Knicks 111, Hornets 105: Rooks take advantage of the opportunity

New York improves to 4-0 in the preseason despite resting their entire starting five.

Hand up, basketball is the last thing on my mind tonight. As I type this, my Yanks are leading 4-2 in the sixth. Hopefully, they wind up winning.

About 90 minutes before the game, Tom Thibodeau revealed that none of the starters would play, something that Thibs does once every preseason. This means that there will be ample opportunity for the vets on the rotation bubble, the rooks, and Deuce McBride.

The Hornets’ starters blitzed the NYK bench early with a 30-point first-period. Sometimes, you just get reminded that, hey, this LaMelo Ball guy is pretty good.

Shoddy shooting in the first hurt the Knicks, but they got a massive spark in the second with their rooks. Buoyed by Pacome Dadiet’s 16 points, the Knicks scored 41 points in the period to take the lead into the break, including an exhilarating 15-0 run.

The rest of the game was relatively lax. The Knicks outscored the Hornets, 46-42, and staved off a late comeback after building a 14-point lead in the third quarter. In a night full of positives while the big boys sat, the Knicks got a depressing moment in the third quarter.

Landry Shamet had put up 16 points in the preseason opener last Sunday, and all indications suggested that he would be in the Opening Night rotation. Unfortunately, Shamet fell awkwardly on his shoulder, going for a loose ball. I’m not a doctor by any means, but this looked eerily similar to Julius Randle’s season-ending shoulder injury last season. If this happened in November, this would be an abject disaster for the Knicks. Fortunately for them (and a terrible break for Shamet), he was only on an Exhibit 9 deal, which guarantees him $15,000 if cut for injury, but is not guaranteed at all. If the deal was guaranteed, the Knicks wouldn’t be able to pivot and roster, say, T.J. Warren in his place.

Precious Achiuwa led the team in scoring with a pretty thunderous 20-16 with two 3-pointers. Deuce McBride struggled with his shot early, but finished with 18 points and five assists on 7-for-19 from the field. Cam Payne was the only player to post a negative +/-, but put up 16-8-5 and looks like someone who can capably run the floor off the bench.

TJ Warren got big minutes late due to Shamet’s injury and looked pretty good, scoring 11 on 3-for-5 shooting with 7 rebounds in 18 minutes. Jericho Sims had a weird 7-10 game but only played 20 minutes.

Now, the rooks. Pacome Dadiet’s second quarter turned heads. Even me, more focused on the Yankees, couldn’t help but gravitate my eyes to the second screen as Dadiet drained three triples in front of the Hornets’ bench. Something I noticed in Summer League was that Dadiet was timid at times and didn’t want to shoot. Today, you saw a little bit of both. He took nine shots and scored 16 in the second, but attempted just two shots in the other 15 minutes, missing both. All in all, this is a guy who just turned 19, is considered extremely raw, and is coming off a lackluster Summer League. He did very well for himself against real NBA talent (even if it was the Hornets’ bench).

Tyler Kolek had an ugly shooting day. 2-for-9 and 1-6 from 3. Still, this guy isn’t known for scoring. Kolek dished out nine assists to just two turnovers and grabbed eight rebounds despite being a solid 6’1”. I don’t think he starts in the rotation but he will play due to injuries at some point and I like what he can bring to the bench.

Lastly, Ariel Hukporti looked like a baby DeAndre Jordan at times with a couple of ferocious jams. 8 points and 5 rebounds in 22 minutes for the German center wearing #55 (no, not that one).

Knicks shoot 43.3% from the field, 35.6% from 3, and 11-for-15 from the line. Despite Hart sitting, they outrebounded Charlotte 59-45 and grabbed 17 offensive rebounds. The Knicks will finish the preseason in DC on Friday. Expect the starters to play. Go Knicks (wait, did Judge just homer?)