New York Knicks: 5 games to highlight on the 2018-19 schedule

New York Knicks (Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Getty Images)

1. Wednesday, October 17 vs. Atlanta Hawks

The New York Knicks will begin their season with an interesting clash in Madison Square Garden.

The spotlight of this game will be on the young players for both sides, as Kevin Knox and Frank Ntilikina will square-off with John Collins and Trae Young of Atlanta.

It will be NBA fans’ first look at two of the lottery-picks of this past draft.

Trae Young enters the NBA as arguably the most polarizing rookie in the 2018 draft class after averaging a smooth 27.4 points and 8.7 assists in his one year at Oklahoma. He led the nation in both categories.

The ninth overall pick back in June, Kevin Knox had one of the most impressive Summer League showings of the entire rookie class. He averaged 21.3 points, good enough for fourth in the League in that category.

In addition to the showdown of the two rookies. New York Knick fans will be able to gauge the development of second-year guard Frank Ntilikina, as he will most likely be a primary defender of Trae Young. Ntilikina averaged 5.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists as a rookie last year.

Finally, October 17th will mark the true beginning of the David Fizdale era in New York. Fans will get the first glimpse into how Fizdale will aim to implement a “positionless” basketball system in New York.

The two teams met this past season in Summer League, where the Knicks battled to a 91-89 win to begin their Summer League slate.

October 17th will be a night of firsts, as it will be the first look for Knicks fans at the rookie, the development of the returning young players, and the new coach running the New York squad. It should be a good clash between two rebuilding teams.