The final dress rehearsal looked a lot like the Knicks’ last exhibition game.
Three projected starters — Mitchell Robinson, Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby — were out, along with Josh Hart.
So that means the Knicks won’t have played any preseason games with their entire team.
According to coach Mike Brown, the Knicks were simply resting Robinson, while Towns (quad), Anunoby (ankle) and Hart (back) are all day to day with minor injuries.
“Mitch is out, load management, and then the other three guys we’re just being a little cautious with,” Brown said.
It’s obviously not a positive that the Knicks will enter the regular season with a few players dealing with injuries, especially because they have a new coach and are learning a different system.
“I would love to have everyone together, especially trying to play the way we’re playing with it being new to everybody, but it is what it is and we’ve still gotta go and win games,” Brown said. “Whether we had everyone or we didn’t [it’s important] for us to understand, ‘Hey this thing is going to be a marathon. It’s not a sprint.’ It’s not being at our peak on opening night. You’re always hoping and wishing you are, but they’re fighting their tail off. They’re learning quickly. They’re actually a little ahead of where I thought we’d be at this point.”
The Knicks have up until 5 p.m. on Saturday to get down to 14 players. They have six cuts to make. The last roster spot is expected to come down to Landry Shamet or Garrison Mathews.
“The door’s always open for a guy to gain an opportunity,” Brown said. “But the whole time, myself and [team president] Leon [Rose] and his group, we’ve been having discussions. Our minds change, just like everyone else’s minds change from time to time. But we’ll get through tonight and then take a little bit more time and then make the decision.”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
