Wolves' Den

The Knicks played their second preseason game, facing off against a familiar face who is once again in the rumor mill.

Good morning! We’re already halfway through the preseason - time flies, doesn’t it? - and just nine days away from the first Knicks game that counts. In the meantime, there is much to discuss. Let’s get it going.

🗣️ News & Notes ✍️

🏀 The much discussed relationship drama between Tom Thibodeau and Karl-Anthony Towns looks to be a thing of the past. In a writeup from Stefan Bondy of the New York Post, Towns said the hatchet between the two men is buried, and even offered some high praise:

“I got no problems with Thibs. We’ve been squashed that. I still look at Thibs as one of the best Xs and Os coaches I’ve been able to play for. He breathes winning and I got nothing but respect for him.”

On the coach’s end, Bondy reported that according to sources, “Thibodeau would welcome coaching Towns again.”

If the notion of a Towns-to-NY trade causes you agida, best to invest in a large bottle of Tums. Joel Embiid will continue to be rumored target No. 1, but KAT would have to be considered runner up at this point for a variety of reasons that I covered in some detail a few months ago.

If Minnesota’s season gets off to a rocky start, expect the volume to go up on this story.

🏀 Jeff Van Gundy has accepted a senior advisor position with the Celtics. Why there isn’t room for him in the Knicks organization, somehow, somewhere, is beyond me.

Preseason G2: Knicks 112, Wolves 121

The Knicks will not go 86-0 this season.

I’ll give you a minute to get over the disappointment.

In a New York minute…

It’s always hard to tell how hard players are pushing in a preseason game, but it sure seemed like the intensity was ratcheted up for both sides over and above what we saw against Boston. That said, this was still very much a dress rehearsal, with Jalen Brunson playing just 14 minutes and RJ Barrett topping all players with 26. A fun, competitive game was tied entering the fourth quarter when the Wolves sunk back-to-back threes and Thibs pulled his final two rotation guys 41 seconds into the final period. Minnesota’s scrubs out-dueled New York’s backups from that point forward.

Three Things

1. Mitch & RJ are ready. Through two preseason games, New York’s longest tenured home-grown players have risen above the fray.

In Barrett’s case, we’ve seen an increased physicality that has resulted in 21 free throw attempts in 42 minutes. Even better, he’s made 18.

Gone are the flailing shot attempts that have plagued RJ throughout his career. They’ve been replaced by hard drives that make full use of mack truck-frame, a carry over from his successful 2023 postseason. The shooting still hasn’t fully come around - he’s just 3-for-13 from behind the arc - but we’ll give it some time before we identify that as a concern.

As for Mitch, it really does seem like the 25-year-old center has fully entered his prime. Active and fully engaged on both ends, Robinson is ready to make ESPN look smart by including him in their recent top 100 ranking.

You are him, indeed.

2. Donte DiVincenzo gives the Knicks an added dimension. If there’s been one constant about Tom Thibodeau defenses over the years, it’s that they don’t produce a lot of turnovers. His teams have finished bottom 10 in opponents’ turnover percentage in six of 10 full seasons as head coach, including all three with the Knicks.

Donte DiVincenzo might make it a point to change that by himself.

The slithery wing notched two of New York’s 13 steals, a number that would have tied their team high from last season.

DiVincenzo averaged 1.8 steals per 36 minutes last season, which would have tied him with Deuce McBride for best on the Knicks. Here, he does his damage by blowing up the point of attack before the attacker gets comfortable. His 6'6" wingspan won’t be confused with Victor Wembanyama’s anytime soon, but he’s able to milk every one of those inches to their fullest.

Surely, Mike Conley never anticipated he’d have a problem turning the corner here, let alone wind up watching DiVincenzo streak down the court for a fast break dunk.

Best of all, DiVincenzo’s activity was contagious. His pestering presence further allows other Knicks on the court to be a tad more aggressive in passing lanes. Immanuel Quickley had three steals of his own, and moving forward, that pairing plus Josh Hart and RJ Barrett (two swipes in this game) should turn defense into offense on a regular basis.

