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Darren & Vic's Takes: NBA Week 5 Preview
Published: Thursday, November 20, 2025
by Darren Worrell & Victor Lisboa
Week 4 of the NBA season has concluded, and there were a ton of exciting matchups last week. Now, Darren and Vic are back to preview the games that they feel will be good games in week 5!
Darren: Miami Heat vs Chicago Bulls
The Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls are set to face off on Thursday, November 20 at 8:00 P.M. in Group stage play of NBA Cup action.
While the two teams do not initially stand out right away, this game has the potential to go down to the wire.
While the stakes are not too high, the games still count towards the regular season standings. Both of these two teams are level with each other, as the Heat hold the seventh seed in the East with a record of 9-6 and the Bulls are the eighth seed with an 8-6 record.
As surprising as it may seem, this Chicago Bulls team was one of the three undefeated teams at one point in the league with a 5-0 record to start the season. A season where many did not even think they would be doing well.
An article by Kevin Pelton titled “NBA 2025-26 Season: Win Projections for all 30 NBA teams” had the Chicago Bulls finishing 12th in the Eastern Conference. The article emphasized how the Bulls should still be competitive, but their ceiling would be no higher than a play-in team.
They have beaten the odds already this young season, proving why they can be a playoff contender, defeating teams like the New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic. All of which are considered playoff teams.
This is mainly credited to the tremendous play of their young, emerging stars Coby White and Josh Giddey, who lead the way for this Bulls team.
White leads the team averaging 27 points per game and dishes out the ball at a high clip, averaging eight assists per game. Giddey is not too far behind, averaging a near triple-double.
He averages 21.8 points per game, 10.3 rebounds, and 9.4 assists. Giddey already has seven triple-doubles this season, and Michael Jordan leads the Bulls all-time in single-season triple-doubles with 15, so he is well on track to breaking that this season.
The Bulls also have eight total players averaging double figures, which goes to show that on any given day, any player can step up for them.
However, looking at the Heat, they acquired some really good players this offseason. This includes Norman Powell from the Clippers, who has been leading the charge for this team by averaging 25.6 points per game. And like the Bulls, Miami also has a deep rotation, as eight players are averaging double-digits in scoring so far.
So, in terms of who wins, I will have to say the Bulls. They might be a very young team, but they know how to win games.
Victor: New York Knicks vs Orlando Magic
The New York Knicks will travel to Orlando on Saturday, November 22 to play the Magic at 5:00 P.M. This will be their third game played on a five-game road trip.
These teams played last Wednesday as well, and Orlando ultimately got the best of New York, defeating them 124-107. The Magic were able to shoot more efficiently than the Knicks both from the field (49%-44%) and from behind the arc (36%-31%). The Magic were also +12 in rebounds and +9 in assists and executed a better offensive performance.
The two major storylines in this game were Paolo Banchero exiting after twelve minutes of play with a groin injury. The other was Jalen Brunson suffering an ankle injury late in the fourth quarter with just under two minutes to go.
It initially appeared a bit gruesome, but he was subsequently listed as day-to-day. This was after a strong 31-point, six assist effort from the Knicks star. Brunson went on to miss a pair of games, which were a back-to-back set against the Miami Heat where the Knicks took the first game at home 140-132 and dropped the second in Miami on Monday 115-113.
Brunson is now back and ready to go as he became available on Wednesday in a win against the Dallas Mavericks. He is expected to play Saturday, but Banchero remains questionable after missing Orlando’s last three games and is expected to be out Thursday vs the Clippers.
However, I still expect this to be a great game even if Banchero is unable to go. The Magic started off the season going 1-4, but are 7-3 since then.
Much of the slow start may have been in large part due to Desmond Bane’s inefficient shooting numbers to start the season. The Magic made arguably the biggest trade of the offseason when they acquired Bane from the Grizzlies and traded four first-round picks in the process.
The purpose of this trade was an attempt to improve the Magic’s three-point shooting, as they were the worst in the league last year. However, Bane, who's a 40% three-point shooter in his career, is sitting at 31% to start the season.
The Knicks, who also added depth to their bench and made a major head coaching change, also had a sloppy start to the year. Both teams are now back in the playoff picture, seeking the East’s top spot.
Under Mike Brown, the Knicks have played at a faster pace and seem to be trying to take pressure off of Brunson's dribbling. This is in large part why there have been many more ten-man rotations under Brown.
It has seemed to be effective, as both Knicks stars are flourishing right now, and they are 9-5 thus far, which is third in the East. The Magic are 1.5 games behind at 8-7, positioning this matchup to be an intriguing, potentially high-stakes match.
With that being said, there should be a great slate of games for NBA fans to enjoy this weekend!
Darren Worrell and Victor Lisboa can be reached at darren.worrell@student.shu.edu, victor.lisboa@student.shu.eduPosted in: sports,