THIBS TIME!
Knicks fans finally get first look at Tom’s team
What Tom Thibodeau’s Knicks will look like in 2020-21 is anybody’s guess. But myriad questions — from who could be a starter to style of play — will start to be answered as rookie Obi Toppin (inset) and company take the court for their first exhibition game.
Exactly nine months since they walked off the court at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, the Knicks will be back in action Friday night.
It’s only the preseason opener, but their game at Detroit will offer a first glimpse at the Tom Thibodeau era, with plenty of questions — about a starting lineup, rotations, rookies and young players hoping to make a jump — waiting to be answered.
“I think any first game, particularly with the preseason, it gives you a baseline and it lets you know exactly where you are,” Thibodeau said Thursday after the fifth day of trainingcamp practice. “As much as we try to replicate the intensity of the game, we know we can never quite get there. So it’ll be a good measure to let us know where we are conditioning-wise and where we are in terms of execution, and if we can take some of the things that we’ve been working on and carry them over into a game.
“It’ll give us a chance to really evaluate.”
With the Knicks set to play two games at the Pistons this weekend for their first taste of a road trips during the COVID-19 pandemic, here’s a look at five things worth watching in Friday’s preseason opener:
Starters/rotations
Thibodeau didn’t tip hand Thursday on what his starting lineup would look like, but the one he chooses and how he deploys his rotations bears watching. The Knicks don’t have a top-heavy roster featuring star power, but they do have some depth, meaning there could be a crunch to get to the 9or 10-man rotation Thibodeau hopes to ultimately use.
“We’ve been mixing and matching, and we’re still evaluating,” he said. “Obviously there’ll be a larger rotation in this first his game. But we’ll use all four preseason games and probably some games into the regular season as well before we settle on a final rotation.”
Of particular interest will be the point-guard battle. Elfrid Payton started the majority of games last season and is back as the incumbent, but he’ll be vying with Frank Ntilikina, Immanuel Quickley, Austin Rivers (who has been sidelined by a pulled groin) and Dennis Smith Jr. for the job. Ntilikina, Quickley and Rivers also figure to see time at the other guard position.
The Rookies
Aside from watching them in the summer league, fans usually have to wait a while before seeing rookies play in the NBA. This year, the turnaround from the draft to the preseason has been expedited, meaning all eyes will be on Obi Toppin and Quickley against the Pistons.
Teammates and coaches have already raved about Toppin’s athleticism and Quickley’s shooting. Friday will be the first chance to see them in action.
The Old Rookies
RJ Barrett said he was bothered by not landing on the NBA’s All-Rookie teams and vowed to use it as motivation for this season. But how big a jump will the 20-year-old make? The Knicks’ lottery pick from the year before, Kevin Knox, has also garnered plenty of praise during training camp, but it remains to be seen how that translates to
games.
The Thibodeau System
It might be tough to get a full look at Thibodeau’s defensive schemes in a preseason opener, but Friday will mark his first game back on the sideline since Jan. 6, 2019. He has a lot on his plate — coaching a team with plenty of young players in the midst of a pandemic — but the game could offer some hints at just how his team will look and play.
Playing Fast
Thibodeau said some guys are ahead of others conditioningwise — he highlighted Toppin, Quickley, Knox and Julius Randle as ones who have impressed him — and that should be important with how the Knicks want to play fast and get out in transition.