The Association predicts the winners of Tuesday’s Eastern Conference quarterfinals in the 2025 Emirates NBA Cup.<\/p>\n
Familiar foes, unfamiliar circumstances and immediate consequences. That\u2019s the theme for the doubleheader of Eastern Conference clashes Tuesday night.<\/p>\n
Our first clue that this is, well, different is that the Miami-Orlando and New York-Toronto games are the only ones on the schedule. The stage otherwise has been cleared to showcase two of the four quarterfinal games in the Emirates NBA Cup Knockout Round<\/a> (the West\u2019s side of the bracket is set for Wednesday).<\/p>\n And while seeing the Heat head upstate to face the Magic and the Knicks take a short flight north to play the Raptors might have a business-as-usual feel to it \u2013 these are intra-division clashes between foes quite familiar with each other \u2013 the stakes are anything but.<\/p>\n Win, and you earn a trip to Las Vegas for the Cup semifinals on Saturday and stay alive for a payday of more than $500,000 per man that comes with the tournament\u2019s title, not to mention the bragging rights, the bonding experience, and a continued taste of one-and-done pressure that could come in handy this spring.<\/p>\n Lose, and all those benefits go poof! You slip back into the pool of the other 22 teams and will get a game added to your week against the night\u2019s other loser, smarting from elimination.<\/p>\n \u201cLife is short,\u201d Knicks coach Mike Brown told reporters. \u201cYou want excitement in your life. So you try to put yourselves in position when you have pressure at times.\u201d<\/p>\n Here are five things to know about these matchups, with the Phoenix Suns, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers waiting in the wings for the last two Knockout quarterfinals on Wednesday:<\/p>\n Miami (3-1 in Cup play) at Orlando (4-0)<\/p>\n (6 p.m. ET, Prime Video)<\/a><\/p>\n Magic need a command performance from Banchero. Orlando went 7-3 while its alpha big man, Paolo Banchero, nursed a strained left groin. But now the team is missing forward Franz Wagner<\/a>, the second consecutive season the two stars have passed in the training room doorway, handing off the injury baton. Banchero was humming along at 23.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 9.9 free throw attempts per game in the 11 full games before he got hurt. But in two games back, the 6-foot-10 power forward has totaled 25 points, seven rebounds and four assists, while taking only eight foul shots. Another rusty outing won\u2019t get it done. New York (3-1 in Cup play) at Toronto (4-0)<\/p>\n (8:30 p.m. ET, Prime Video)<\/a><\/p>\n In the second game, Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns (calf) was listed as questionable<\/a>, while teammates Miles McBride and Pacome Dadiet were ruled out with left ankle sprains. Toronto has been without forward RJ Barrett (knee sprain) for the past eight games, and he\u2019ll be re-evaluated in a week<\/a>. The Raptors\u2019 offense has struggled without him, and the former Knick has averaged 22.3 points in four career games vs. his old team.<\/p>\n Will Knicks find a way to advance? Twice before, New York has stalled out in the quarterfinals, losing to the Bucks in 2023<\/a> and the Hawks in 2024<\/a>. If it happens again on Tuesday, some snarky New York tabloid headline writer might re-dub this the \u201cKnicks-Out Round.\u201d On their side: They have won their past five meetings \u2013 all four in 2024-25 and the 116-94 pasting Nov. 30. Jalen Brunson, Towns and Josh Hart combined for 60 points, with Hart adding 12 rebounds and seven assists while posting a plus-24. Not on New York\u2019s side: That sterling 13-1 home record means nothing with this one at Scotiabank Arena. The Raptors\u2019 home-court edge is modest (8-5), but the Knicks\u2019 3-6 start has them on pace for their first sub-.500 road mark since 2021-22. Their offense also averages 14 ppg less on the road. * * *<\/p>\n Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him\u00a0here<\/a>, find\u00a0his archive here<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0follow him on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\nLess Norman is better than more. New addition Norman Powell averages 27.1 points on nights the Heat loses, compared to 23.4 ppg in victories. That includes 28 in each of Miami\u2019s two losses this season to Orlando. Yet Powell shoots and makes more 3-pointers in wins (30-for-71 in wins; 27-for-57 in losses). There may not be any causality in that last number \u2013 Miami is 1-8 when trailing at halftime, so there might be a green light associated with desperation \u2013 it\u2019s fair to say a more balanced offense has produced better results. Bam Adebayo (19.5 ppg, 13.5 rpg vs. the Magic this season) and Davion Mitchell (13 ppg, 9.5 assists) are the likeliest sources of help, along with Tyler Herro, who has yet to face Orlando this season.
\nInjuries aren\u2019t fair. With more than a quarter of the regular season in the books, almost every team is limping along with somebody who\u2019s hurt or less than 100%. The most notable of the missing players tonight is Wagner, who suffered a left ankle sprain on Sunday in New York. The Magic\u2019s leading scorer (22.7 ppg) and shot-taker could be out into the New Year. He scored 24 and 32 points in Orlando\u2019s two victories this season over Miami. The Heat\u2019s walking wounded \u2013 Herro (toe), Mitchell (groin) and Pelle Larsson (hip) \u2013 all were listed as probable for this one.<\/p>\n
\nToronto can validate its early season. Let\u2019s face it, the Raptors\u2019 impressive 13-1 run from Halloween to Thanksgiving has been muddied in losing five of their past six (with three of those coming at home). Of the East quarterfinalists, this bunch could gain the most from a Vegas trip: they\u2019re young, relatively new to winning (54 games below .500 the past two seasons, with no playoff appearance since 2022) and often overlooked North of the border. But Brandon Ingram has given Toronto an avid sniper and the team\u2019s defense ranks eighth (up from 26th and 15th the past two seasons). \u201cThrow everything else out the window,\u201d Ingram said. \u201cJust come ready to play, clear our minds and just play free. Understand what our goal is out of this.\u201d<\/p>\n