The 2025-26 NBA Cup Semifinals have arrived, with a quartet of legitimate playoff contenders and title hopefuls taking the stage in Las Vegas. The 17-7 New York Knicks will face the 15-10 Orlando Magic to kick off Saturday’s action before the 24-1 Oklahoma City Thunder clash with the 17-7 San Antonio Spurs, headlined by Victor Wembanyama’s return.
To prepare for these splendid matchups, the Sportscasting crew joined forces and presented one crucial question for each team ahead of Saturday’s showdowns. Let’s get to it.
New York Knicks: Will Jalen Brunson Keep Rolling?
Few, if any, NBA players embody one-man offense like Jalen Brunson. He ranks third in the NBA in on-ball rate (45 percent) and top 15 in usage rate, slashing a tidy 28.3 points, 6.3 assists and 3.1 rebounds per game on plus-2.6 percent true shooting. He’s the engine of a rolling New York Knicks team that will hope to knock off a surging Orlando Magic club in the NBA Cup Semifinals.
Head coach Mike Brown’s offense places Brunson off the ball more frequently and his catches on the move have supercharged his scoring and creation. Defenders already can’t slow Brunson in isolation and have less of a prayer when he catches on the move in space. He’s launching 7.5 threes per game, the most of his career, accruing gravity he’ll hope to cash in during the playoffs.
Orlando’s sixth-ranked defense is a fearsome unit on the perimeter and will unleash Jalen Suggs and Anthony Black on Brunson, supported by their usual aggression off the ball. But Brunson dropped 30 points and nine assists in a win over the Knicks last weekend and 33 and 11 in their matchup earlier this season.
Against top-five defenses (four games), Brunson ups his scoring, playmaking and efficiency (32.8 points, 8.3 assists, 60.4 percent true shooting). Only cold outside shooting has limited Brunson’s production this year in sub-20-point performances against the Boston Celtics (1-of-8), Toronto Raptors (1-of-6) and Washington Wizards (1-of-5).
The Magic, now missing Franz Wagner while he nurses a high-ankle sprain, must contend with Brunson and New York’s second-ranked offense to advance to the NBA Cup Final. The Knicks and their captain have crushed strong defenses all year and there’s a good chance the same happens on Saturday. -Ben Pfeifer
Orlando Magic: Can Paolo Banchero Drive Winning Without Franz Wagner?
Historically, the NBA’s in-season tournament is a place where young teams let the rest of the league know they have arrived to the party. Two years ago, the Indiana Pacers made it to the final round (before falling to the Los Angeles Lakers) and have since proceeded to make two deep playoff runs. Last year, the Oklahoma City Thunder lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA Cup Final, only to win the NBA Championship six months later.
Now, the Orlando Magic, which have successfully shaken off a slow start to the season, will look to follow in the Pacers’ and Thunder’s footsteps. And in attempting to do so, we may get the answer to a very important question: are the Magic better without their franchise star, Paolo Banchero?
That question may seem like an oxymoron. How could a team be better without their superstar? But part of the reason the Magic found their groove is Banchero was out of the lineup. On the season, the Magic are 7-3 without Banchero and just 8-7 when he does play.
Part of this can be explained by a less than perfect fit between Banchero and his marquee running mate, Franz Wagner. The two of them are phenomenal players but they share many of the same strengths and weaknesses. When Banchero was sidelined, Wagner could operate with units that featured better lineup balance.
Now, Banchero has his chance to do the same without Wagner (who is out with a high ankle sprain). Historically, the team has always struggled when Wagner is off the floor (over the last three years, they have a minus-2.7 net rating in those minutes, per PBP Stats). But that was before the arrival of Desmond Bane and the emergence of Anthony Black.
Banchero has the dudes around him to thrive without Wagner. Can he make the most of this chance with everyone’s eyes on him? -Mat Issa
Oklahoma City Thunder: What Do They Have In Store Defensively?
What more can be said about the Oklahoma City Thunder that hasn’t already been said, analyzed or examined under a microscope?
The proverbial ceiling they established last season – when they won their first NBA Championship in franchise history – is on pace to be shattered by none other than themselves. They boast not only the league’s best defense by a commanding difference (the next best defense allows 7.2 points per 100 possessions more than they do, which is around the same difference between No. 2 and 18 on the list), they are on pace to have the highest relative defensive rating (plus-10.4) in of all time, placing them in best-defense-in-NBA-history discussions.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has spearheaded a fourth-ranked offense (excluding garbage time), completing the makeup of a two-way juggernaut that has walloped opponents by a point differential of 19.4 points per 100 possessions – nearly six points higher than the net rating record set by the 1995-1996 Chicago Bulls.
The Thunder are facing a San Antonio Spurs squad finally getting their best player back in Victor Wembanyama after going 9-3 in his absence – a testament to their depth and coaching. The Thunder will be heavy favorites but they still cannot afford to let their guard down, lest they be surprised with an unthinkable upset.
Gilgeous-Alexander, as always, is a must-watch, with his increased playmaking impact apparent, along with an expansion of his scoring profile toward becoming a legitimate three-level bucket-getter.
The Spurs’ offense without Wembanyama surprisingly thrived, scoring 121.5 points per 100 possessions. It was spearheaded by the dynamic guard play of De’Aaron Fox, the rising sophomore campaign of Stephon Castle, the driving exploits of rookie Dylan Harper and the sharpshooting of Harrison Barnes.
The Thunder defense will be more than up to the task of taking most, if not all of them, away. With how connected they have been as a unit, the question left to be answered is the manner of the process behind that goal.
If it looks anything like the possession below, the Spurs will be in for an extremely rough Las Vegas trip:
-Joe Viray
San Antonio Spurs: Can They Shock The World?
Despite the fact the San Antonio Spurs went 9-3 without Victor Wembanyama and upset Luka Doncic and the Los Angeles Lakers to clinch a trip to Las Vegas, beating the 24-1 Oklahoma City Thunder will be a tall task.
That won’t stop the Spurs from putting up a fight and Wembanyama’s return should provide a nice spark. Without him, San Antonio leaned on its guard trio of De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper to punish teams on drives. Will those same driving lanes be available against the NBA’s best defense?
Those drivers also have great release valves. Harrison Barnes, Keldon Johnson and Devin Vassell have been lights out behind the arc, shooting 43 percent, 35 percent and 39 percent, respectively. The Spurs will need their guards to be at their best but they’ll also need some hot shooting in a single elimination game to pull off the upset.
Ultimately, the biggest question will be how Wembanyama looks after missing the past month. The third-year French phenom is set to rejoin the lineup for an NBA Cup Semifinal clash against his rival, Chet Holmgren, and the Thunder. Is he immediately ready to play like a superstar and help San Antonio punch its ticket to Tuesday’s championship? -Es Baraheni
