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3 things fans should hope to see in Knicks’ preseason finale vs Wizards

By Jordanna Clark

Apr 8, 2022; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; New York Knicks guard RJ Barrett (9) shoots the ball over Washington Wizards forward Deni Avdija (9) in the first quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 8, 2022; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; New York Knicks guard RJ Barrett (9) shoots the ball over Washington Wizards forward Deni Avdija (9) in the first quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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The New York Knicks will play one final preseason game on Friday night against the Washington Wizards before the start of the 2022-23 regular season. The Knicks dominated their first two preseason games at The Garden and hopefully, they’ll close out the preseason in a similar fashion.

It’s only the preseason so there’s no reason to panic, but New York had a rather disappointing performance against the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday in a 109-100 loss. The starters looked fine for the most part (except Evan Fournier), but the bench struggled, especially in the fourth quarter.

It’s important to remember that these are meaningless games, but they still give fans a good idea of where the team’s at heading into the regular season. In five short days, the Knicks will be in Memphis to take on the Grizzlies in what will be the first of 82 (hopefully more) meaningful games.

Before we make it to that point, though, let’s take a look at what we hope to see in tonight’s preseason finale.

3 things fans should hope Knicks make in preseason finale against Wizards

3: The Knicks’ reserves bouncing back from a disappointing performance

New York’s depth is one of its strengths but on Wednesday, the reserves disappointed after they blew a double-digit lead after being up 94-84 with six minutes left to play.

Immanuel Quickley finished with 12 points (4-for-18 from the field, 2-for-7 from three) in 24 minutes, Miles McBride scored two points (1-for-6 from the field, 0-for-3 three) in 18 minutes, and Cam Reddish had 10 points (3-for-10 from the field, 1-for-6 from three) in 21 minutes.

The Knicks had no answer for the Pacers, who scored 32 points in the fourth quarter behind rookie Andrew Nembhard’s 13 points. For a team that was having a hard time getting the ball in the basket, they failed to do anything positive on the defensive end.

Hopes were especially high for Reddish entering the preseason, but he’s yet to prove that he deserves a spot in Tom Thibodeau’s rotation. A phenomenal outing from him against the Wizards likely wouldn’t solidify his spot, but it’d certainly help.

It’ll be interesting to see how the bench performs against the Wizards after a dismal outing on Wednesday.

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