Knicks
It’s not surprising that the Knicks are still finding their way after two big offseason acquisitions, according to ESPN’s Kevin Pelton.
By sacrificing depth in their trades for Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns, the Knicks had the potential to take a step back during the regular season in the name of higher playoff upside,” Pelton wrote. “It’s encouraging, then, that the Knicks could still surpass last season’s 50 wins and plus-4.6 point differential thanks largely to Towns’ All-Star play.”
How can they improve? Well, there’s definitely room for that, too.
“Defend at a top-10 level,” Pelton wrote. “The Knicks’ 14th-ranked defense is their worst relative to league average of the Tom Thibodeau era. New York’s No. 2 offense alone is good enough to win in the regular season, but reaching the conference finals will require more balance.”
Magic
Without a doubt, the Magic have managed to stay afloat with defense. If healthy, by the end of the season, Orlando will be right in the thick of the Eastern Conference mix.
“Orlando’s three best players — Paolo Banchero, Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner — haven’t played together since October,” Pelton noted. “But the Magic have used a top-five defense to stay above .500 and within position to make a run once Suggs and Wagner rejoin Banchero, who missed 34 games before returning this month.”
If there’s an issue thus far, it’s been the Magic’s marksmanship from beyond the arc.
“It’s not just that Orlando is last in the league in 3-point percentage (30%), it’s that nobody else is even close,” Pelton wrote. “Every other team is shooting at least 33%. No team has been so inaccurate since the 2011-12 Charlotte Bobcats, who went 7-59 — the worst winning percentage in NBA history.”
Mavericks
Injuries have started to rear their head for the defending Western Conference champs and in a tight race … well, it’s proving costly.
“Dallas was a game out of second in the West before Luka Doncic‘s calf strain on Christmas Day sidelined him,” Pelton wrote. “Since then, the Mavericks have gone 4-10 while dealing with absences for Kyrie Irving, Naji Marshall and now Dereck Lively II, who is expected to miss two to three months.”
But all you can do in times like these is try your best to survive and advance.
“The more Dallas can win now, the better to avoid rushing Doncic back and risking another injury,” Pelton wrote. “Health is more important than seeding for the Mavericks, who made the Finals as the No. 4 seed last season, but a run from the play-in would be challenging.”
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