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2025-26 Game Thread: Knicks @ Magic

Does a win or loss here really mean anything? No, but it sure would look good for the Knicks to be able to beat the Magic on the road.

KAT is in the news for selling a Yoshinobu Yamamoto 1 of 1 incentive card for $72,000. That’s hilarious.

Let’s go, Knicks!

58 could still be great!

186 replies on “2025-26 Game Thread: Knicks @ Magic”

I think we have more to gain by winning than to lose by not winning. OG might be the guy we could least afford to have out against them.

Everyone is gonna have to step up, especially if Deuce is out. In other words, mo’ Mo!

Random prediction: Franz for forty. Can we weather the storm?

Be a good game to get us some Kolek.

Huk-Huk!!!

Head-to-head does mean a lot for playoff standings. Since the Magic beat the Knicks previously, this game does matter. We play the 3 times

Diawara-time. One steal, one turnover, one goaltend, one air ball.
One minute.
Quite the time.

Well, Diawara looked great for half a second. Maybe just killed his chance at extended minutes tho

He had a really nice defensive possession and… that was it.

Knicks are screwed without OG and Shamet.

I believe Macri mentioned in a recent newsletter how bad Mitch has surprisingly been this season in protecting the rim and we’ve seen it so far this game. Wagner and Bitadze have both finished in the paint with Mitch guarding them.

KAT 30.7% from three the last five games.

Take out the good-shooting Miami game, and he’s at 24% in four of the last five games.

Yeah these refs are going to do everything in their power to help Orlando win this game apparently.

Well, that Bane rebound was much less impressive upon seeing he simply shoved Hart under the basket

how bad Mitch has surprisingly been this season in protecting the rim and we’ve seen it so far this game.

KAT is fucking useless right now

At least we have Yabusele…

I’m just trying to enjoy watching the Frat Boy and Baby Giannis, and trying to forget that this is an actual regular season game.

Legit question: According to these officials, how are you allowed to contest a shot?

KAT needs an exorcist or something.

Or maybe we can hypnotize him to think everyone he plays is Alex Sarr

They really need to let Kolek run some PnRs. The offense sucks right now and these guys are not built for Brown’s offense.

What is annoying is that the refs let Orlando play with so much aggressiveness, but then call some of the tiniest of fouls on the other side. Just be consistent.

1

Smallest arms in the league goes against the biggest butt in the league.

Draw.

Holy cow, Dadiet now. This is nuts.

STILL no Huk. Despite the size and length of the Magic.

Coaching staff doing a wonderful not challenging the Bane rebound and then giving Orlando time for this challenge.

It’s awesome that Jordan Clarkson is actually good but just did not give a fuck the last three years in Utah, allowing us to sign him for the vet min.

I was pretty angry with KAT after the first quarter, but he asserted himself way more in the second. Gonna need him to carry a heavy load to take us home, and possibly for the foreseeable future…

You know, I really don’t like to rag on the refs, but even my long fuse is getting lit.

Cyber, as Breen just said, “A lot of grabbing and clutching.”

The usual Orlando rock fight.

I would think Knicks will win this game if it continues to be a shoot out but JFC it would be nice to get a couple of defensive stops in a row once in awhile.

I missed the beginning of the second half. What happened to Mosely? His assistant seems to be coaching instead.

Cyber, as Breen just said, “A lot of grabbing and clutching.”

Thanks. Let’s win this, no matter how. 😉

Dumb challenge by Brown despite Franz exaggerating the contact.

Not a coaching clinic tonight.

So many calls to challenge and this is one they choose? Freaking stupid.

Literally had two 3 pt plays with a better chance of success for the challenge.

This is awful refereeing. So inconsistent. Magic is benefiting more than Knicks from this shitshow.

And since when did Suggs get such a good whistle. Every time he stumbles into the paint he gets the call

Glad you said it and not me AL, but Orlando has been beating us fairly this last half quarter.

Refs changed the game in the 3rd. Sloppy half court game benefits the Magic. And those jack up 3s at the end is the difference

I mean Orlando is a Top 10 defense and Knicks scored 93 points thru 3 quarters so not exactly a defensive clinic by either team

Not to be sexist but feels like every poorly refereed game features a female ref.

Something can be too general and sexist but true. 😉

I mean Orlando is a Top 10 defense and Knicks scored 93 points thru 3 quarters so not exactly a defensive clinic by either team

We are built for offense, but what good is it if you score 93 in 3 quarters and are losing.

I’m not sure I like Kolek and Clarkson on the court together…not that we have a lot of options with all the injuries.

Without OG, Deuce and even throw in Shamet Knicks aren’t going to be playing good defense regardless of the opponent.

