The Knicks and Magic are ready to butt heads –figuratively, we think–on Saturday in Las Vegas as they play out the Eastern Conference side of the bracket in the NBA Cup, with a crack at $500,000 and a spot in the final of the third version of the league’s new in-season tournament on the line. They’ll get a familiar bunch on the opposite side, as this will mark the fourth time in this young season that the Knicks and Magic will play.
Orlando won the first two games, and is one of only three teams to have beaten the Knicks since November 1. With a young core bolstered by the addition of guard Desmond Bane, the Magic are hoping to develop into a contender, making them a burgeoning rival for the Knicks, also one of the top teams in the East.
Of course, tensions spilled over considerably in their last meeting when Bane attempted to knock a ball out of bounds off of the Knicks’ OG Anuonoby–except that in doing so, Bane reared the ball back and fired it at Anunoby, incurring a $35,000 fine. On Saturday, Anunoby was asked whether he’s wearing extra padding to protect against Bane.
Anunoby smiled and said, “No, I’m not.”
Knicks Find Magic Are ‘Really Physical’
While it’s unlikely that we’ll see further incidents like the one between Bane and Anunoby, we are likely to see continued physicality between the Knicks and the Magic, who will be without star Franz Wagner as he suffered a high ankle sprain in the last game against the Knicks.
Miles McBride also suffered an injury in that one.
“Yeah, they are really physical,” star guard Jalen Brunson said. “That’s what Coach [Jamahl Mosley] prides himself on. The way that they have been able to do it makes them very successful. …They are going to be who they are, and they are going to come out here and compete. And so I think for us, we have to be ready to do what we’ve got to do and combat that.”
Magic Thriving With Knicks New Enemy
Indeed, the Magic were already a physical team last year, but bringing in Bane has made them a bit scrappier still. That’s an identity the Knicks would like to have, but their defensive struggles keep them from it.
Orlando is No. 1 in the league in free throws attempted, at 29.1, and they’re 10th in the NBA in rebounding. Bane has helped the Magic get better offensively, while also maintaining the team’s defensive chops. The Magic were No. 2 in the league in defensive efficiency last season, at 109.6, and are No. 3 this year at 112.1.
Offensively, they’ve shot up from No. 27, at 109.4, to No. 11 at 116.5. Bane has found his offensive skill, and physicality at both ends, has been welcomed.
“It’s a great feeling that an organization values me the way that they did to go out and spend what they did to get me,” Bane said. “But from the second I got here, they just told me to be myself. Once they kind of told me that, then it takes all the pressure off because I know who I am, and I know what I can bring to a team. I’ll just continue to do that.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Knicks’ OG Anunoby Has 3-Word Response on Desmond Bane Ahead of NBA Cup appeared first on Heavy Sports.