New York Knicks: Five most intriguing games of 2019-20 schedule
The New York Knicks have a handful of intriguing games on their schedule for the 2019-20 NBA season.
The New York Knicks had their 2019-20 NBA schedule released Monday, featuring the full slate of games to be played from October to April. Another 82 matchups are set in this road through the league, and the Knicks will eye improvement from a 17-65 record last season.
With just a handful of national television games, New York has other opponents to spotlight throughout the regular season. From teams with big names to intriguing storylines, there are reasons for intrigue.
With the schedule out, which games stand out the most?
5. The season opener
The regular season opener is an easy game to highlight for any NBA team. It is the first game; everyone has a clean slate to work with, whether they floundered or succeeded the year before, and general basketball excitement is in the air.
However, New York Knicks fans can circle this game because the opponent, the San Antonio Spurs, offer the unusual subheadline.
Early in free agency, Marcus Morris verbally agreed to a contract with the Spurs. It happened before the moratorium period, so he could not officially sign with them. That opened the door for the Knicks, who reworked Reggie Bullock‘s deal, to pitch the veteran forward a one-year, $15 million offer to remain in the northeast.
Morris is a Knick, and he no longer has Rich Paul as his agent. It made for a chaotic sequence and one of free agency’s final storylines. While it might not have too many legs for an October game, the situation is still worth noting, especially as this game takes place in San Antonio on Wednesday, Oct. 23. The AT&T Center has jeered players, even if rarely, so the Kansas product might hear something.
These organizations also have bad blood that stems back to Kristaps Porzingis trade talks. This may not show on the court, but they do not have a fond recollection of each other.
This is only Game 1 of 82, so the result does not matter too much for either team, but it has a small storyline backdrop to make it interesting.