3. Fournier separating himself? For the most part, Thibs went with a regular season rotation in the first half against the Wolves.

The one big exception? He expanded the rotation to 10 men, except it wasn’t Jericho Sims or Deuce McBride getting the extra look. For the second preseason game in a row, forgotten Frenchman Evan Fournier was given a chance to shine, and for the second game in a row, he delivered.

The ball left Fournier’s hand here with 20 seconds remaining on the shot clock, making it just about the quickest possession of the Thibodeau era. As soon as he released the ball, Evan turned and started walking the other way, like a bowler who knows he’s got the spare before the ball is halfway down the lane.

If I didn’t know better, it looks like Fournier is playing pissed off this preseason, like a guy who knows damn well he’s too good to be riding someone’s bench.

Last season, the Knicks needed an injection of different energy, and it didn’t help that Fournier couldn’t throw it in the ocean from the beach. That doesn’t mean his days as a productive player are behind him, and he’s shown as much through two preseason games.

If Fournier can become the sort of quick-trigger man off the bench who can thrive in five-minute increments, maybe he’s the likeliest candidate to slot in if one of the regulars goes down.

Play of the Day

For as good as Isaiah Hartenstein was over the second half of the season, it was impossible to watch him and not feel like there was plenty of meat left on the bone.

Hartenstein, after all, generated just 2.3 assists per 36 minutes, which was less than half of what he was able to produce as the centerpiece of LA’s whirling dervish backup unit.

On Saturday night, we were reminded of just what I-Hart is capable of in an offense heavy on cuts and off-ball movement:

The backup unit struggled to generate consistent offense all of last season, so plays like this will be vital to prop up those groups this year.

💫 Stars of the Game 💫

⭐️ Evan Fournier: Just beats out Deuce McBride (we’ll get to him in a bit) because he did most of his work before both coaches emptied their benches. Fournier finished with 15 points and four rebounds and has hit 6-of-13 attempts from behind the arc in 40 minutes over two games.

⭐️ ⭐️ RJ Barrett: Neck and neck between him and Mitch for the top spot, but I had to ding him for hitting just two of eight attempts from downtown. Other than that, a pretty perfect outing for RJ, who finished with a team-high 23 points on 15 shots.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Mitchell Robinson: This had to feel good:

After 24 hours of KAT’s name in the news cycle, Mitchell Robinson probably took a little extra delight in this chase-down block midway through the third quarter.

It was one of a few highlight plays for Mitch, who also displayed some nice touch on a put-back and threw down a perfect lob pass from RJ Barrett for two of his four field goals.

Tip-Ins…

🏀 Deuce McBride saw Evan Fournier shooting lights out from deep and decided he could do one better. McBride made all six of his field goal attempts, including 4-of-4 from long range, while getting the entirety of his playing time in the fourth quarter. In the battle for New York’s first “break in case of injury” reserve off the bench, Deuce made sure to keep his name in the running.

🏀 The first bucket of the game came after the seas parted for this Quentin Grimes’ move:

It was a good job by Grimes to put the ball on the floor and finish strong, but as Benjy Ritholtz pointed out on Twitter, watch the off-ball movement from both RJ and Mitch. Barrett cuts middle to draw in the help defender as Robinson relocates to pull Gobert away from the hoop. And of course, there’s Julius Randle drawing extra attention and making the pass to start the dominoes.

Good stuff from New York’s offense.

🏀 If you’re watching the end of the bench to see who gets minutes, we had McBride and Isaiah Roby playing nearly the entire fourth quarter, Dylan Windler checking in with 6:22 to go, and Charlie Brown Jr and Jaylen Martin coming in for the final few minutes. Through two games, only Duane Washington Jr and the injured Ryan Arcidiacono have yet to see the court.

Up Next…

Preseason Game No. 3, Tuesday at 7:30 against the Celtics.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”