Have the Knicks added talent and lost some toughness?
The Timberwolves' Donte DiVincenzo, left, and Julius Randle, second from left, laugh during the first half of an NBA preseason game against the Knicks on Sunday at Madison Square Garden. Credit: AP/Heather Khalifa
It shouldn't have been a surprise to the Knicks that Donte DiVincenzo came out with a chip on his shoulder Sunday night. Even before he started jawing with the Knicks' bench, he showed the same fire in the opening minutes of the preseason game as the Knicks had seen in the playoffs months earlier.
He attacked, had words for the celebrity row crowd and seemed more intense than anyone else in the building. And while the feud with Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson may be resolved quickly in private, the display put in focus a key question for the Knicks this season.
While they improved their skill level with the offseason moves, adding Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns, it’s reasonable to wait and see if the team will play with the fire and toughness that marked last year’s 50-win season.
When the Knicks traded DiVincenzo and Julius Randle, they gave up not only a pair of talented players but two guys who are as tough as any player you’ll find in the NBA. No longer the lovable overachievers, this incarnation of the Knicks will need to prove that they haven’t lost the edge that won over the city last season.
“Everyone just comes in with the right mindset,” Jalen Brunson said. “A lot of great people first and foremost are great competitors, guys who want to win. And I think in any locker room that is a recipe for success.”
Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau seeks this sort of fire from his team and maybe could appreciate what DiVincenzo was doing, even if it was on the opposite side. He called the incident with DiVincenzo “just two competitive guys.”
There is little doubt that Jalen Brunson, the clear leader and now captain of the team, has that toughness. And his fellow Villanova alum, Josh Hart, plays with that all-out effort. The real test will come as the season wears on; will the immensely skilled Towns become the type of player the Knicks need? Thibodeau coached him early in his career in Minnesota and they were not on the same page at that time, but they might be now.
“For all players each year, they’re going to learn and they’re going to grow and their experience teaches them a lot,” Thibodeau said of Towns. “He sacrificed a lot. I think he understands the concept of winning. They had a great season last year and I thought he played at a very high level both offensively and defensively.
“We want him to be Karl. I don’t want to take away from any of the things that he does well. Play off your teammates, understand what they do well and put winning at the forefront. As players get older, there’s a better understanding [that] you’re not doing this by yourself. You have to do it together. And I think he’s there now. Obviously a lot different than he was, as anyone would be five, six, seven years ago. I think he’s learned from all of his experiences."
Towns certainly is an upgrade in skill over the centers the Knicks have had and perhaps even over two-time All-NBA star Randle. But the Knicks need him to not just be the dangerous scorer he is but also the defensive force that he has shown he can be.
“That's going to give us the wins and we have a lot of goals in mind," Towns said. "And for us to even come close to accomplishing that, it takes us to solidify our defense, defensive game plan and identity.
"Minnesota understood that. We found that out last year where we solidified our identity as a defensive team. We found ourselves in a position of success. Doing that here again is going to be a key for us to do something special in the city.”
Steve Popper covers the Knicks for Newsday. He has spent nearly three decades covering the Knicks and the NBA, along with just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
