00:16Dexter Henry here for New York Got Game coming to you from Philadelphia at the Xfinity Center
00:20where the Knicks played their first preseason game.
00:23They fell to the Sixers 122-97. Interesting exhibition game. Basketball is back even though these games do not count.
00:33And we got to see a lot of different things with the Knicks. Let's start with the starters here.
00:38The five starters, they did play in this game. There was no LeBron James in this game for the Sixers.
00:43No Tyrese Maxey as well and no Joel Embiid. So on that side, they did not go up against Philadelphia's
00:48best.
00:48But the Knicks starters, the championship starting five, they did play together and they didn't play any more than 15
00:54minutes.
00:55Just played in the first half. Josh Hart played only 13 minutes.
00:58Some interesting notes from the starters. Let's start with Jalen Brunson because he looked fine.
01:03The wrist looked OK. He hit his first shot of the game, knocked down a couple of threes, looked very
01:08comfortable, looked in rhythm.
01:10So it's a good sign to see that the captain had it going.
01:13Then you look at Wingstop, O.G. Ananobi and Mikkel Bridges. Some interesting things for me because O.G. Ananobi
01:19looked to be very aggressive in this one.
01:23You look at his stats and he had 12 points. He also had six rebounds. He took seven shots.
01:28He got to the line over six times and he was very aggressive in how he was attacking the basket.
01:34Also in some pick and roll situations where he seemed to be a lot more comfortable handling the ball.
01:39Mike Brown has talked about using him more in that role this year as he tries to diversify the offense
01:45in year two under Mike Brown as head coach.
01:48And on the other part of Wingstop, Mikkel Bridges, even a couple of times more shots going towards the basket
01:53for Mikkel Bridges,
01:54something we haven't seen from him to the past in the past and then actually getting to the free throw
02:00line.
02:00Now, he didn't hit any shots. You'd like to see him do that.
02:03But, hey, first step to change always can help. Mikkel Bridges being a little bit more aggressive going to the
02:09basket was something that I absolutely noticed here and thought was a good sign for the Knicks.
02:14Now, when we get to the bench, the second unit, Mike Brown talked about this after the game.
02:17They did not play that well, particularly defensively.
02:21He wanted to see a better effort for them in terms of matching the physicality that he saw from the
02:25Sixers.
02:25Now, he said that's something that the guys have to want and they have to go for in terms of
02:30matching that physicality.
02:31So that's something to keep an eye on with the Knicks going down the road here.
02:35But there were some decent performances, at least offensively, off the bench.
02:38Lantry Shamit, not shabby there, hitting a couple of outside shots as well for the Knicks.
02:43And I thought Tyler Kolek came in and gave really good minutes, five points, five assists, didn't turn the ball
02:48over.
02:48Remember, Jose Alvarado did not play in this one, so it was good to see Kolek step into that backup
02:55point guard role and excel well there.
02:58Now, when you think about Kolek, he had an impact last year, wasn't much of a factor during the championship
03:03run.
03:04But we saw him have an impact throughout the season, particularly in December when the Knicks went on that NBA
03:08Cup run.
03:09So there are going to be opportunities for Tyler Kolek if he's still on this roster, barring no changes for
03:15anyone, that he can get minutes.
03:17We saw Mike Brown trust him and use him in a variety of situations last season.
03:21And you wonder if that could be the same where we could see some continued growth from Tyler Kolek.
03:25In terms of continued growth, you saw some of that from Muhammad D'Awara tonight.
03:29He played with that second unit. The second unit started the second half.
03:33He was one of the starters playing at the four position in this one.
03:36D'Awara with eight points in this contest, shot the ball pretty well, had a play where he had a
03:41turnover in the first half,
03:42and then raced back down the court and was able to get a really nice block.
03:46So you like the fact that he didn't hang his head. He made a mistake, but he didn't give up
03:51on the play.
03:51So that was a nice showing there from Muhammad D'Awara, as he's a guy who you expect to have
03:56an increased role on this Knicks team this year in preseason game number one.
