Knicks vs. Magic: TV Schedule, Live Stream, Spread Info and More
It was only a week ago that the Orlando Magic headed into Madison Square garden to face the New York Knicks and left embarrassed after being dominated by the Knicks without Amar'e Stoudemire and Jeremy Lin in a 108-86 loss.
Orlando gets the chance at redemption Thursday night, when the same Knicks team visits the Amway Center in Orlando in a must-win game for both teams.
The Magic are reeling, losers of four straight games and are only 4-7 since All-Star center Dwight Howard decided to stick around and take his trade demands temporally off the table.
Nothing is going well in Orlando and this team has shown signs of quitting more often than not as of late.
As for the Knicks, they have to deal with all of the injuries, but things have gone well under interim head coach Mike Woodson as the Knicks have posted a 9-3 record since he replaced former coach Mike D'Antoni.
However, the Knicks are entering Thursday's game fresh off a loss to the Indiana Pacers, in which New York blew a late 17-point lead.
The good news for Knicks fans though is that the struggles of Carmelo Anthony seem to be behind him, as he's averaged 29.4 points per game in his last five and has looked more like the Melo of old.
Two teams looking for a win could give us a great game to look forward to. Here's a look at everything you need to know about Knicks vs. Magic.
When: Thursday, April 5 at 7:00 p.m. EDT
Where: Amway Center in Orlando, Florida
Watch: TNT
Live Stream: NBA League Pass
Betting Line: Orlando (-5)
Knicks Key Injuries (per Yahoo! Sports)
Out: Jeremy Lin (knee), Amar'e Stoudemire (back)
Day-to-Day: Jared Jeffries (knee)
Magic Key Injuries (per Yahoo! Sports)
Day-to-Day: Dwight Howard (back), Jameer Nelson (calf)
Questionable: Ryan Anderson (ankle)
What They're Saying
Effort has been a problem with the Magic as of late, including last Thursday's loss to New York, which drew the ire of Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy.
""They're playing small and we got crushed on the boards. That to me is the one that tells me that the effort wasn't there. When you give up 16 offensive rebounds to a team that's playing small, that that's an effort problem," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said.
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Howard's effort was also questioned as he was extremely ineffective against New York's Tyson Chandler, also adding.
""When we want to play, we're a great team. We just have to bring that effort every night," Howard said. "It should be frustrating for everybody. We just have to step up and play the right way. When we don't, we have games like this."
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Most Important Player to Watch: Baron Davis
With Lin out of the lineup, the Knicks are back to getting inconsistent play from the point guard position. Davis has to do a better job taking care of the basketball for the Knicks to have success.
He turned it over a combined 16 times in his first four starts but went without a turnover in Tuesday's loss to Indiana.
While taking care of the ball is an issue, Davis taking better shots and making a couple now and then is also concerning for the Knicks. In his five starts, Davis has combined to go only 13-of-41 (.317) from the floor.
His play has to pick up for the Knicks to make a playoff run.
Key Matchup: Tyson Chandler vs. Dwight Howard
Howard is expected to play on Thursday, but how effective will he be with a bad back?
Chandler has had Howard's number in the previous two meetings, holding him to only 20 points on only 13 shot attempts in the two games.
If Chandler can hold Howard in check once again, it will go a long way towards a Knicks win.
Prediction
Knicks 95, Magic 88
