Knicks 105, Wizards 89: “We got the ball moving”
Jalen Brunson and Mitchell Robinson stole the show as the New York Knicks closed out their four-game preseason slate with a win over the Washington Wizards, 105-89.
Prior to Friday night’s end to the Knicks’ 2022-23 preseason, I found myself where any mid-20s male in a big city like Boston might; in bed, playing video games.
OK, maybe not every mid-20s male. But nonetheless, our story continues.
While waiting for the right moment to get ready for my game day battle station (also bed, often) I got a phone call from one of my best friends, R—we’ll refer to him as John, for privacy’s sake.
Among the many things we talked about, were the glory days of high school and teenage-hood.
You see, both John and I grew up in stricter households. Without laying up on the therapist’s couch, I’ll just say we both found creative ways to disobey our parents growing up.
Friday night we talked about a few of those occasions, nostalgically, waxing upon the days where consequence rarely conquered the reward of the moment.
Tom Thibodeau has treated this year’s preseason slate no differently.
You see, what neither John nor I realized when we were young is that none of our risks taken truly ever held any consequences, given such a punishment from real life was buffered by the protection of your parents, though ultimately dealt with at their hand in-house.
If I’d had this knowledge of 25-odd years at the age of 16, I’d had done so much differently.
But as a veteran head coach, Tom Thibodeau knows the preseason’s true purpose. And he demonstrated such recognition in the final game, arguably more than any other.
Despite second-year guard Quentin Grimes being made available prior to Friday’s tip, Thibodeau rolled out the same five-man starting group: Jalen Brunson, Evan Fournier, RJ Barrett, Julius Randle, and Mitchell Robinson —and they rewarded his decision, jumping out to a 9-2 lead within the first two-and-a-half minutes.
Things got a bit sloppy shortly thereafter for the next few minutes, as the ball bounced back and forth between the two teams without touching either net.
My heart all but stopped at the 6:14 minute mark, as Taj “Once a Knick, Always a Knick” Gibson checked in, returning to Madison Square Garden for the first time as a visitor since Feb. 22, 2019 as a member of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
He would score less than a minute later, a hook shot from five feet to make it 23-7, Knicks.
It was all the jumpstart my heart needed, because seeing is believing. I needed to see the best player to ever wear number 67 for this franchise score for an opposing team before believing he’d ever actually left for the opportunity (although mostly cash) to do so.
Both the Knicks and the Wizards are exploring new offensive groups, with Monte Morris coming in as the opposing team’s new point guard, and Brunson arriving in the Big Apple.
But only one team had Mitchell Robinson, and the first quarter (and ultimately the night) belonged to him. He converted a pair of offensive rebounds into threes for Brunson, and hit on multiple lob attempts.
Tom Thibodeau made substitutions at the 4:38 mark, letting Isaiah Hartenstein and Immanuel Quickley in for Mitchell Robinson and Evan Fournier, respectively.
And it’s there that their lead began to slip away, as fans have grown accustomed to in the preseason, a stark juxtaposition to last year’s team with a league-worst starting lineup and dynamite bench.
New York was outscored 10-5 over the remainder of the quarter, and 33-27 over the remainder of the first half, boasting a 52-42 lead at the break.
Taj made sure to reach and teach his old teammate Derrick Rose on the way out though.
An 8-0 run from the Knicks to open the second half, lead largely by Brunson, put them up 60-42 with just under 10 minutes to go in the third quarter.
Neither he nor the fans knew it then, but New York’s point guard was on his way to a 14-point quarter, which would ultimately put his team up 83-72 going into the final 12 minutes.
The last quarter would go on without much excitement, as the Knicks outscored the Wizards 22-17, securing one last exhibition win for the home crowd prior to Wednesday’s season opener.
But both Obi Toppin and RJ Barrett, playing with three members of the second unit, found opportunities to redeem otherwise uninspiring performances to that point in the final frame.
