3 Biggest Knicks Storylines Coming Out of Preseason Loss vs. Wizards

The New York Knicks fought till the final buzzer before dropping their preseason home opener 111-109 to the Washington Wizards.

This being one time of year when the journey means more than the destination, let’s ignore the score to look at three of the biggest storylines to come out of this game.

1. Bruce Brown is making his case to stick around with Knicks

Before the game, Mike Brown made it known no Knick outside the starting five was secure in their position. The gauntlet had been thrown down: the coaches wanted to see which reserves would raise their game.

Thursday night, at least, Bruce Brown stepped up. Forget about his airball at the end of the game—creating offense in late-and-close situations isn’t his schtick. 

Classic Brown were instances like when he defended Bub Carrington so well off the dribble the Wizard ended up passing the ball off, leading Jose Alvarado to leap up from his seat on the bench in approval.

Tracking Justin Champagie the length of the floor to foul him and send him to the line, rather than surrender an uncontested lay-up, doesn’t move the needle when the games are meaningless, but that’s the type of winning instinct that can make all the difference when these contests do matter.

And even in a “meaningless” game, it was Brown who forced a last-minute turnover that led to a breakway bucket to trim the deficit to two points. 

In both preseason outings, Brown has played more minutes than any other newcomer. It seems his reputation preceded him. What he’s shown so far only reinforces that rep.

2. James Wiseman looks more and more like a suitable Mitchell Robinson replacement

At first glance, James Wiseman doesn’t share much in common with last year’s Knick backup bigs. Mitchell Robinson and Ariel Hukporti rebounded well and contested well. Wiseman, being none of those things, may have seemed an initial longshot to make the team.

But one part of Robinson’s game receded over the years as his boardwork grew in prominence, the one Wiseman is best-equipped to replicate. Robinson was a vertical threat, creating lob opportunities for himself and, consequently, driving pathways for the Knick guards.

Alvarado threw more than one alley-oop Wiseman’s way Thursday night. The seven-footer also caught a drop-off dish near the rim he then dunked, and would have had added another slam later if not for a spectacular contest from Champagnie.

The things Wiseman hasn’t done since turning pro don’t mean a lot to New York. It’s the things he does do that matter.

A pessimist might note he played just nine minutes Thursday, which doesn’t seem like a lot. The optimist would note that after Karl-Anthony Towns and Andre Drummond’s 39 combined minutes, there were only nine left at the center spot, with precisely zero of them going to Tony Bradley and Drew Eubanks.

If Wiseman can keep pressuring the rim, he’s got a real chance at making this team.

3. Mohamed Diawara’s potential injury could also lead to opportunity

Pat Riley used to talk about “thunderbolts,” unpredictable and unavoidable events that went down during the season. Some thunderbolts are killjoys, like P.J. Brown assaulting Charlie Ward in the 1997 playoffs.

Sometimes thunderbolts pay dividends, like when John Starks figured he was gonna get cut late in training camp and decided to go down swinging, testing Patrick Ewing at the rim and ending up on the injured list for his troubles, preventing him from being cut and accidentally leading to one of the best surprises in franchise history. Thunderbolts can go either way.

So there’s no wrong way to react to Mo Diawara coming down awkwardly after contesting a Felix Okpara drive and moving a bit gingerly after. On the one hand, Diawara may be the one reserve whose role is expected to expand in 2027. Losing him for any length of time would thin the bench and potentially dampen or dash New York’s chance to move him for a backup who fills a more immediate need, i.e. a big man.

But any time he misses would create an opening for someone else. Could that be Pacome Dadiet, who per usual struggled with his shooting but had five rebounds in 12 minutes? Or Jaden Akins, who hit a couple of threes, including one late in the fourth to advance the comeback, and whose terrific hustle and saving of a loose ball in the last 30 seconds gave the Knicks one last chance to tie the game?

Hopefully Diawara is ready to go Monday when the Knicks host the Minnesota Timberwolves. Even if he isn’t, he didn’t—fingers crossed—look all that hurt. And if there is a good time to miss him, it’s now, with Diawara a roster lock and a half-dozen Knicks trying to prove they should be.

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