Blake Griffin tells you everything you need to know before Emirates NBA Cup Quarterfinals action tips off tonight at 6 ET on Prime!
Familiar foes, unfamiliar circumstances and immediate consequences. That’s the theme for the doubleheader of Eastern Conference clashes Tuesday night.
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 (the West’s side of the bracket is set for Wednesday).
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 – these are intra-division clashes between foes quite familiar with each other – the stakes are anything but.
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’s 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.
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’s other loser, smarting from elimination.
“Life is short,” Knicks coach Mike Brown told reporters. “You want excitement in your life. So you try to put yourselves in a position when you have pressure at times.”
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:
Miami (3-1 in Cup play) at Orlando (4-0)
- 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, 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’t get it done.
- Less 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’s 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 – Miami is 1-8 when trailing at halftime, so there might be a green light associated with desperation – it’s 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.
- Injuries aren’t fair. With more than a quarter of the regular season in the books, almost every team is limping along with somebody who’s 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’s leading scorer (22.7 ppg) and shot-taker could be out into the New Year. He scored 24 and 32 points in Orlando’s two victories this season over Miami. The Heat’s walking wounded – Herro (toe), Mitchell (groin) and Pelle Larsson (hip) – all were listed as probable for this one.
New York (3-1 in Cup play) at Toronto (4-0)
In the second game, Knicks big man Karl-Anthony Towns (calf) was listed as questionable, 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’ll be re-evaluated in a week. The Raptors’ offense has struggled without him, and the former Knick has averaged 22.3 points in four career games vs. his old team.
- Will the Knicks find a way to advance? Twice before, New York has stalled out in the quarterfinals, losing to the Bucks in 2023 and the Hawks in 2024. If it happens again on Tuesday, some snarky New York tabloid headline writer might re-dub this the “Knicks-Out Round.” On their side: They have won their past five meetings – 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’s side: That sterling 13-1 home record means nothing with this one at Scotiabank Arena. The Raptors’ home-court edge is modest (8-5), but the Knicks’ 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.
- Toronto can validate its early season. Let’s face it, the Raptors’ 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’re 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’s defense ranks eighth (up from 26th and 15th the past two seasons). “Throw everything else out the window,” Ingram said. “Just come ready to play, clear our minds and just play free. Understand what our goal is out of this.”
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