Quentin Grimes, despite going scoreless in his preseason debut, played nearly all of his minutes with four of five members of the starting five.
Why? Because with his only opportunity, Tom Thibodeau gave Grimes a last look as the starting shooting guard, despite having vocally committed to veteran Evan Fournier. Because a grand risk, as he no doubt views starting a second-year guard at no more than 22 years of age, is best explored when the consequences aren’t real.
It may not have yielded the reward New York Knicks fans, or possibly the head coach, but definitely Grimes had hoped for — or perhaps it did, and we just don’t know it.
But the one known truth is this — neither of the team’s ownership, nor mine or John’s parents, lost sleep on Friday night, because of risks taken in early stages of their respective processes.
Whether or not Tom Thibodeau learned from those risks as John and I did will remain undetermined, however, until the opportunity presents itself to take those chances yet again.
Notes
● Mitchell Robinson is the player of the game, the story of the game, the face of the damn game, I’d argue, after this one. He finished with 20 points, 12 rebounds (nine offensive), two steals, and two blocks in 29 minutes. Despite this not being a true regular season game, everyone should find optimism the first number I listed. Mitch has only scored 20 or more points on three occasions in his four years, with the last having come in a February 2020 win over the Chicago Bulls. His play this preseason has been inspiring, that of a true star center, a firm rim roller, rim protector, and NBA veteran. We’re no longer watching a half-engaged deer (or giraffe, rather) playing a game and relying upon his athleticism to bail him out of jams. Mitchell Robinson looks every bit the part New York fans have been selling him as to opposing fanbases (and often our own peers) over the years.
● Jalen Brunson’s impact on this team may rival that of any new addition to any team this season, save He Who I’d Rather Not Name who’s found his way to Cleveland. He circles the paint (at least) every other play, in true fashion of a floor general, searching for the best possible route to getting his team a bucket. I’d dare to say that the days of watching Elfrid Payton and Jarrett Jack were almost worth it. Almost. Brunson finishes the preseason averaging 17.7 points and 4.2 assists on 49 percent shooting from the field, 46 percent shooting from deep, and 88 percent from the charity stripe on 26 minutes nightly. Knicks fans – we’ve waited for a point guard, and we’ve got one.
● The dreams of Cam Reddish playing a role for the New York Knicks have quickley transformed into nightmares. When he gets the ball, he doesn’t pass it, and when he shoots the ball, he doesn’t make it. Reddish finishes the preseason averaging 4.2 points on 21 percent shooting from the field, 16 percent shooting from deep, and 15.7 minutes per game. If there was ever an NBA player in there (and I once believed there was), he’s recluse, and Tom Thibodeau isn’t going to be the one to dig him out.
● New York averaged 25.3 assists per game this preseason, which, no matter which way you look at it, is cause for optimism given that they finished last year dead last in the NBA at 21.9. (They did average 26.3 last preseason, I’m inclined to mention.)
● RJ Barrett struggled against Bradley Beal and the Wizards on Friday night, finishing with 19 points on 6-13 shooting in 33 minutes. He gave up quite a few points on the other end to Beal and company, an area where most fans were hopeful (or are hopeful) he’ll display some improvement in come the real deal regular season. Keep a tab on this. Still, he finishes the preseason averaging 19.8 points and six rebounds in 27.5 minutes per game on an encouragingly efficient 48/50/81 shooting split.
● Isaiah Hartenstein left some to be desired, struggling both on the glass and in finding (or in often cases, being found by) his teammates. The 7-foot big man scored four points on seven shots, and finished the preseason having tallied two turnovers in every game. It doesn’t seem a talent issue as much as it is a timing issue, though. I remain (cautiously) optimistic. The talent on this Knicks bench is too good to lack influence.
When asked about the new New York Knicks offense postgame, Mitchell Robinson told a sideline reporter, “We got the ball moving.”
At long last, yes they do. And if it carries over into the regular season, the team itself will be moving as a whole; up the standings, and further down the rebuilding road towards title hopefuls.
