3 Keys to an Orlando Magic Series with the New York Knicks

The NBA playoffs are right around the corner. With the Orlando Magic's eight-game homestand completed, the team is in the final sprint to the finish with five of the last seven on the road.

And there is still a lot to play for.

The Magic currently sit in fifth in the Eastern Conference. But they still have their eyes on getting homecourt advantage. They trail the New York Knicks by one game for homecourt advantage in the first round and trail the 3-seed Cleveland Cavaliers by 1.5 games. Every game for the rest of the season will have that added importance.

But the odds are the Magic will be facing off with the Knicks in the first-round one way or another. It will set up a heated and interesting battle between two of the top defensive teams in the league.

While there is still a lot to sort out, it is time to start to look at some of the Magic's possible playoff opponents. And the Knicks are at the top of the list.

This season, Orlando is 3-1 in the four times the team met New York this season helping to improve their all-time winning record against New York this season. The Magic swept the pair of games at Kia Center and split the games at Madison Square Garden.

While the Magic got some huge wins over the Knicks, it is worth noting that the two teams have yet to face each other at full strength.

In the Magic's Dec. 29 117-108 win over the Knicks at Kia Center, the Knicks were only a day away from trading Immanuel Quickley and RJ Barrett to the Toronto Raptors for OG Anunoby and Precious Achiuwa, two critical players in the Knicks' current rotation.

In the Jan. 15 Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee 98-94 victory at Madison Square Garden, the Knicks played without Jalen Brunson, allowing Paolo Banchero to play the hero and look like a superstar that afternoon.

In the Magic's pre-All-Star Break 118-100 victory on Feb. 14, the Knicks sat several key players including the recently acquired Bojan Bogdanovic.

And then in the Knicks' 98-74 victory at the Garden on March 8, the Knicks were at full strength but the Magic played without Jalen Suggs.

There are still some things the team can learn from those games. But they are not a full picture of what the Playoffs will look like -- especially with Julius Randle and OG Anunoby's status for the postseason still uncertain.

But, with what went down during the season, here are three keys to a Magic-Knicks playoff series if it were to happen.