I guess letting the other team shoot lights out from 3 is a big part of this ball club (no matter the coach)

Yeah this game is over, hopefully we don’t embarrass ourselves next game and lose to the Nets.

Well looks like Franz is going to get his 40, and we’re not going to weather the storm…

Huk would stop him.

Good job ref, you kept a fight from breaking out between a guy walking away and a guy sitting down. Excellent effort.

Way to make this game an unwatchable mess.

We are 2 hours and 30 mins into the game and there’s 7 minutes in the quarter.

Towns has been horrible on defense tonight even by his low standards

Edit: wow he is so fucking bad

I’m not even sure this is a play-in team without OG and Deuce to play defense.

Rose has a lot of work to do. He focused completely on offense in the off season with a team that needed help defensively. I hate to say it, but it wasn’t hard to predict this before the season started. We need defenders.

Pathetic effort on defense against a bad offensive team. Towns, Brunson, and even Mitch were really poor

Fascinating challenge. I think they’re right that that was an unusual kick by Suggs. Hopefully it’s overturned, and the Knicks can make up these 13 points.

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I thought Suggs would be a star heading into the draft, and then he…wasn’t. But maybe he eventually is getting there?

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Probably not ideal when three of the players on the other team are at their season high in points.

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Mike Brown pulling the starters with 3:00 left in a 12 point game feels a bit reactionary to me.

I don’t think the Magic are better without Banchero, but at the same time, I don’t love him as a team’s best player.

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Yabu looks like a generic G-League scrub

He seriously does. It’s insane. What the fuck did that dude let happen to himself?

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Fifteen games in, the defense is still a joke, there is confusion on both sides of the ball, and there are no signs of improvement. No grit, no comebacks, nothing reminding of the team that was overachieving in previous years, no matter how ugly it looked at times with Thibs. As of now, I don’t see this happening with Brown. To the contrary. They are not even playing as well as they could. We look like a barely playoff team. There is still time, it’s only game fifteen of eighty-two.

Magic announcers said Moseley left the game because of illness. And apparently the Magic are getting on a plane to Boston right after the game and they don’t know how Moseley’s health will be with respect to flying. They are playing Boston in Boston tomorrow night. Maybe that’s why this game started early, to give them time to travel.

Our record is the same as last year’s after this number of games, but I’m discouraged because I think we played a tougher schedule at the beginning of last season.

Our schedule was like butter so far. Only good win was against Minnesota. We lost almost all the games against decent teams. This is really bad.

Yeah I’m starting to have a bad feeling about this group. Just feels like the chemistry is wrong and they haven’t really found their identity under Brown. They get down in the fourth to a team like the Magic and I have trouble believing they’re going to get back in it.

KAT has to be much better, and we really miss OG. Dunno what’s up with KAT but he’s so far off his career percentages that it’s alarming.

And if we don’t even have Landry Shamet around to close games….

Shamet helps juice the offense, but the problem is the defense

When you have

Brunson
Clarkson

Or

Brunson
Kolek

Backcourts you aren’t even thinking about defense .

Are you telling me Dadiet can’t get a chance to play. He is 6’9 line him up and let him play.

If Shamet is out you have to free up his roster spot and bring in Delon Wright or some other decent defender or I would just cut Kolek

I would

Drop Kolek – for Delon Wright

Dump Shamet if out for long – for Garrison Matthews

Also dare I say call Ben Simmons

And if we don’t even have Landry Shamet around to close games….

Well, we have our closer but it’s kinda hard to close games when you’re down double digits.

To me, the most alarming thing tonight was our defense. 133 points to a team missing one of their best scorers, and so many freaking layups.

OG should renegotiate his contract.

The Knicks also have Tosan a 6’9 wing in the g league who has played in the NBA before who is on a two way and can be called up . Not trying to hear Mike Brown has to play all these small players

The ball moves without Paolo. Paolo is kind of like Melo

But yeah the Knicks defense is non existent because of who the coach has available to play

Too many all offense no defense players

Time to filter out the bottom of the roster and switch out the replaceables

Our record is the same as last year’s after this number of games, but I’m discouraged because I think we played a tougher schedule at the beginning of last season.

At this exact point in the season last year the Utah Jazz humiliated us on both ends of the floor. Zero of our starters were injured. And all you guys said “be patient, we have to wait 20 games.”

I’ll just mention that Huk averaged roughly 26 rebounds per 36 today. However, no reason to play a big, strong, seven-foot manchild against that team, especially with Mitch hoovering his 3 rebounds (or to be fair, his roughly 7 per 36). Just play Yabujelly’s butt.

