The Knicks dropped another preseason game Monday, but the night wasn’t all empty calories. A handful of regulars kept showing enough to matter, even if the final result went into the loss column again against the Timberwolves.
Jalen Brunson set the tone early, even if it took him a minute to get rolling. He opened with an airball from three, then settled in by attacking Cody Williams and drawing fouls, something he did over and over as the game went on.
Brunson finished with 20 points on 6-13 shooting and made 7 of 8 free throws. The only real concern is that his three-point shot has now gone cold in back-to-back games.
OG Anunoby kept looking like the cleanest two-way force on the floor. His defense was once again sharp, and he piled up three steals while scoring 15 points on just eight shots.
The most encouraging part was his trip to the line: six free throw attempts in this one, after averaging a career-high 3.3 per game last season in 33.2 minutes. Through this preseason, he’s now up to 5.6 free throws in 18.3 minutes, a number the Knicks would love to see stick.
Mikal Bridges had a quieter night on the box score, but there were at least a few signs of life. He was active early, scored on a drive after both defenders jumped to Karl-Anthony Towns, and spent plenty of time handling the ball with the starters in the first quarter.
Bridges ended with nine points on 3-6 shooting and went 1-2 from deep. It’s still not the kind of stat line fans are hoping for, but it was better than what he’d been giving them.
Karl-Anthony Towns again started slowly on offense. His first shot didn’t come until nearly the 6:00 mark, and even that was off a broken play.
He still managed 11 points on 3-6 shooting, but he hit only 1-4 from three and turned it over three times. On the plus side, he continues to do a good job of keeping his fouls in check.
Josh Hart had a much quieter offensive night than he did against the Wizards. He took just two shots in 22 minutes and didn’t offer much scoring punch, though he did defend well in the first quarter and finished with three rebounds and three assists. Overall, it was a pretty flat showing.
Landry Shamet, who had been one of the preseason’s brighter surprises, was hard to find against Minnesota. In 12 minutes, he took only two shots and finished with one assist, one turnover, and two fouls. He was basically a non-factor.
Deuce McBride also hit some rough patches. He opened by making his first shot, then missed his next four and had the ball stripped while bringing it up the floor, which brought back some ugly memories of his handling issues in the Finals. He’s now just 2-13 from three this preseason, though the belief here is still that the shot comes back and everything else he does keeps him valuable.
Jose Alvarado brought the usual energy, but it came with a messy stat line. He took eight shots in just 15 minutes, added two rebounds and two assists, and also committed three turnovers. The pace and attitude are useful; the efficiency was not.
Mohamed Diawara’s preseason arc continues to trend the wrong way. He looked less and less aggressive as things went on, and Monday didn’t do much to reverse that. He finished with seven points on 2-3 shooting from the field and 2-3 from three, but added only one rebound and one assist in 14 minutes.
Andre Drummond gave the Knicks some solid minutes inside. He rushed a floater early, then answered with a nice shake-and-bake move off the dribble late in the first quarter. He also protected the rim well, including a block on Anthony Edwards, and finished with four points, four rebounds, one steal and one block in 12 minutes.
Jordan Clarkson had a tidy, low-drama line: five points in 10 minutes on 2-3 shooting, including 1-1 from three, plus a block. Nothing flashy, nothing to complain about either.
Tyler Kolek is now coming off back-to-back struggles after a solid preseason opener. The passing is still there, and you can see the flashes of what he can do as a facilitator, but the defense remains shaky and the scoring has to be better. He shot 1-4 from the field and 0-1 from three, which won’t cut it for long.
Pacome Dadiet got a rare early-half look and made the most of his shooting opportunities. After some rough outings, he scored seven points on 2-3 shooting from the field and 2-3 from deep, though he also finished with just one rebound and one assist in 14 minutes.
Oso Ighodaro couldn’t do much with limited run, but he still handled his brief stint well enough. He picked up one steal and one block, and he also caught a nice alley-oop from Alvarado.
Kevin McCullar Jr. was hard to evaluate with so little court time, but in seven minutes he went 1-2 from the field and added two assists. Edey? No - Eubanks also saw very limited action, and the same problem applied there: too little time to draw strong conclusions.
Bradley was the one who squeezed the most out of his seven-minute run. He went a perfect 5-5 from the field, scored 10 points, grabbed two rebounds and did it all while continuing to play hard and stay aggressive. Most of that production came in garbage time, but he outdid both Eubanks and McCullar in the same amount of minutes, which could help his case in the third-string center battle.
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James Wiseman and Jaden Akins have been among the more noticeable beneficiaries of that approach, with both getting extended chances to show they can help. Wiseman has flashed real efficiency in limited action, and Akins has been one of the quieter surprises so far, but the bigger question still lingers around whether the Knicks may eventually use a trade to create more room and make these preseason performances matter even more. [Read more 🡒]