The Knicks opened their preseason with a 120-97 loss in Philadelphia, and the night offered a little bit of everything: Jalen Brunson looked like himself, the back end of the roster kept fighting for attention, and Ariel Hukporti’s night ended in brutal fashion with a non-contact injury to his right Achilles.
Mike Brown used the starting five for much of the first half, which was expected, and 20 of the 21 Knicks currently under some kind of contract got into the game. The lone holdout was Jose Alvarado, who rested because of a minor bone bruise in his knee.
The headline, though, was Brunson. With all the questions hanging over the Knicks this season, the smallest starter remains the biggest indicator of where this team is headed.
He logged 15 minutes, scored 12 points, hit a pair of threes and a pair of free throws, added three assists and didn’t turn it over once. For a player who spent last season grinding through wrist pain before late offseason surgery, that was exactly the kind of opening look New York wanted.
He finished the title-clinching Game 5 in San Antonio with 45 points, and on Tuesday night he looked every bit in rhythm again.
That matters because the rest of the picture is still cloudy. There are questions around Karl-Anthony Towns’ extension talks, Mikal Bridges’ aggressiveness, the growth of young players like Mohamed Diawara and Tyler Kolek, and whether OG Anunoby is ready to take another step.
Josh Hart’s mangled right ring finger is another item on the list. But if Brunson is steady, the Knicks can at least feel good about the foundation.
Down the roster, almost every reserve left some kind of mark.
James Wiseman flashed the kind of size-and-skill package that always gets people leaning forward. Pacome Dadiet knocked down a couple of long shots late.
Bruce Brown showed off his positional flexibility. Jaden Akins, in just eight minutes, did enough to earn a longer look next time out, including three assists and a nice feed to Tony Bradley on a fast break.
Ochai Agbaji had the night’s quietest showing, and not in a good way. He played eight minutes and missed a pair of open corner threes along with another long attempt. In a camp where roster spots are being fought over and nearly 30% of the roster is in that mix, empty box scores can stand out fast.
The injury scare came with Hukporti, who exited in the first quarter after going down without contact and hurting his right Achilles. The moment landed hard because of what he had become in New York over the previous two seasons: an efficient scoring big who helped on the glass and as a rim protector, including a blocked shot in San Antonio during the Finals closeout.
He had signed with Philadelphia this offseason in search of a real chance at the backup center job, and with Joel Embiid’s injury history, the minutes were there to be won. Now that opportunity is on hold, and the Sixers may soon be shopping the same big-man bargain bin the Knicks have been digging through. If Wiseman or Drew Eubanks don’t stick in New York, they might get another call from the other side.
In Other News...
Bruce Brown Is Suddenly In A Knicks Fight Fans Didn't Expect
Bruce Browns path to New York has been shaped as much by the leagues new spending rules as by his own rsum. The 30-year-old forward, long valued as a high-energy bench piece, landed with the Knicks on a training camp deal after drawing limited interest elsewhere, a reminder of how the NBAs second apron has made life harder for veteran free agents hunting for the kind of stable, longer-term opportunity Brown once would have had.
Now Brown is simply trying to stick, which is a different challenge entirely. Training camp invitations always carry an edge of uncertainty, but in this case the Knicks depth chart leaves little room for comfort, and the competition for a roster spot has become the real story as New York sorts out its back end before opening night. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Opener Got Pulled Into A LeBron Embiid Tension Story
The Knicks preseason opener wound up carrying a little extra chatter before the ball was even tipped, thanks to a Mike Breen mention of a story involving LeBron James and Joel Embiid. The buzz centered on an alleged incident in which James supposedly reprimanded Embiid for being late to a 76ers practice, a bit of sideline gossip that quickly spread beyond the game itself even though neither star took part in the matchup against New York.
LeBron publicly pushed back on the tale on Instagram, while Embiid has stayed quiet. Inside the 76ers, the picture has sounded much calmer, with reports indicating the groups practices and workouts have been viewed in positive terms. For the Knicks, it meant a preseason game briefly got pulled into a bigger league conversation, the sort of off-court thread that can linger even when the players at the center of it are not on the floor. [Read more 🡒]
Knicks Are Running Into A Harsh Pacome Dadiet Reality
Pacome Dadiets first year in New York has not exactly given the Knicks much leverage. The team is said to be exploring ways to move the young wing in order to clear a roster spot and create a little more salary-cap flexibility, but the market has not responded the way they had hoped. After a lukewarm Summer League, World Cup qualifiers and preseason showing, Dadiet has not built the kind of buzz that usually helps a player become a useful trade chip.
For the Knicks, that leaves a familiar front office problem: trying to turn a roster logjam into a clean solution without paying too high a price. There has been no concrete deal reported, and the lack of outside interest suggests New York may have to get creative to get anything done. For now, Dadiet remains on the roster and the team is still looking for a path forward that fits both the cap sheet and the depth chart. [Read more 🡒]