Jon Schulman gets you ready for the Knicks’ preseason finale at home against the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Everyone’s favorite rascals are back at it again after a frantic, possibly blizzard-infused, not-fake comeback on Wednesday against the Cavs. Tonight marks the end of preseason competition and it’s on to the real thing, the Coca-Cola, the bootleg liquor of it all.

Preseason is a chance to experiment, and if it’s gotta be the young guns to carry the load, then its gotta be. Regardless of what Tom Thibodeau is trying to mix in his curry, the Dennis Smith Jr. slurry should just be wiped down and sterilized. Maybe after he gets up to code, he’ll have the makings of a standard backup point guard. You know what I’m talking about; your run-of-the-mill Elfrid Payton type. Until such a time as that may arise, it’s imperative that the Knicks let the young sous chefs do the mise en place. Immanuel Quickley quite obviously brings the ebullience, the joy of cooking. Did you see how it sparked a fire in Kevin Knox’s belly!? If Hashem will have it, who are we to deny such a blessing? Look at this maniac make plays that he has never once shown himself to be intuit, but this is the bon vivant savant gallant goodness here.

Julius Randle can still play, but it’s pretty clear he just doesn’t keep his teammates engaged. That’s such a dangerous dance with a young group. Do you want a strong individual force like Randle showing these kids that the way to play is by taking on the entire load? Or should their natural instincts to keep everyone involved and engaged be the mode of operation?

Julius repeatedly spinning into trouble can only take you so far. Dennis Smith Jr. taking advantage of Matt Mooney is great, but the giant deficits in attention to detail are tearing us apart, Lisa! Showing effort is great — I can’t deny it — but these two guys need to learn how to play smarter, not harder. A nightly Knick loss is so much more palatable if everyone is working together. Less of the ballhogs, please!

Projected Starters

It’s probably safe to assume this is pretty close to the starting lineup heading into opening night, but swapping in Alec Burks for Reggie Bullock, who has been a pretty over-well nothing burger. I’m also deciding to assume full health for everyone else because that’s what I wish on people. Even you donkey people who don’t wear masks deserve full health. As for the Burks/Bullock swap, word on the tweets is Burks won’t be playing tonight for a very good reason, as he’s welcoming a brand new Sagittarius baby into the world. Health and happiness to the family.

So while it seems Thibs will try to get another look at the lineup that closed out Wednesday’s contest, I think its safe to assume nobody has fully played themselves out of the starting lineup. To that end, no one has clearly played themselves into the starting unit either. This despite a marvelous game from Immanuel Quickley. Meanwhile, RJ Barrett has clearly put in work during his extended offseason, and even though there is still plenty of runway, he seems like he’ll be poised when he finally does take off. Tonight, the real interesting thing will be the bench rotations, especially if Frank Ntilikina is healthy. In the last bit of rotation guesstimation, Austin Rivers remains out after not practicing. This team could definitely use his off-the-dribble scoring and outside shooting whenever he’s ready.

Keys & Predictions

We still haven’t seen Cleveland’s full squad. I’m not sure why they wouldn’t try to get Collin Sexton some run if he’s available. Even if it’s just to get his wind up and shake off some of the jitters. Nevertheless, in the last preseason game, both coaches will certainly be avoiding unnecessary minutes to preclude any potential injury in a somewhat meaningless scrimmage. This game will probably be the last chance to see Myles Powell or Iggy Brazdeikis for a while so I’d be excited for that, if I were totally addicted to this dastardly franchise.

All told I expect the kids show out once again. DSJ isn’t the only guy who can rip Matt Mooney’s live dribble. I’d imagine Omari Spellman could get low and poke that sucker away.

Knicks by 13.

Warm Up Music

I know you need this because. It. Is. Brick!