Knicks get first look at rebuilt squad in Sunday's preseason opener
Jalen Brunson #11 of the New York Knicks speaks with reporters during New York Knicks Media Day at Madison Square Garden Training Center on Monday, Sept. 30, 2024. Credit: James Escher
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Through the doors of the gym at The Citadel’s McAllister Fieldhouse, hidden with paper over the glass, it was easy to hear the shouting and chatter as the Knicks worked through the final session of their training camp, readying to tip off the preseason schedule.
The first test with eyes on the rebuilt squad will come Sunday evening as the Knicks made the short flight to North Carolina to take on the Charlotte Hornets. And even with limited time here together after awaiting the official go-ahead for Karl-Anthony Towns to join in, Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said he expects to put the full squad on the floor.
“Just a baseline,” Thibodeau said of what he plans to do in this first of four preseason games. “I haven’t finalized everything but usually you’ll have a couple segments with the starters and try to get a look at a lot of different things. We’ll talk to medical first and see where [Towns] is. I think he wants to play and he’s been going full tilt so far so we’ll see where he is after today.”
Getting Towns and Mikal Bridges on the floor with holdover starters Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart and OG Anunoby is an important part of this segment of camp, getting those pieces acclimated to playing together as quickly as possible.
“I just feel like it’s gonna be a learning process,” Brunson said. “Every day is gonna be a challenge for us to get better. It’s not gonna be perfect from Day 1, but as long we have the right mindset, we’re gonna continue to get better.”
“ I think for all of us just playing with each other these training camp days is important to the camaraderie and continuity,” Towns said. "Every single day I see ourselves making better and better plays so we’re doing a good job right now.
“The goal is going to be the same goal every night — win the game, find a way to contribute to this team’s success and be the best team that I can be. Game 1’s going to be the same way as Game 82, just go out there and be the best version of myself.”
This marked the second straight season that Thibodeau had the team spend the first week of camp in Charleston. They've conducted two days of two-a-day workouts before moving into a regular practice schedule, but sequestered away from New York and distractions — other than low-country seafood and barbecue. The point has been stressed repeatedly that this group is starting from zero and not a continuation of the 50-win season the Knicks had last year.
“We look at the whole month as basically training camp,” Thibodeau said. “The next phase will be initial exhibition game, which is not a regular season game of OK, ‘Let’s get a baseline there, too.’ So we got the camp where we saw where we were, conditioning-wise and things like that. And then how do we come out of that. OK, now we start incorporating the games. And then each game you’ll increase to build up until the last game which is really the game where you want your rhythm and rotation. You probably won’t be exactly at your minutes and rotation but you’ll be close to it by the last game. So you just take it game by game and go from there.”
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.
