NEW YORK — Most objective viewers would agree on Jalen Brunson’s preseason: it was as good as you could possibly hope. Maybe even better.
There were factors weighing against Brunson in those four games, namely that he never played with any of his teammates. But he directed Knicks traffic like a beat cop who worked that same intersection for eight years.
The starters were dominant, the Knicks went 3-1 and they outscored opponents by 64 points with Brunson on the court.
What does all this mean? To paraphrase Brunson, “Absolutely nothing.”
“It’s preseason, and this doesn’t really matter,” Brunson said. “While we have made strides, while we have gotten better it really starts on Wednesday (in the regular season opener). We have to continue to just have that mindset and continue to get better and we will be OK. This is just a start for us. We can’t be satisfied with 3-1 in the preseason. That means nothing.”
Shunning complacency is a refreshing perspective for Knicks fans hoping for improvement from last season’s dud. It also jibes with Brunson’s career track. The 26-year-old was never satisfied with status quo. He advanced from a short and unathletic prospect to NCAA champion to overachieving second-round pick to a nine-figure contract with the Knicks.
“My entire career I’ve been told I’m too short, too slow, all that nonsense,” he said Friday night.
Indeed, Brunson can’t jump around the gym like Donovan Mitchell or dribble around defenders like Kyrie Irving. He’s effective in ways like former point guards Mark Jackson, Andre Miller and Chauncey Billups. Steak without the sizzle.
If we ignore Brunson’s suggestion and analyze the preseason, the results suggest his presence will boost production from both Mitchell Robinson and RJ Barrett. Brunson also takes the ball and pressure off Julius Randle, who demonstrated in preseason a willingness to accept a lesser role in the offense.
That’s probably a good thing after Randle’s collapse last season.
But the preseason, as Brunson indicated, isn’t a great barometer. Three of the opponents — Indiana (twice) and Detroit — are bad and inexperienced. The fourth opponent (the Wizards) probably has the ceiling of the play-in tournament.
On Wednesday evening, the Knicks open their regular season on the road against the Memphis Grizzlies, a team with a superstar (Ja Morant) and championship aspirations. To quote Ron Burgundy, “That escalated quickly.”
“It starts for real,” Brunson said.
STOCK REPORT
It was a tale of two preseasons for the Knicks. The starters were tremendous, the reserves were not.
With that in mind, let’s take stock of each player after the four games:
JALEN BRUNSON
AVERAGES: 26 minutes, 17.8 points, 4.3 assists, 49% shooting
QUICKIE: Took control of the offense and boosted the halfcourt game.
STOCK: UP
RJ BARRETT
AVERAGES: 27.5 minutes, 19.8 points, 6 rebounds, 48% shooting
QUICKIE: Efficiency has been a knock on Barrett but he hit 46% of his treys and 81% of his foul shots.
STOCK: UP
JULIUS RANDLE
AVERAGES: 23.5 minutes, 13.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 43% shooting
QUICKIE: Didn’t shoot particularly well but never forced the issue. Ratio of assists (4.3) to turnovers (0.8) was most encouraging.
STOCK: UP
IMMANUEL QUICKLEY
AVERAGES: 21 minutes, 12 points, 3 assists, 34% shooting.
QUICKIE: Shotmaking is always a rollercoaster and it was mostly down in preseason. Wants to improve efficiency but 34% wasn’t a good start.
STOCK: DOWN
OBI TOPPIN
AVERAGES: 20.7 minutes, 11.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 53% shooting.
QUICKIE: One spectacular game, one so-so, two duds. Appeared to injure his ankle in the last game.
STOCK: DOWN
MITCHELL ROBINSON
AVERAGES: 22.2 minutes, 11 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.3 blocks, 76% shooting
QUICKIE: Brunson was great but Robinson had the most impressive preseason while dominating the paint.
STOCK: UP
EVAN FOURNIER
AVERAGES: 19.1 minutes, 5.7 points, 3.3 assists, 33% shooting
QUICKIE: Rested one game. His 3-point threat balanced the floor even though Fournier didn’t shoot well. Largely took it easy after playing Eurobasket in the summer.
STOCK: EVEN
ISAIAH HARTENSTEIN
AVERAGES: 20.8 minutes, 4.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 37% shooting
QUICKIE: Noticeable dropoff defensively with Hartenstein on the floor instead of Robinson.
STOCK: DOWN
DERRICK ROSE
AVERAGES: 10.7 minutes, 4.7 points, 1.7 assists, 40% shooting
QUICKIE: Didn’t play much and ceded point guard duties to Quickley. Understandable Rose wouldn’t go hard after such a long layoff but we’re worried about him trying to suddenly turn on a switch.
STOCK: DOWN
CAM REDDISH
AVERAGES: 15.8 minutes, 4.3 points, 2 rebounds, 21% shooting
QUICKIE: Thibodeau gave him opportunities but Reddish did nothing with them.
STOCK: DOWN
QUENTIN GRIMES
AVERAGES: 15.9 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound, 0% shooting
QUICKIE: Might’ve had a chance to advance his candidacy for a starting job but foot injury held Grimes out for three of the four games.
STOCK: EVEN
