In an ideal world, Knicks head coach Mike Brown would like to treat Friday’s preseason finale against the Charlotte Hornets as a full dress rehearsal — complete with regular-season rotations and minutes.
Reality, however, has other plans.
As Josh Hart continues ramping up from the back spasms he suffered in the preseason opener in Abu Dhabi, three more Knicks have joined the injury list: OG Anunoby tweaked his ankle in practice Wednesday, Karl-Anthony Towns is nursing a quad issue, and Mitchell Robinson’s workload is being carefully managed after exiting early in the Oct. 9 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
All four players are listed as day-to-day, limiting Brown’s ability to gauge how well his group has absorbed his new offensive and defensive systems.
“We’d like to play our guys as close to normal rotation as possible,” Brown said Thursday after practice in Tarrytown. “But I’m not sure who’s gonna play [against Charlotte], so it could change a little bit. I might have certain guys start that may not start during the regular season, depending on who’s available. I might have guys in the second unit playing a little more than others.
“Ideally, I’d like to get the guys who are playing close to the minutes they’ll see during the regular season — and hopefully finish out the game as best we can.”
Brown kept his starters on a light leash through the two Abu Dhabi games against the Philadelphia 76ers before ramping them up into the mid-to-upper 20s against Minnesota. None played in Monday’s blowout loss to the Washington Wizards, and Friday’s finale was expected to be the final tune-up before the Oct. 22 opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Neither Robinson nor Hart, however, practiced Thursday. The team labeled Robinson’s absence as “workload management,” while Hart — who’s battled a string of issues including a right ring finger splint, back spasms, and illness — continues limited individual work.
BROGDON RETIREMENT LEAVES ANOTHER HOLE TO FILL
Injuries aren’t the only challenge Brown’s dealing with this week. The Knicks are also adjusting to Malcolm Brogdon’s sudden retirement from basketball, announced Wednesday after just a few weeks in camp.
“I heard about it the same way you guys did,” Knicks captain Jalen Brunson said Thursday. “It’s not an easy decision to make at this time. For him to do that now, it’s kudos to him — for him, it was time to move on. I’ve got a lot of respect for him. I played against him in college and in the pros, and getting to know him these past couple weeks has been a blessing. I just wish him all the best.”
Brogdon was expected to serve as Brunson’s primary backup — a glaring need exposed during last year’s Eastern Conference Finals, when Indiana’s T.J. McConnell outplayed New York’s bench unit.
Now, Brown turns back to familiar options: Miles McBride and second-year guard Tyler Kolek. The Knicks also brought in former Sixth Man of the Year Jordan Clarkson, though his game leans more toward instant offense than orchestration.
“We’re in good hands. Great hands,” Brunson said. “Tyler’s getting better every day. Deuce [McBride] is getting better every day. Those guys work nonstop, and when you see that, you have confidence that when their number’s called, they’ll be ready. So we’re in good hands.”
Brown, meanwhile, says the job is wide open.
“Whoever goes and grabs it,” he said. “We feel like we have a deep roster. A lot of guys will have an opportunity to grab whatever minutes might’ve been there or might not have been there. We’ll figure it out at the end of the day for who’s gonna get whatever minutes are available.”
SLOW AND STEADY
Brown is overhauling the Knicks from the ground up — both offensively and defensively — introducing a full-scale remodel that will take time to perfect. The principles are new, the pace is faster, and the reads are different. The growing pains are expected.
The Knicks, however, aren’t rushing the process. They know it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and Brunson isn’t in the business of revealing the finish line.
“Where we want to be? That’s between us over there, on that side,” Brunson said Thursday. “I think for us, as long as we’re moving forward every step of the way and getting better every day, that’s where we want to be.
“We don’t want to plateau, we don’t want to stay in one spot — we want to continue to get better every day. And there are gonna be days where we get better and play and it takes us back, but that’s all gonna help you progress and move forward.
“I mean — we’re not where we want to be — but we’re gonna work to get there and continue to work to get there.”
