Basketball is back-sketball!! ! Preseason opener. Washington, D.C. You already know the starting lineup. All that's left is for the Knicks to take the court! Game is at 7:00 p.m. on MSG. Check out Bullets Forever. No large photos, GIFs, or links to illegal streams in this thread. Try to be kind to one another; it's only preseason after all. And by the way... KnicksKnicksKnicksKnicksKnicksKnicks Knicks!<doc-sep>Game Info When: Monday, October 1 at 7 pm Eastern Time Where: Capital One Arena in Washington DC TV: NBC Sports Washington Injury Report Wizards: Dwight Howard (Out, Back) Knicks: Courtney Lee (Out, Neck) Kristaps Porzingis (Out, Knee), Joakim Noah (Out, Hasn’t been stretched yet) What to Watch for Will we get to see Ian MatTHREEnmi? The most interesting development to come out of Wizards training camp is that Ian Mahinmi is trying to add a 3-pointer to his game this season. He’s 0-of-8 from deep in his NBA career, but Scott Brooks said he wouldn’t be surprised if he made some this season. Here’s indisputable video evidence of him hitting one in practice last week: Ian Mahinmi is working on his corner three. pic.twitter.com/3uMM1ru1wt — Chase Hughes (@ChaseHughesNBCS) September 25, 2018 If you think Mahinmi is too old to be adding something like this to his game, consider Aron Baynes. He made 11 threes in the playoffs for the Celtics after only making four in his entire career up until that point. Baynes is just one month younger than Mahinmi. This might feel like the Kris Humphries Stretch Four Experiment all over again, but I think this is different for a few reasons: Getting Humphries to shoot more threes was part of an effort to keep using him at power forward, which was a bad idea from the get-go. He didn’t have the foot speed or the playmaking to be useful at that spot even when he was effective shooting the ball. Regardless of how Mahinmi shoots the ball from deep this season, he won’t be playing out of position. Even if Mahinmi doesn’t shoot the ball well, keeping him out on the perimeter may not be the worst thing for the offense. If he’s out at the arc, that means the Wizards won’t be trying to force-feed him in the paint where he’s had issues protecting the ball. Last season, he had the highest turnover ratio in the league among qualified players. One cause for concern would be how it affects the Wizards’ offensive rebounding. Last season, Mahinmi was one of the best in the league on the offensive glass. However, as the league has shifted toward prioritizing transition defense in recent years, it has de-emphasized the value of scrapping for those second-chance opportunities. So with that in mind, here’s to hoping Ian let’s it rip. A random moment in Wizards - Knicks history: John Wall shuts the door Speed. Kills.<doc-sep>After a long offseason, the Wizards are finally back in action! What to expect on the court besides a Wizards win As with all preseason games, the focus isn’t about seeing which players are going to start on opening night. Instead, it’s more important to see how reserve players perform and to determine which players at the end of the bench make the opening day roster. Also, it will be interesting to see how Tomas Satoransky and Austin Rivers gel when they are on the floor together. I don’t think we’ll see the starters like John Wall and Bradley Beal play too much, so I’d keep a closer eye on them. Note that digital ticketing procedures have changed! Also, if you’re going to Capital One Arena tonight for the first time since last spring or summer, you will notice that the arena isn’t just fresh off a renovation. Your ticketing procedures also have changed if you go there with electronic tickets. Make sure that you keep your phone charged and with your tickets put onto your e-Wallets like Apple Wallet BEFORE you go to the game. And if you’re going in a group, it’s better to make sure that you all have separate tickets. If you are using traditional paper tickets, there is no change of course. If you don’t believe me, click here to get to the Wizards digital ticketing guide. That’s all from me. Go Wizards!