiots: they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.

I’m trying to believe that we play like this because we are so good we don’t put in the effort against the teams we think we’ll beat easily.

10 free missed free throws in a close game, I hate them…

On the other hand I love how Josh Hart slips through the cracks of the game, god bless hustlebunnies!

The Magic turns every game into a brawl, it’s really impressive how they’ll force teams to come down and play on their terms, but that’s the thing about this particular Knicks team, we have the talent to overcome a bad night.

Some great defensive possessions in a row by Bridges here.

Every Magic game is the same right? Immensely frustrating first half in which we feel like we’re wildly underperforming, and then you look up and we’re covering the spread.

Knicks identity has changed since last season but they still have toughness and grit inside of them when needed.

How do you leave Suggs on the bench through this whole run?

With 5 fouls it’s hard to know when is the best time to bring him back, i guess.

With 5 fouls it’s hard to know when is the best time to bring him back, i guess.

The answer should be sometime before you are down 15, especially when your team can’t score.

I do appreciate the Magic style of play even though it is ugly as Hell. It is a throwback style we used to see in the 1990s, especially as Knicks fans. It is good to see that a team can thrive and win playing this style in an era of increasing homogeneity.

Precious played excellent defense in the 3rd quarter just don’t pass him the ball.

He’s tough for me to watch because he does dumb things with the ball at times and I get very frustrated. There’s time for him to get better, but he’s not the answer for this team at backup PF/C now.

Goga would have been a pretty nice get this offseason (remember when he was at the top of the list?).

Winning by 22 in a game that was frustrating to watch for at least 2+ quarters … this is NY Knicks basketball in 2024.

Talent disparity just way too high in this one. This version of Orlando is not a good basketball team.

Goga would have been a pretty nice get this offseason (remember when he was at the top of the list?).

Now I see what you guys were interested in. Tough hard playing guy and he’s still only 25.

Both Goga and Mo Wagner would have been good as backup bigs, but we didn’t have the money to pay them (Goga 9M, Mo 11M).

Hahn does make a good point here: Magic fornula for sucess despite their talent disparitiy is due to their double down on stopping the three ball. A lot of teams in today’s NBA cannot make that adjustment. We did. It shows how multifaceted our offense can be despite its heavy reliance on the 3 pointer.

I have become an unlikely Thibs defender in many contexts, and I will always appreciate the guy—the Knicks were a joke for my entire life and that changed basically as soon as he got here.

But this shit is indefensible. I mean come on.

Job done like good professionals.
Josh is my MVP, the Magic should be a bad cat to skin in the playoffs if at full strength.
Nice to see Shamet doing things.

Has there ever been a 20 point blowout when you’ve only hit 4 3s? I have to imagine it’s pretty rare.

This was a 1990s style game. Never forget this when people wax on nostalgic about how the game has degenerated since then.

It’s almost one year to the day the Magic spanked us in Orlando & Leon pulled the trigger on the OG trade the next day.

It’s almost one year to the day the Magic spanked us so bad in Orlando that Leon pulled the trigger on the OG trade.

And now look, we spanked them.

All hail, Leon!

Coming into tonight, the Magic were 3-4 without Franz. Their wins came over Phoenix, Miami, and Boston. They lost close games to Milwaukee, the Thunder, and by a single point to Miami. Their worst loss was by 9 points against us.

In short, the Magic are still a dangerous team. They have been anything but pushovers since Franz was injured. We blew them out.

Teoscar back with the Dodgers. 3 years / $66 million.

According to Carlos Baerga the Mets have offered Alonso 3/90.

Pete is playing with fire now.

For a league that people keep saying is won and lost by 3pt luck, we just won back-to-back games despite losing the distance shooting battle pretty horrifically.

3pt luck helps bad teams stay competitive and get some unexpected wins but the good teams don’t need to rely solely on 3pt luck and the Knicks are a very, very, very good team.

This was another game where Mikal seemed to play some pretty good defense.

The classic Mikal defensive play is where he’s guarding the ballhandler, and is able to move his feet and stay between the defender and the basket whilst also holding up his long ass arm straight in the air as an additional deterrent. When he gets that mojo going, he looks good on defense.

Denver’s coach Michael Malone, who has a history with the Kings, scorched them for the Brown’s firing.

“They let him have a practice this morning, then called him on the phone while he was going to the airport and told him he was fired.
No class, no balls”.

Wow, I only noticed now that the Clips changed their logo…I like it!

PS this game is getting very chippy…

Has anyone else noticed that at age 31 Norman Powell seems like a early season fave for most improved? He’s putting up legit superstar numbers!

And the Clips are pretty freaking good even without Kawhi.

I know the data says coaches don’t make much difference, but I’m not sure I agree anymore. Ty Lue, Spoelstra, Atkinson, Jahmahl Mosley, Udoka, Thibs, Taylor Jenkins all seem to have a real impact.

The Magic have an excellent defensive team and also play at a slow pace. That keeps them in most games. Tonight they were focused on taking away the 3 because that’s one of our strengths. They did a good job of that. But we have so much talent in mid range and getting to the rim and also took advantage of TOs. They just couldn’t stay with us. When they get healthy and the offense is better they aren’t going to be an easy out.

Leave a Reply

This site uses User Verification plugin to reduce spam. See how your comment data is processed.