Just a little taste. A tease. A tantalizing morsel. That’s what we received on Sunday, when the New York Knicks unveiled their highly anticipated new-look starting lineup in their preseason-opening 111-109 win against the Charlotte Hornets. New additions Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges, both the product of offseason trades, joined All-NBA point guard Jalen Brunson and do-everything wings Josh Hart and OG Anunoby to debut one of the most formidable five-man units in the league.
The lineup only played for a handful of minutes in the first half before head coach Tom Thibodeau showed tremendous restraint by resting them for the remainder of the game, but there were some clear indications of the potential potency — and underlying weaknesses — in New York’s new attack. You can’t glean much from the preseason as players are still getting into shape and chemistry has yet to be built, but here’s a look at a few things that stood out from Sunday’s limited minutes.
KAT’s ridiculous range
Of course Towns’ first bucket as a Knick would be a 3-pointer (his lofty claim to be the best shooting big man of all time is looking better by the year), but take a look at where this 7-foot human being just shot the ball from.
This isn’t a desperation heave — there are 15 seconds left on the shot clock. Casually pulling up from 27 feet and hitting the bottom of the net shows just how valuable Towns will be when trailing the play. Last season with Mitchell Robinson or Isaiah Hartenstein jogging up court, opposing centers could sag off and provide help, clogging the lane for Brunson. With Towns a threat from just inside halfcourt, there will be many more pathways to the rim for teammates with the paint basically fully vacated.
This is just one way in which having a center who shoots 40% from 3-point range completely alters your offense.
Freedom!
The double-big lineups that the Minnesota Timberwolves threw out last season presented significant advantages. When Towns shared the floor with Rudy Gobert, the Wolves had a plus-nine net rating and scored a solid 118 points per 100 possessions. But man, Towns has to love the spacing he gets as the center in a more traditional lineup. Watch here as he puts the ball on the floor and finds no help in sight with the Hornets glued to New York’s other threats.
Towns was effective in isolation situations last season with Minnesota, and he will have even more room to operate with his new teammates surrounding him.
Bridges picks his spots
Last season in Brooklyn, Bridges racked up a 24% usage rate — by far the highest of his career. That number was around 15% as a role player in Phoenix, which is likely closer to what we’ll see during his tenure with the Knicks. He was extremely selective in his debut on Sunday, taking five shots in 12 minutes, scoring his first basket in transition.
Bridges headed to his usual spot in the corner and, because of the attention placed on the Knicks’ other starters (and some preseason absentmindedness from Charlotte), he found himself with a wide-open lane to the basket.
The beauty of this Knicks lineup is that they have three players — Brunson, Towns and Bridges — who have been the No. 1 option before, but are all capable of going into role-player mode when necessary. Bridges has the luxury of being more selective with the Knicks, and his efficiency should rise accordingly.
The Hart of the issue
If this is indeed the starting lineup Thibodeau uses to begin the season, we already have a good idea of how teams are going to defend it. With four legitimate 3-point shooters on the floor, whoever is guarding Hart will become a full-time helper as they dare him to let it fly. Though he showed some serious confidence in the playoffs, Hart made just 31% of his 3s last season.
We got a glimpse of this on Sunday, as Hornets guard Vasilije Micic completely abandoned Hart to double-team Brunson on a drive. That left Hart with plenty of space to take an above-the-break 3 (where he shot 30% last season), and it promptly clanked off the rim.
This is nothing new for Hart, who is a smart and versatile enough player to figure out ways to take advantage of all the space — like cutting and screening — but his lack of shooting will be the main weakness in an otherwise relatively bulletproof offense.
