Knicks 117, Pistons 96 (preseason): A heck of a start

The Knicks started their 2022-23 preseason with a renewed vigor, led by a revitalized Tom Thibodeau and Julius Randle, incumbent RJ Barrett, and new addition Jalen Brunson.

And we’re back! The Knicks clobbered the rebuilding Detroit Pistons in their first preseason game of the new campaign. After a chaotic offseason, it was a night that felt like it would never arrive, but when it finally did, the Knicks gave their home crowd plenty to cheer for. So what happened? And how much of it truly mattered? Let’s dive in.

A bizarro tale

It’s easy to forget because the regular season was such a disaster, but the Knicks went unbeaten in preseason last year. Still, even then it foreshadowed what would become the main theme of the season; the bench led the way. And if there was one aspect of last season most Knick fans expected to carry over, it was just that. 

But, at least for one game, that was not the case, as the starters did the majority of the work in this one. Led by their big three of newcomer Jalen Brunson, recently extended RJ Barrett, and [redacted description] Julius Randle, the starting unit came out like gangbusters. By the time they retreated to the bench for good midway through the third quarter, they had seen the lead balloon to over 30 points. 

Each player left their impact. Brunson, Randle, and Barrett (more on them later) combined to shoot 21-33 and score 52 points. They had 11 assists and just two turnovers. Evan Fournier, who many in the fanbase would prefer to see coming off the bench, brought one of his better efforts that didn’t feature an array of 3-point makes. After a slow start on that end of the floor, Fournier played admirably defensively, working tirelessly to be in the right spot as often as possible and sticking his hand in passing lanes when possible. It is unlikely he’ll ever be a positive on that side of the court, but efforts like that will at least make starting him somewhat defensible.

Last but not least, Mitchell Robinson, who was also given a new contract this offseason, was a one-man wrecking crew in the paint on defense. Robinson has always possessed one-of-a-kind gifts, but seeing them all come together like they did last night has been a rare occurrence. He wasn’t just protecting the rim. Any time the Pistons beat the defender at the point of attack and got two feet in the paint, Robinson was there in a good defensive stance. And if a cutter off-the-ball beat his man into the paint? No matter, Robinson would simply slide over and take that man as well. I’ve always said that Mitch’s defensive ceiling is ~90% of Rudy Gobert, watching him dominate last night made me the most confident I’ve been that he can one day get there.

An auspicious debut

The signing of Jalen Brunson has to be one of the stranger big-time contracts handed out in NBA history. Very little (positive or negative) was made of the transaction itself as, almost immediately, attention was turned to a potential bigger fish the Knicks apparently had their sights set on. Those who did break down the acquisition mostly said the same thing: Brunson was a solid, albeit uninspiring signing. He is a good player, perhaps worth the large sum of money the Knicks paid for him, but he is hardly a needle-mover. 

If last night is any indicator, those people are wrong. Brunson was phenomenal. He came out looking to attack. Literally the first play of the night was a Brunson pick-and-roll with Randle which ended with one of Brunson’s patented floaters. How someone his size who contains his (lack of) athleticism can so consistently get two feet in the paint and put the ball in the basket with the efficiency he does is astounding. Brunson is a wizard, and scoring is his main trick.

But scoring isn’t why the Knicks are paying him nine figures. Brunson is the floor general head coach Tom Thibodeau has been desperately seeking. We know about Thibodeau’s admiration for veteran Derrick Rose but, as we’ve seen the past two seasons, he can only lean on Rose so much. 

This brings us back to Brunson. Brunson has a tall task in front of him. The Knicks want him to be himself and score at his typically hyper-efficient rate, but they also want him to organize the starting lineup in a way nobody has been able to. Between him, Barrett, and Randle, there are mouths to feed. My turn, your turn does not work. Somebody has to delegate on a game to game basis; read the flow of the game, take control of the wheel, and navigate it in a way that gives the Knicks the best chance of winning each night. Can Brunson be that somebody? Only time will tell, but last night was a heck of a start.

The odd couple

For those of you who haven’t had last season fully erased from your memory Men In Black-style, you probably recall watching two musicians battling to see who would be the lead guitarist. In a rock band, somebody has to play bass, but neither Randle nor Barrett seemed to have much interest in learning the sidekick role. The result was some of the ugliest, most awkward basketball you’ll ever see in your life. Sometimes it seemed as if the two players actively avoided passing the ball to one another. It’s interesting how some problems just solve themselves organically. Last night, Randle and Barrett looked excited to share the court together. Each sought the other out and looked to push the ball and create advantages not only for themselves, but for the team. There was, seemingly, no power dispute   

Obviously, there is still plenty to be determined. Who knows how swimmingly this chemistry will flow on nights when one or both of their shots isn’t falling? What if effort wanes? It’s natural for general excitement to provide a spark in your first professional ballgame in six months. But the addition of Brunson brings reason to have hope. After all, he is now the lead guitarist. The show will start with him. It is up to Barrett AND Randle to play off of and coexist with him. Fittingly, just as their contract situations aligned, so did their place in the pecking order.

