Fresh off an emotional return to Minnesota for All-NBA center Karl-Anthony Towns, the New York Knicks, and their new big man will head to the Bayou for a date with the New Orleans Pelicans.
While the Knicks have ridden improved play and one of the league’s best starting fives as they rise up the standings, the Pelicans have been completely and utterly decimated by injuries. With the potential for an emotional come-down for New York, after the weight of Thursday’s game against the Timberwolves, can New Orleans give its fans a surprise win?
With a cross-conference battle on the slate this Saturday in New Orleans, check out our New York Knicks vs. New Orleans Pelicans predictions, including our NBA expert picks, with tip set for December 21 at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Matchup New York Knicks vs New Orleans Pelicans Overview
Teams: New York Knicks vs. New Orleans Pelicans
Date: Saturday, December 21, 2024
Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
Venue: Smoothie King Center
Win Probabilities
The prediction tip for the winner in the game between the New York Knicks and the New Orleans Pelicans is the New Orleans Pelicans.
Projected Final Score
Our predicted final score for this NBA matchup is New Orleans Pelicans 91-112 New York Knicks.
Expert Prediction: Who Wins?
After a rocky start, as new additions Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns found their footing in a new situation, the New York Knicks have properly begun to roll and play like the Eastern Conference contenders they were expected to be at the start of the campaign.
Over their last 15 games, the Knicks are 11-4 and have packed a pair of four-game win streaks in that span, as well as victories over the Orlando Magic — twice — the Denver Nuggets, and the Phoenix Suns.
Though still not at full strength, with Mitchell Robinson set to return, this is the Knicks team that was envisioned: a ridiculously strong starting five led by a dynamic two-man game between Towns and Jalen Brunson, powering a great offense. A pair of elite defensive wings, OG Anunoby, and Bridges, protects a flawed defensive structure.
Even with Bridges — such a high-priced acquisition this offseason — struggling with his shot and his fit in the lineup to begin the year, New York’s offense has teetered on outrageously good. At the midway mark of December, New York is third in adjusted offensive rating, with an average of 119.59 points per 100 possessions adjusted for opponent. That, in itself, is an incredibly difficult proposition for opposing defenses.
Yet, it gets even more difficult to defend when you look at how the offense is coming. Unsurprisingly, with Brunson already one of the league’s more efficient scorers, it has gone nuclear with the addition of a three-level scoring phenom in Towns.
With Towns shooting 56/44/85 on the season and launching five threes per game, New York’s jumped to second in the NBA in true shooting percentage at an incredible 61 percent. Similarly, it is second in team-wide effective field goal percentage and second in team three-point percentage.
The effectiveness of the Knicks’ offense has been needed as the season has progressed because the defense remains incomplete. Though they’ve risen to around league average in adjusted defensive rating, there are still genuine concerns. Towns has never, and simply cannot, defend the rim well. It’s no fault of his own, with Towns’ effort and coachability always evident, but he simply lacks the length, foot speed, and verticality to do it.
That means a lack of rim protection is simply the reality for New York, at least until Mitchell Robinson returns. At that time, we’ll surely see Towns get more minutes alongside a proper rim-protecting big, just as he did previously with the Timberwolves and Rudy Gobert. Tellingly, too, is the time he spent alongside Gorgui Dieng earlier in his career — when coached by now-Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau.
Luckily for the New York Knicks, with defensive reinforcements yet to arrive, the New Orleans Pelicans won’t be able to exploit their weaknesses.
At one point, the Pels had nearly every single member of their rotation out injured. Though they’ve at least been able to welcome back Herb Jones, Trey Murphy III, CJ McCollum, and Dejounte Murray in recent games, they remain completely lost in the 2024-25 season. And, without Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram, they lack any threat to pressure the rim and exploit New York’s most prominent defensive weakness.
Even with an increasingly healthy rotation, New Orleans has gone just 1-13 in its last 14 games — and currently finds itself on a four-game losing skid. By almost any metric, on offense and defense, the Pelicans have sunk to the league’s basement.
Offensively, they’re scoring just 106.72 points per 100 possessions, adjusted for opponent, which is second-last in the league. Shots are coming in an inefficient manner, with their true shooting rate of .533 dead last.
Defensively, with a complete absence of rim protection and top wing-stoppers in Jones and Murphy missing so much time, they’ve been totally adrift. A 27th-ranked defense, adjusted for opponent, means the Pels are 29th in the league in net rating, losing by nearly 11 full points over 100 possessions.
Ultimately, the Knicks vs. Pelicans represents a game between one of the league’s best teams and complete starting lineups against a brutally depleted squad trying to pick up the pieces of a season ruined by injury. Just a few short weeks ago, the Knicks welcomed the Pelicans to Madison Square Garden and then promptly won by 33 points.
A similarly tough outcome for New Orleans is likely here, even with the matchup shifting from New York City to the Bayou.
How to Make New York Knicks vs. New Orleans Pelicans Picks
Ready to make picks on the New York Knicks vs. New Orleans Pelicans matchup on Saturday, December 21? Make sure to head over to Sportzino, where you can find every NBA game on the slate this weekend and so much more!
