Sitting third in the East, the New York Knicks are serious title contenders with one of the best offensive ratings. The additions of Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges have boosted the team’s title hopes. Towns has been exceptional this season, averaging 25.3 points, 14 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game. He’s shooting 55% from the field and 44% from three. The MVP buzz around him is hard to ignore with these numbers.

However, his heavy workload might be taking a toll. Towns is logging more minutes than he has since the 2017-18 season. His knees seem to be feeling the strain. During Saturday’s loss to the Bulls, Towns favored his knee but still scored 26 of his 44 points in the fourth quarter.

Now, he’s dealing with right knee tendinopathy—aka jumper’s knee—which the team says isn’t a serious injury but stems from overuse. He already missed one game this season because of the same knee. The Knicks have listed him as questionable against the Orlando Magic.

Despite dealing with right calf tightness, the Knicks have listed Jalen Brunson as probable to play Monday against the Magic.

This minor issue hasn’t slowed him down much lately. Over the past 10 games, he’s been putting up big numbers, averaging 27 points, 7.4 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.3 steals in nearly 37 minutes per game. Those are the kind of stats Knicks fans can’t get enough of—he’s been the backbone of their offense.

Miles McBride is listed as questionable for Monday’s game against the Magic due to a left hamstring strain. This injury is seriously testing his patience, as it could force him to miss a fourth consecutive game.

This matchup will be interesting to watch.

Can the Knicks beat injury-plagued Magic if Karl-Anthony Towns and Jalen Brunson don’t suit up?

The New York Knicks have been lighting it up with 117.8 points per game. Their strong offense comes from solid ball movement and high efficiency, with 27.8 assists and 49.8% field goal shooting. Their three-point game is also looking sharp at 38.2%, and they’re sinking 80.0% of their free throws. Basically, they know how to make it count when it matters!

Defensively, the Knicks have their work cut out with 43.4 rebounds per game, but they’re solid in blocking shots, averaging 4, and stealing the ball (7.7 steals). They make it hard for teams to score in the paint, so opponents have to be extra creative.

Meanwhile, the Orlando Magic are putting up 105.6 points per game. Their field goal percentage stands at 44.8%, but their three-point shooting needs work, sitting at 31.0%, the lowest in the league. They can move the ball around with 23.8 assists but still have room to improve on that front. Their free-throw shooting is decent at 78.7%.

When it comes to defense, the Magic really shines by forcing turnovers (15.4 per game) and grabbing 41.5 rebounds. They average 6.7 blocks and 9.6 steals, creating opportunities to flip the game on its head. If they can tighten up their shooting and continue to play disruptive defense, they’ll be tough to beat.

So who do you think will win?