Mike Brown rested his top players Monday night (Tuesday Manila time) to get a better look at the New York Knicks’ depth and training camp hopefuls battling for a roster spot.
What he got instead was the team’s worst showing of the preseason.
The Washington Wizards jumped out early and never looked back, routing the Knicks 120-103 at Madison Square Garden.
‘I thought our starters did not bring the energy,’ Brown said after the game. ‘This is probably our worst basketball game overall. We did it in spurts: we weren’t very good to start the game, we weren’t very good to start the third quarter.’
With Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Mitchell Robinson and several key reserves sitting out, Brown opened the game with a second-unit lineup featuring Filipino-American guard Jordan Clarkson, Miles McBride, Guerschon Yabusele, Pacome Dadiet and Malcolm Brogdon.
The experiment quickly unraveled. New York’s offense looked stagnant, its defense porous, and the Wizards capitalized, putting up 36 points in the first quarter to seize control.
Still, Brown tried to take positives from the lopsided loss.
‘Great film to learn from because we made a lot of mistakes that have been uncharacteristic of who we’ve been so far,’ he said. ‘Even in practice, we’ve played a lot better than this in terms of what we’re trying to do offensively and defensively. Great learning experience – we’ll all grow from it and hopefully take that step forward instead of just thinking we took a step backwards.’
In addition to his resting stars, Brown said Josh Hart, Ariel Hukporti and Landry Shamet were sidelined – Hart with a lower back injury suffered during the preseason opener in Abu Dhabi, and Hukporti and Shamet due to illness. Brown said it was unfortunate that Shamet, one of three players vying for the Knicks’ final roster spot, could not play.
‘It’s important,’ Brown said before tipoff. ‘We want to try to give some guys some extended minutes to take a look at them tonight. It’s important because they’ve all been busting their behinds, and making that decision is extremely tough.’
The Knicks have until Saturday to finalize their roster. Unless a trade materializes – possibly involving Dadiet or second-year guard Tyler Kolek – New York can only keep one of Brogdon, Shamet, and Garrison Matthews for the remaining veteran minimum slot.
Brogdon, the 2023 Sixth Man of the Year, struggled mightily, scoring just four points on 2-of-7 shooting as the Knicks were outscored by 30 during his 18 minutes. Matthews also had a rough night, missing five of six shots and finishing with six points after opening the preseason strong in Abu Dhabi.
Kolek was the lone bright spot, leading New York with 20 points and six assists, while Clarkson added 12.