Coming off a two-game win streak over the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers, the New York Knicks are gearing up to take on the winless Toronto Raptors in game five of the regular season.
The Raptors are 91.6% favorites based on ESPN’s basketball power index, but in their three losses, they failed to reach 100 points in two of them. Their defense has been suspect at best, so the Knicks have a good chance of unleashing a barrage of offensive prowess.
However, Toronto is not a bad team by any means, considering they have point guard Kyle Lowry, forward Pascal Siakam, and guard Fred VanVleet. They should walk away with a victory over the Knicks, but considering how well Julius Randle has been playing, they cannot be ruled out.
New York Knicks injury updates are not promising:
On Wednesday, the Knicks announced that point guard Frank Ntilikina suffered a mild right knee sprain that will force him out against Toronto on New Year’s Eve.
The expectation is that the injury is day-to-day and that it shouldn’t be anything serious. However, the team is already down Immanuel Quickley (hip pointer), and alternative Dennis Smith Jr. is also dealing with an issue.
Veteran guard Alec Burks has a sprained left ankle and is listed as questionable, along with Quickley and new signing Austin Rivers, who has been dealing with a sore groin.
Rivers still hasn’t made his debut with New York yet, missing the first four games of the season with a groin injury. His elevation from out to questionable means he’s close to making a return, and he should provide offensive support to a team with minimal depth. A new addition to the injury report is Kevin Knox, who has a sore left knee and is probable against the Raptors.
Omari Spellman remains on the bench with a strained right calf, as well as rookie Obi Toppin, who could miss as much as two weeks with a calf injury of his own.