Shaquille O’Neal rejected the idea that the potential New York Knicks-Orlando Magic first-round matchup in the NBA Playoffs will be the most enjoyable series.
“No, no because Orlando is going to sweep them,” O’Neal boldly stated on “Inside the NBA” postgame show on April 2 following the Knicks’ 109-99 loss to the Miami Heat, their third straight loss.
“Orlando wins that series,” O’Neal repeated when ex-Knicks guard Jamal Crawford attempted to make a friendly bet.
The Magic are on track to gain a home court advantage with a half-game lead over the Knicks for the fourth seed and hold the series tie-breaker with less than two weeks left in the regular season.
The Knicks also suffered a major setback after losing three-time All-Star Julius Randle to a season-ending surgery on Thursday, April 4, after two months of rehabbing his dislocated shoulder in a futile attempt to return this season.
Orlando has won four of their last five meetings. New York won the last one emphatically 98-74 on March 8 despite playing without Randle, OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson.
The Knicks have the experience. They trounced the Cleveland Cavaliers, an upstart team like the Magic this season, last playoffs in five games. But what gives O’Neal confidence about his pick is the Knicks are limping to the postseason.
Aside from missing Randle, the Knicks are also in danger of not having Anunoby, the 3-and-D star seamlessly fit when they acquired him midseason from Toronto.
Anunoby has yet to return after suffering inflammation in his surgically repaired elbow. Robinson is still ramping up his conditioning with only seven games left before the playoffs.
Josh Hart, who is averaging 41 minutes since Randle went out, is nursing a sprained right wrist.
Knicks Playoff Chances Hinges on Jalen Brunson
The fear is the Knicks will be too exhausted and understaffed when the playoffs arrive. However, they still have their best player.
Jalen Brunson is no stranger to carrying a team on his back.
He’s done it before in Dallas when Luka Doncic was out at the beginning of their Western Conference Finals run in 2022. He also nearly single-handedly carried the Knicks against the eventual Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat in the second round last year but fell short in six games.
Brunson is averaging a career-high 27.8 points and 6.6 assists this season. But he will need all the help he can get from the likes of Donte DiVincenzo, who’s had seven 30-point games this season after having none in his first five seasons in the NBA, Hart, Isaiah Hartenstein, Robinson, Precious Achiuwa and Miles McBride.
Erik Spoelstra Gives Jalen Brunson His Flowers
Brunson’s outstanding second season in New York has kept the Knicks afloat even without three of their starters.
That wasn’t lost on Miami coach Erik Spoelstra, who raved about Brunson’s “complete package.”
“He’s having an MVP-type season,” Spoelstra told reporters, per New York Post. “He’s at that level right now where you’re not taking things away from him.”
He noted that it’s more difficult now to contain Brunson because the Knicks have surrounded him with shooters.
Good players make you bring in a second defender and sometimes a third defender, and then you have to scramble and figure things out from there, Spoelstra informed reporters after the Heat held off the Knicks’ fourth-quarter comeback in their April 2 victory. “But he’s really good right now.
His footwork and cleverness, along with his aggressiveness playing against your aggressiveness, all make it very difficult. You have to be very strong and disciplined, and sometimes he’s still going to make shots even when you do that.