Knicks take final preseason test against Wizards seriously
Knicks center Karl-Anthony Towns follows through on a shot during warm-ups before an NBA preseason basketball game against the Washington Wizards Friday, Oct. 18, 2024, in Washington. Credit: AP/John McDonnell
WASHINGTON — In the final test of the preseason on Friday night, the Knicks were not going to have their starters and stars in street clothes like the last preseason game. So the newly minted starting five took the floor, even if it was the Washington Wizards across from them in a game that didn't count rather than the defending champion Boston Celtics, who await them in the season opener on Tuesday night — with a ring ceremony as a reminder of the levels the Knicks still need to reach.
But to a man, the Knicks insist that they already have traveled a long distance in the last three weeks since trading for Karl-Anthony Towns just days ahead of training camp, spending time in these preseason games and practice sessions to build a cohesion for a newly assembled cast.
“Offensively and defensively, just figuring each other out,” said OG Anunoby, who arrived in a late December trade last season and is going through his first camp with coach Tom Thibodeau. “The plays, we’re putting in more plays in the playbook, so guys are getting more used to stuff. Defensively, we’re more connected. Talking about the switches, knowing the coverages. It’s still early, so we’re just going to keep getting better and better.”
“Just take it step by step,” Thibodeau said. “Next game, got to keep improving, build the right habits, strive to be a 48-minute team. Don’t look ahead. Just concentrate on exactly where we are. Everything worries me. So each day obviously have to prioritize the things — you can’t work on everything every day. You prioritize certain things to keep moving forward to shore up areas and continue to build and add.
“We want to build the right habits, so concentrate the right way, practice the right way. Understand what we’re trying to get done in each and every game. Know who we’re playing, know personnel. Know the system, know how you fit into the role you’re playing. All those things add up. Prioritize winning.”
The biggest piece to fit in is Towns, who could not even practice with the team at the start of camp until the deal was officially completed.
“I just expect us to keep growing,” he said. “You know, take more steps towards the team we want to be. And I think every game has been something we haven't looked at as anything else but a real game to us. For every game we treat serious, and I think that we've done a great job building.”
Notes & quotes: Landry Shamet was not with the Knicks on the road, but they finally announced that he has been diagnosed with a dislocated right shoulder and will be reevaluated at a later date. The vague wording still leaves his roster status uncertain, but if he requires surgery, it would seem he’s a long shot to make the team because of the salary cap restrictions of avoiding the second apron. “He’s still gathering information on what the next steps are,” Thibodeau said. “Obviously, we feel very strongly about him and what he did, so whatever it is, whatever’s in front of you, if you’re dealing with an injury, lock into that, focus on the rehab, get yourself ready to go again.I don’t know what all the information is. I’m basing it on what I have at this time. It’s a dislocated shoulder, he’s still gathering information. We’re just going from there. He’s already attacking his rehab. I like that. He needs more information as well. Go step by step. Take each day, look for the improvement in the day, and whoever the next man is, get in there and get the job done.”
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.
