Preseason has come to an end, and the new-look Knicks are heading into the regular season with solid momentum off a 4-1 record in their lead-in games. While the preseason is largely for experimenting, developing chemistry and getting players back into shape, there are some impressions to be gleaned, even if premature.
Here are five takeaways from a promising Knicks preseason:
This team is still brand new
It takes more than limited minutes in four games to develop chemistry in a starting lineup with two major new faces. That much was evident even watching them during their best stretches this preseason.
Players are still picking up each other’s tendencies, roles and rhythm, which was to be expected. Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns spent a whole quarter working together on pick-and-rolls, figuring out what worked and what didn’t.
OG Anunoby swung from passive to aggressive, Mikal Bridges mostly scored in transition and on cuts, and Josh Hart didn’t score until the last contest. None of this should worry fans or be reflective of what this team will look like in April, but don’t expect them to figure things out Tuesday night in Boston, either.
This big of a change to the rotation will take more time than just preseason to come together. If New York looks somewhat rocky or disorganized to start the regular season, it should only be taken as a continuation of the learning process that just began weeks ago.
Brunson should have incredible spacing
The top promise of the Towns trade appeared to come to fruition in the glimpses we saw of the new starting lineup. Brunson will be operating with spacing he never had before on the Knicks, who now boast an elite shooting five defenders will hesitate to help off.
We saw a number of drives where Brunson got clean rim attacks not afforded to him last season. While this may be partially due to the competition and effort level faced, it should be a good sign heading into the regular season.
There are some kinks to work out, as Hart’s defender left him on the perimeter to clog up the primary action consistently, for example. Once they are worked out, it should propel Brunson to have his best season yet from an efficiency standpoint.
Towns looks ready to defend
Even at preseason speed, Towns looks ready to adjust back to his full-time center role under head coach Tom Thibodeau. He looked great pursuing rebounds, didn’t make a lot of blatant mistakes, and forced some turnovers defensively.
How he’ll look in Game 7 of a conference finals against the Boston Celtics after taking a postseason-long bruising is obviously still in question, but those worried about his day-to-day effort on that end to get there should be somewhat convinced after these warm-up games.
A new youth movement arises
New York’s active 2024 draft could pay dividends earlier and with greater returns than expected. We’ve seen three of their four picks in action already, and though it’s only preseason, there’s plenty to be excited about.
Tyler Kolek looks every bit of the steal many made him out to be, displaying a high-level feel for the game and passing ability. Ariel Hukporti shined in his minutes at center, with active hands and some scary finishing ability that was tempered in Las Vegas Summer League as he played through a meniscus injury.
Even Pacome Dadiet, the 19-year-old project out of France looked unexpectedly ready for the big leagues, scoring 26 points efficiently over two games.
Fans shouldn’t expect a perfect carryover into the regular season — we may not see these names in the rotation for some time. That said, the talent is clearly there, and if the Knicks develop them like they have prospects in recent years, they could turn into weapons sooner rather than later.
Better bench than advertised
After last year’s postseason run came apart due to injuries, bolstering the Knicks reserves became a focal point of the offseason. Lingering injuries and the Towns trade didn’t help, but having seen their available options at work thus far, their depth may be a smaller question mark than anticipated.
The rookies were one piece of the encouraging bench performance from the Knicks this preseason. Veterans Precious Achiuwa, Cameron Payne, Landry Shamet and Jericho Sims also looked the part, calming some nerves about New York’s depth.
The Knicks don’t need all of these players to hit, just enough to fill out a nine-man rotation and plug some holes when guys go down. They seem to have a decent bit of optionality here, with lots of upside from the rooks, perhaps the biggest positive development of the whole preseason.