Mikal Bridges has had a rough go behind the arc this season. His five 3s in his last game was against a battered New Orleans team and Orlando is going to be happy to leave him to prove he can do that again. Which is to say, Bridges will be the shooter, not the creator, in this one, and he's not terribly effective creating leverage against tight pressure as it is, which Orlando applies in spades. There shouldn't be a lot of playmaking opportunities available to Bridges, who has recorded fewer than three assists in four of his last fives games including zero in two of them.

The Orlando Magic continue to cash for bettors as they have won twelve of their last thirteen games. They have benefitted from a friendly schedule as they have been in New York City since last Friday’s first matchup against Brooklyn. That is a big reason why this spread has dropped two points from the opener. Yet, look for the Knicks to play with the heightened energy in an NBA Cup game as they are 3-0 in cup play. Lay it with the Knicks.

Orlando can't score over their team total. They are shooting just 30% on 3s on the road. And while the Knick's road defense isn't great, they actually play well at home allowing just 31% from deep. The Knicks have had a +8% 3pt differential this year. The Knicks are also out-rebounding teams by +7 at home this season.

Kudos to the Magic as I thought they would fall apart without star Paolo Banchero, but they are thriving. But winning in New York without him? There also should be no motivational problems for the Knicks because if they win, they are in the NBA Cup quarterfinals as group champions. If they lose, they can't advance. The Magic also win the group with a win but probably move on even with a loss as long as it's not a total blowout. I have no idea if the players care about the NBA Cup. While I'm obviously not on the spread, Orlando is 2-5 ATS as a dog. Our model has New York by 10.

The Magic have been able to sustain this push for almost a month, all done without top scorer Paolo Banchero, who was off to a gangbusters start this season but probably sidelined at least until the holidays. Orlando has sandwiched a pair of six-game win and cover streaks around a November 20 road loss to the Clippers, and enjoying this stay in the Big Apple, too, looking for a third win in five days when moving to Manhattan from Brooklyn after winning two from the Nets behind, as usual, Franz Wagner. The Knicks have played better the past two weeks but have also taken advantage of struggling or depleted foes (or both, in the case of Sunday's victim Pelicans) during their recent uptick. Play Magic