Knicks See Instant Impact of Bench

The New York Knicks are starting the preseason on the right foot after a 111-109 win against the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center.

The preseason opener gave Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges the opportunity to make their Knicks debuts, and coach Tom Thibodeau gave the first unit 15 minutes to play together. The starters were outscored by Charlotte, but the bench made up for it as the team pulled off a win, especially Deuce McBride, who scored a game-high 22 points in the victory.

“Those guys play fast and they play hard,” Thibodeau said of the second unit. “I thought that Deuce’s ball pressure got us going early. We got in that hole early and then that got us going a little bit. Got some easy baskets, those easy baskets are huge for us.”

The Knicks’ depth took a hit this offseason in the Towns and Bridges trades. However, there is still a lot of talent coming off the bench for New York. This game was proof as to why the team didn’t want to trade McBride in either of the deals that brought in Towns or Bridges.

McBride will play a key role throughout the season in setting the second unit up for success and being that prime scorer when Jalen Brunson is on the bench.

Landry Shamet, who is on a non-guaranteed deal and fighting for a roster spot, made a strong impression as well as he scored 16 points while making four 3-pointers. Precious Achiuwa added 15 points of his own, while Cam Payne and Tyler Kolek dropped 11 apiece.

If the Knicks bench can keep contributing like they did against the Hornets, they should be a big help for the team all season long.

The Knicks are back in action for their next game against the Washington Wizards.

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