Barrett had a pretty standard game from him. Very little of what he did stood out, which is both a good and a bad thing. For Barrett to make 21, five, and two on 8-14 shooting look like par for the course should inspire Knicks fans everywhere. But preseason isn’t for “par for the course”. At least not entirely. On some level, you’re looking for players, especially a 22-year-old fourth-year player like Barrett, to showcase a shiny new toy. Something tangible that tells diehard fans, “here is why I am going to be better this season.” For Barrett, that conversation begins and ends inside the paint. In most other areas — perimeter shooting, ball-handling, passing, defense — improvement will likely exist at the margins. But Barrett has struggled immensely from the range of just outside the rim to the free throw line. Last season, Barrett shot 31.8% from 5-15 feet on 245 attempts, good for .636 points per possession, a heinous number. Last night, Barrett was 3-6 from that range. A small sample size to be sure, but Barrett definitely looked more comfortable operating inside the paint and showed an improved touch. This is something to keep an eye on moving forward, as Barrett’s improvement in this area may be the determining factor in his ceiling.

Randle, on the other hand, showed improvement almost across the board entirely. On the back of a hot third quarter, Randle finished the game 6-10 from the field, a number that barely registered to me. Watching him play, he could have finished 2-10 and I would have been thrilled with his effort. Randle’s willingness to cede volume and control to Brunson and Barrett whilst not letting his lack of involvement impact his energy was everything to me. His effort isn’t always aimed in the right direction, but you will take an engaged, selfless Randle any day of the week. The Knicks are well past the days of going as far as Randle takes them. Ironically, the team now will only go as far as Randle lets them. And last night was a step in the right direction. 

Those kids

While it was far from perfect, each of the Knicks’ young guns coming off the bench left their mark on the game. Led by third-year player Immanuel Quickley, the bench picked right up where they left off playing a fast, entertaining brand of basketball that was high-level on both ends of the court for much of the night. Toppin had multiple highlight reel dunks. Cam Reddish, who, due to a Quentin Grimes injury, was given a chance to earn his way into the rotation, nailed a three and played a lot of solid defense. Newcomer Isaiah Hartenstein showed immediate chemistry with Toppin, making it evident he processes the game just as fast. Even Deuce McBride, who finished a limited Derrick Rose’s shifts, flew off the screen harassing opposing guards to the tune of SIX steals.

In the end, the standout was Quickley, who is one of the team’s most interesting storylines this season. Coming off of a season in which he led the team (by far) in net rating, if Quickley finds a way to continue improving, it will become more and more difficult to justify an artificially suppressed role. Like McBride, Quickley was relentless defensively, hounding opponent Killian Hayes to the point where he likely had nightmares last night. To go along with that, Quickley pushed the pace and looked to distribute, leading the team in potential assists, he got to the rim at will, and battled the trees for rebounds. It was an impressive all-around effort for the 23-year-old. A few more of those and his head coach’s job becomes even more difficult.

Thibs’ revenge

Speaking of that head coach, I liked his first game back as well. I thought there were two areas that really stood out. The first were his rotations, which he managed to mix and match a bit more than usual. The second was his willingness to adapt to player strengths. In the past, Thibodeau has expected his players to conform to the role he expects of them (example A: making Evan Fournier be French Bullock). Last night, the Robinson minutes looked majorly different from the Hartenstein minutes. Robinson screened a lot, he crashed the boards, and he defended his ass off. Typically, Thibs would have his backup play a similar style. But last night, as Thibs deployed more dribble hand-offs and sets that saw Harteinstein either at the top of the key breaking down the defense with his eyes or spacing the floor.

Obviously, my approval is largely irrelevant,  but Thibodeau still has a ways to go before regaining my full belief. The sting of last season is too fresh. With that being said, there is also a very real path to reacquiring my faith. Thibodeau is not without positive qualities. He is, without doubt, an elite defensive coach. He can build a top ten defense out of almost anything. I also believe he is an extremely good developer. Where Thibodeau has always fallen short is player evaluation and constructing optimal rotations. Thibodeau may be good at developing young players, but what good is that ability if he continuously smothers their minutes ceiling with a pillow? The rotations are probably less important than recognizing who your best players are, but on a Thibs team it’s actually close. 

Nevertheless, Thibs came out last night determined to prove a tiger could change his stripes. Reddish was the first off of the bench, allowing him to share the court with fellow Duke alum Barrett. Quickley played both point guard and shooting guard. He staggered his substitution pattern just enough that we saw more combinations of players than we typically do. Has Thibodeau flipped a proverbial switch? Will he prove myself and plenty of others like me wrong? I guess only time will tell. But for the hope of both this franchise and my sanity, I sure hope he does.