Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns led the scoring, averaging 24.7 and 20.3 points in 3 games against the Cavs. Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Josh Hart each averaged 14 points and Miles McBride chipped in 10 off the bench. As a team the Knicks shot 44% overall and 33% on 3’s against the Cavs. The Knicks averaged 114.7 points for the season but only 104 against the Cavs.
In addition to the lower shooting percentages the Knicks played slow, ranking 26th in pace. As a result they scored between 102-105 points in all four games against the Cavs. Brown wants to play faster but in the preseason the Knicks averaged almost exactly the same number of possessions per game as last year.
Brown is installing his West Coast-style run-and-gun offense in a building long defined by grit and grind. His philosophy — speed, spacing, selflessness and shot-making — is designed to take last year’s core and lift it beyond the structural ceiling that Thibodeau’s slower, more deliberate system imposed. - NY Daily News
The Knicks will go bigger this year with Mitch Robinson starting at center which kicks KAT to power forward, OG Anunoby to small forward, and Josh Hart to the bench. Robinson destroyed the Cavs on the offensive glass in the playoffs three years ago and he’ll be matched up with Jarrett Allen. It will be up to Allen and Mobley to keep Robinson from dominating the offensive glass.
Robinson only played 17 games last year and 21 the year before. He has been experiencing some knee soreness in the preseason and he will be given games off this year as the Knicks try to nurse him through an entire season.
The Knicks also want to shoot more 3’s, which they’ve been doing in the preseason. From a Knicks’ fan site:
[Mikal] Bridges has looked much more comfortable thus far than he did last year. The faster play style that Brown brings to the team fits Bridges much more than the slow pace that Tom Thibodeau brought, and Bridges is making a positive impact on both ends.
Putting up more three-point shots was a big point of emphasis upon Brown’s arrival this offseason. While the group was talented offensively last season, they weren’t maximized and didn’t produce nearly enough from beyond the arc as they could have.
So far, however, they look much more willing to put up shots from long range. Against Charlotte, they put up 48 three-point attempts…They also attempted 57 against the Minnesota Timberwolves last week.
Last year the Knicks averaged 33.3 three-point attempts per game against the Cavs. With Mobley and Allen protecting the rim I expect the Knicks to shoot at least 40 three-pointers on Wednesday. The Cavs have to be ready to grab the long rebounds. Last year the Knicks averaged nearly 12 offensive rebounds per game against the Cavs. But with more minutes from Hunter, Nance, and Ball and no minutes from Strus, Okoro, Garland, and Jerome the Cavs should have better defensive rebounding.
Towns (quad injury), Anunoby (ankle) and Hart (back) were all day-to-day with minor injuries as of Saturday. Hart has not played a single minute of the Knicks’ five preseason games while KAT and Anunoby sat out the last two. The Knicks admit they will not be fully up to speed when the season starts.
We weren’t going to be a finished product by the end of preseason anyway. We’re going to continue to get better. - Jalen Brunson
The guys that have been out, they’re the key pieces to what we’re trying to do. They haven’t gotten the reps and for us to jell together from top to bottom is gonna take a little more time than I thought. - Mike Brown
With no data from this season the only thing to do is copy and paste some previews from other sources. John Hollinger predicts the Knicks will go 49-33 and tie for 3rd:
The Knicks are stuck with this roster. Perhaps no team in the league is more locked in with its core players.
That’s a feature, not a bug, because the Knicks have good players. At their best, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns are two of the 10 best offensive players in the league, while bookend forwards OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges fill 3-and-D roles and Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson combine to get every rebound.
However, those six players make $185 million this season, putting the Knicks at the luxury-tax line..and leaving them scrounging at the back end with minimum guys and late draft picks. It’s hard to overstate the roster constraints here. New York has near-zero trade flexibility…
Thus, enter the one trade the Knicks could make: Swapping Tom Thibodeau for Mike Brown. Nobody was better at maximizing the short-term product than Thibs, but now the Knicks need to take a swing at seeing if some bigger-picture thinking can increase the team’s ceiling.
