New York Knicks: 3 Takeaways from the preseason

3 main takeaways from New York Knicks preseason

The New York Knicks defeated the Washington Wizards 115-113 on Friday night to finish undefeated in exhibition play with a 4-0 record.

While the game doesn’t count for anything in the standings, it clearly mattered to the Knicks. After trailing by as many as 18 points in the fourth quarter, the team came all the way back to win the game on a buzzer-beater step-back jumper by Julius Randle.

Head coach Tom Thibodeau clearly wants his team to be as prepared as possible. Randle and RJ Barrett finished first and second in minutes per game this preseason, respectively.

It’s a risky strategy, but it isn’t hard to see Thibodeau’s logic behind it. With a shortened preseason, there isn’t much time to reestablish on-court chemistry while also mixing in some new faces added in free agency.

With the regular season just days away, it makes sense that Thibodeau wants to be sure that his two best scorers have already found their rhythm.

While it’s important not to take preseason results too seriously, there are also some indicators for the regular season.

In last year’s exhibition play, the Knicks ranked within the top ten teams in opponent scoring, opponent field goal percentage, and opponent three-point percentage which forecasted New York’s surprisingly stingy defense.

Similarly, RJ Barrett averaged 17.8 points per game on 50.9% shooting in the 2020 preseason which ended up being an early beginning to his mightily improved sophomore season.

Which preseason numbers should be taken with a grain of salt, and which numbers will correlate to the regular season? Here are three takeaways that should fit into the latter category.