Knicks Coach Praises Bench After Early Injuries

The New York Knicks used the NBA preseason for its intended purpose on Wednesday night.

While those gathered at Madison Square Garden were enthused by Karl-Anthony Towns’ maiden Manhattan voyage, the Knicks’ reserves took advantage of the hefty time inflated by early autumn, turning the 117-94 victory over the Washington Wizards into an exciting group project.

I thought Ariel (Hukporti) was terrific for the first game that he’s played in. Hs energy, anchoring the defense was really good,” head coach Tom Thibodeau praised (h/t New York Basketball on X). “Tyler (Kolek) played really well, Cam (Payne) was really good, I thought Landry (Shamet) played well without scoring a ton of points. Just playing off each other, those guys make quick decisions, & when we get to second and third action good things come from that.”

The second unit showcase comes amidst some early medical woes: Ian Begley of SNY noted that first-round choice Pacome Dadiet was set to join his fellow freshmen Hukporti and Kolek in Wednesday’s rotation but he was unable to partake due to a sprained finger. Begley also reported that Jericho Sims was limited to two minutes due to ankle woes while Miles McBride was held out entirely due to an illness, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post.

The leftover metropolitan reserves picked up the slack in their place. Hukporti was perhaps the most inspiring considering the Knicks’ lack of depth thanks to Sims and Mitchell Robinson’s ailments. The final pick of last summer’s draft had seven points and four rebounds in 16 minutes and was one of five Knicks with multiple steals as part of a 30-turnover night for Washington.

Next to him in the steals department was Kolek, who had 15 points and was tied with Josh Hart for the team lead in assists with five. Payne put in four of the Knicks’ 10 successful threes in a role reversal: less than six months ago, he was a metropolitan villain as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers, the Knicks’ first-round opponent in the 2024 playoffs.

“It’s all love,” Payne said in a report from Bondy, remarking that his first order of New York business was to speak with Jalen Brunson and learn about collaboration with fellow backcourt backup McBride. “[The Knicks] gave me an opportunity, and I was like, ‘I like it.’ I played them in the playoffs, so I kind of knew what they were about.”

The Knicks return to preseason action on Sunda when they welcome in Towns’ former employers, the Minnesota Timberwolves (6 p.m. ET, MSG).

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