In particular, leaning into smaller lineups with five shooters on the floor might open up what was already a potent offense, while letting Anunoby cook more could ease some of the strain on what at times became a laughably heliocentric offense around Brunson. The Knicks were also 28th in 3-point frequency despite employing one of the best shooting big men of all time; that needs to change.
Though the salary constraints are formidable, the Knicks’ depth situation isn’t totally dire. A bargain deal for Miles McBride continues to pay dividends, and adding Yabusele means the Knicks are eight deep…while Landry Shamet showed he was at least serviceable in the 2025 playoffs, and Jordan Clarkson may have something left in the tank as a shot-creation option behind Brunson. However, if multiple injuries hit, it’s a different story. New York’s “deep depth” in roster spots 10 through 14 is as bad as anyone’s, and the Knicks need to hope those guys aren’t needed for major minutes.
Big picture, the Knicks will always be somewhat limited on defense with Brunson and Towns as two of the five starters, despite the quality of the wings. Their pathway to glory is via an overwhelming offensive attack, and Thibodeau never quite got them there.
Maybe Brown won’t either, and the Knicks will likely regress a bit in the regular season as they (correctly) experiment more and worry less about playoff seeding. The entire bet here is whether the Knicks’ offense can max out and outscore the likes of Orlando or Cleveland in May.
My comment: The Cavs may also “regress a bit in the regular season as they experiment more and worry less about playoff seeding.” Also, if the Knicks’ “pathway to glory is an overwhelming offensive attack,” it will be interesting to see if they can break 105 points in the opener, which they were never able to do in four games against the Cavs last year. They will play faster and put up more 3’s; let’s see if that translates to more points.
NBA.com:
Jalen Brunson further established his superstar credentials, averaging 26.0 points and 7.3 assists per game while earning Kia Clutch Player of the Year honors. Karl-Anthony Towns adjusted quickly to life in New York after his trade from the Timberwolves, fitting in seamlessly as a versatile scoring big and earning a fifth All-Star selection. OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, and Josh Hart formed a ferocious perimeter trio, locking down opposing wings and bringing toughness on both ends of the floor. With a core locked in for the foreseeable future, the franchise appears well-positioned to remain in the title conversation…
While it remains to be seen whether Brown can elevate the Knicks to championship contention, the team added depth to its roster by signing Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele…Clarkson, who has led the NBA in points off the bench (4,589) since 2020, adds scoring depth. Yabusele, a versatile frontcourt presence, spent last season with the Philadelphia 76ers, averaging 11.0 points on 50.1% shooting.
One key question:
Do the Knicks have enough depth? The two teams that reached the 2025 NBA Finals — the Thunder and Pacers — were both fueled by strong, reliable bench units….By contrast, the Knicks’ rotation began to wear down late in the postseason. While Miles McBride and Mitchell Robinson provided energy and key moments off the bench during the playoff run, the overall lack of consistent second-unit production was a glaring issue, especially in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Getting back to the opener against the Cavs, one big question is just how healthy are the Knicks? They are saying everything is fine and they’re just resting starters as a “precaution,” but Josh Hart has not played a single minute in five preseason games due to a back problem. Will he play against the Cavs, and if he does, will he be in mid-season form?
KAT and OG Anunoby sat out the last two preseason games. Will they be 100% for the opener? KAT shot 5-for-19 in the preseason and has a quadriceps injury. Brunson admitted the Knicks “won’t be a finished product by the end of the preseason.” Mike Brown admitted the Knicks have not “jelled together” due to “key pieces being out.”
How many of their starters will be 100% and ready to play 30-34 minutes?
Injury Report
CLEVELAND
De'Andre Hunter - QUESTIONABLE (knee)
Darius Garland - OUT (toe)
Max Strus - OUT (foot)
NEW YORK
Mitchell Robinson - QUESTIONABLE (load management)
Josh Hart - QUESTIONABLE (back)
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