04:00He looks pretty comfortable on both ends of the floor, and we'll see how his continued development goes in preseason.
04:05Granted, it is just a preseason one game, but just some observations here.
04:09And I think the other thing that fans are going to be looking at when they watch these preseason games,
04:13and we've talked about a lot, is who's going to win that final roster spot.
04:18Well, you look at who played tonight, and between Bruce Brown and James Wiseman and Drew Eubanks and Tony Bradley,
04:26though Wiseman looked the best out of all of them, according to our Stefan Bondi,
04:31what he had heard is that he has the inside track on that final roster spot for the Knicks here.
04:36Now, when you talk about Wiseman, you look at his career, he's got the athleticism.
04:40You saw some of that tonight on a duck.
04:42You saw some of that with his rebounding ability.
04:45The thing about him is, does he understand the speed of the game, particularly defensively?
04:50So that's something for fans to keep an eye on in an area in which he still has to grow.
04:54Mike Brown obviously had some time with him during his coaching stint in Golden State.
04:58So it's going to be interesting to watch James Wiseman's development.
05:01The game still has to go on, but as of now in camp, he seems to have the inside track
05:06on that final roster spot.
05:07Could he be the Knicks' third center?
05:09Do they want a third center that's maybe a little bit more established,
05:12somebody that they know what exactly they're going to get from that position and that player in like a Tony
05:18Bradley?
05:18But Wiseman had some moments tonight.
05:21It'll be interesting to see when he gets some more minutes throughout the preseason how he looks,
05:25but he did have some moments tonight.
05:26Now, before this preseason game, there was a lot of talk about Carl Anthony Towns.
05:32And Carl Anthony Towns talked to the media before this preseason game at Shootaround,
05:37and he made it known that he's not happy with the contract offers that he has received from the Knicks
05:43thus far.
05:44Reportedly four years, $200 million.
05:46He thinks that it's disrespectful.
05:48He would like to get more on that.
05:51He says he wants to help the Knicks.
05:53He wants to have this team stay together, but it seems like Carl Anthony Towns wants to get what he's
05:59worth.
05:59So it's something to keep monitoring.
06:00It is something that is going to be asked about throughout camp.
06:04Obviously, they have the deadline coming up just before the start of the season,
06:09but the Knicks can still talk to him and still extend even after that.
06:12So it'll be very interesting to see.
06:14Cat seems to be making it known that he would like something to get done now before the start of
06:20the season.
06:21He does have some leverage with the $61 million player option that he can pick up.
06:25So it'll be interesting to see how all this plays out.
06:28But Carl Anthony Towns is making it known that he is not happy.
06:30I think the timing of this is particularly interesting that he mentioned this before the Knicks started playing any games,
06:35whether they're exhibition or regular season games.
06:38He's letting me know that he would like to get this done.
06:41Stefan Bondi and I have talked about the fact that we saw Cat last year be a bit affected
06:46when the trade rumors for Giannis Antetokounmpo came around.
06:49And you wonder if this contract situation looming over for the Knicks could be something else that affects it
06:55if this doesn't get done before the regular season.
06:58However, we will see how things can continue.
07:01Preseason game number one, still some more to go.
07:04Next preseason game coming up for the Knicks will be on Thursday back at the Garden where they host the
07:08Wizards.
07:09And we will see who gets to play more.
07:12Wouldn't probably still expect the starters to play much in this game.
07:14Mike Brown talked about us to the media after the game that he'd like to see a better effort,
07:19particularly from the starters, bringing the physicality and more on defense.
07:22We will see how all that plays out as the games unfold,
07:25as well as the contract situations for both Josh Harp and Carl Anthony Towns.
07:29More to come your way in terms of Knicks preseason basketball on New York Got Game.
07:34We'll have you covered throughout the preseason.
07:36Much more coming up later this week.
07:38That's going to do it from here at the Xfinity Center here in Philadelphia.
07:42I'm Dexter Henry signing off for New York Got Game.
07:47And thanks for watching New York Got Game.
07:50Boom shakalaka.