KAT put his hands up at the end of the game slightly and it altered some Franz shots

You have to play KAT at the 4 most of his minutes. With Mitch playing his 15 minutes a game Brown needs to let Huk play. The 4 guards and Towns isn’t going to cut it . I know Brown wants the offensive benefits, but it caves the defense

Huk’s definitely playable. He isn’t interesting, but he’s playable. What distresses me is how little there is to even root for when the back of the bench guys come in. None of them seem to have any future in the NBA besides Huk, and Hulk’s future is basically, “I can maybe be a bit better than Jericho Sims…maybe.”

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I think Knicks brass thinks the same which is why they wanted to keep vets over them in pre season

I don’t think so NJ, he wants Diawara to defend the perimeter , but doesn’t realize KAT should be moved off the 5

Maybe so, but as you said, there are situations where a big man sub is indicated and Brown still doesn’t put Hukporti in.

I think he wants to play 5 out most of the time, obviously not at the moment due to the injuries .. but

Outside of Mitch he seems to not want to put any type of rim protection back there, in that sense he is very different from Thibs who demands some sort of rim protection . Brown looks to be all in on offense and some defense needs to be added back to the mix .

That is true. I suspect he just doesn’t think he has the personnel to focus on defense (especially with OG out)

I agree, Underground. When Mitch sits, at least some of that time should be Huk’s. And let’s not forget Yabu’s 2.7 rebounds per 36 — or 1 in 13+ minutes. He’s not a center, he’s not a power forward, he’s not a stretch four, he’s a liability.

I actually didn’t mind Diawara running around like a madman (3 turnovers, but 4 rebounds). The 0-4 thing wasn’t grand, but he’s only half-formed.

The Yabu thing is an issue. If he is unplayable the tax payer mid level was wasted on a useless player. I think Brown keeps playing him because he wanted the Knicks to go after him and feels he works in his system , problem is you can’t play so many bad defenders.

Brunson plays

KAT plays

Clarkson plays

Shamet before his injury

Yabu is the worst of the bunch so he should be benched .

Yeah, it’s weird that Brown really doesn’t want to use Huk more, when he at least somewhat approximates Mitch’s role on the team. With Huk out there, he isn’t thrilling you, but he can play a passable center to give guys rests. He really is a lot like Sims. You play him and you don’t feel like you’re playing 4 on 5. He feels like he belongs in the NBA. He just isn’t much more than “passable.”

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We fired a coach who wouldn’t play young players enough and hired a coach who….wont play the young players.

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Franz Wagner even said postgame Knicks defense sucks

It was pretty obvious before the season started the defense was going to be an issue, but without OG and Deuce it figures to be a nightmare.

Brian, I give Brown props for running Kolek out there more than a ceremonial 3-4 minutes, and he threw Diawara out there a few different times. He actually had Dadiet up but then some damn thing happened (play review?) and he never made it onto the floor (until the last bit).

So he is playing the kids more. My confusion and irritation is that I think Huk actually solves a problem, in that he can play a junior version of Mitch and avoid too much time with either KAT at the 5, or worse, KAT at the 5 and Yabu at the 4. Sure he’s not much more than passable but he’s a bench player, and a young one at that — you can’t expect all-star. And he’s not going to get real reps and get better playing 10 seconds until the last 2:30.

Why is everyone so down on Yabu off this game?

He looks better to me lately than at the start of the season. He’s going to have to hit 3s to have a role because he’s not a C, but I haven’t totally given up on him.

Why is everyone so down on Yabu off this game?

He looked shockingly slow. Like he was legit out of shape.

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Brian, I give Brown props for running Kolek out there more than a ceremonial 3-4 minutes, and he threw Diawara out there a few different times. He actually had Dadiet up but then some damn thing happened (play review?) and he never made it onto the floor (until the last bit).

So he is playing the kids more. My confusion and irritation is that I think Huk actually solves a problem, in that he can play a junior version of Mitch and avoid too much time with either KAT at the 5, or worse, KAT at the 5 and Yabu at the 4. Sure he’s not much more than passable but he’s a bench player, and a young one at that — you can’t expect all-star. And he’s not going to get real reps and get better playing 10 seconds until the last 2:30.

Oh sure, I never said he wasn’t playing the young guys. My issue is more that none of them look even slightly decent, except Huk. I can’t even wishcast these guys as being key contributors in the future. That’s very disappointing.

But yes, the bigger issue is that, as you note, Huk looks like he can actually be a rotation guy and he just…isn’t.

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When you have

Brunson
Clarkson

Or

Brunson
Kolek

Backcourts you aren’t even thinking about defense .

One of the reasons Kolek probably hasn’t been getting many minutes at backup PG is that Kolek/Clarkson is not a good combo either.

We have some useful players, but they are not the right players.

A lot people that cover the NBA loved our off season. I didn’t.

He looked shockingly slow. Like he was legit out of shape.

I’ll have to watch his minutes again. I thought he looked terrible defensively at the beginning of the season, but he’s looked better lately.

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