<doc-sep>That was fun! The Knicks faced off against the Wizards to open the preseason tonight, and, although it probably took about a quarter too long for a preseason game, the Knicks came out on top, 124-121, in the first win of the David Fizdale era. There was so much to feel good about with this one. Kevin Knox, first off! The rookie looked every bit like a player that belongs in the NBA already, leading the team with 26 minutes, and notching a 13-point, 10-rebound double-double: You see all the highlights of Knox, watch an entire possession on both ends, without the best outcome. A lot of possessions like these happen through a season pic.twitter.com/SbTc42J3eY — Knicks Film School (@KnickFilmSchool) October 2, 2018 Frank to Knox to SPLASH pic.twitter.com/eH01NBpak5 — Knicks Film School (@KnickFilmSchool) October 2, 2018 Damyean Dotson ignited in overtime to push the Knicks to victory (overtime seemed like a general annoyance to everyone, from Mike Breen and Clyde Frazier to the fans in the stands, and was basically extended garbage time): Damyean Dotson steps behind the line for 3! #NBAPreseason pic.twitter.com/42Z0RVEhgR — NBA (@NBA) October 2, 2018 Frank Ntilikina led the team with a +7 plus/minus (tied with, you guessed it, Kevin Knox) and had five points, two assists and a steal: Defense to offense, with a Frank 3 pic.twitter.com/VXAh03ffmF — Knicks Film School (@KnickFilmSchool) October 2, 2018 Mitchell Robinson totally blew up my season preview that I was writing where I say that he should probably split time between the NBA and the G-League: Get used to this folks - Mitchell Robinson dunks on one end and then blocks a shot on the other end pic.twitter.com/VP2fO2c4x1 — Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) October 1, 2018 Literally every eligible Knick touched the floor tonight (17 players!!!) so there’s plenty to talk about ahead in the recap. But to end this tweet-cap, here’s my favorite moment — Noah Vonleh absolutely annihilating Jason Smith, even if it didn’t count: Noah Vonleh showing some power and I don’t care what the call is, it’s preseason and this was ferocious pic.twitter.com/2hXXqfzFfD — Knicks Film School (@KnickFilmSchool) October 2, 2018 I’m also happy to announce that P&T has teamed up with KnicksFanTV this season, so check out CP and J. Ellis’ stream below for live analysis of the game, and live interaction with chatters and callers on YouTube! Feel free to also call in yourself! The number’s right there! Knicks vs. Wizards Live Reaction and Fan Phone In! Call 657-383-1509 https://t.co/uAIpBKAQXk — Kevin Knox ROY, Don't @ ME (@KnicksFanTv) October 2, 2018 Recap coming in a bit!<doc-sep>
Breathe in. Now breathe out. We made it through the (unusually quiet) offseason! Tonight, the Knicks will finally start playing some actual basketsports again, tipping off the preseason at 7 p.m. against the Wizards. And, after all the ballyhoo about all of the starting spots being open, we now know who will occupy said spots in the first preseason game: Lance Thomas starting over Hezonja tonight — Burke, Hardaway, Knox, Thomas, Kanter are the starters. — Stefan Bondy (@SBondyNYDN) October 1, 2018 So Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway Jr., Kevin Knox, Lance Thomas and Enes Kanter are your (preseason) opening night starters. Only one true head-scratcher there (Lance), so I suppose that’s kind of an improvement on years past. Or is it surprising? Remember when David Fizdale said that he thought Lance Thomas could be the Knicks’ version of Draymond Green? Gulp. Don’t worry too much though. Fizdale was quick to point out that this starting lineup isn’t necessarily a reflection of what fans can expect on opening night: Fizdale pointed out again tonight’s starting lineup is for this game, not a set in stone for the season grouping. — Steve Popper (@StevePopper) October 1, 2018 Knicks lineup is likely to change game to game in preseason. But talking to an exec from another team he said you've got to play Ntilikina at PG and see if he can be what you hope, everyone knows what Trey is. Let's call it the Eli/Geno/Davis example. — Steve Popper (@StevePopper) October 1, 2018 So yeah, it’s only the first preseason game. On to happier sights. Look who showed up to practice! Here’s hoping that Patrick Ewing took Mitchell Robinson aside personally and let the young fella pick his brain about how to play center. Pat’s a busy guy these days, who knows when that opportunity might roll around again! Lastly, it looks like Courtney Lee will be out tonight with a sprained neck (ouchies): Courtney Lee (sprained neck) is out. — Steve Popper (@StevePopper) October 1, 2018 That concludes your updates prior to the preseason opener. Let’s play some damn basketball!