The NBA preseason is an exciting time because it means the next NBA season is about to start. The games are used for the stars of the league to build a rhythm before the season starts, teams to build chemistry, and to scout out which role players we'll make the final rotation.
The New York Knicks are in a unique situation because they have a lot of talent on their roster but it's not enough for them to contend for a title. They need some drastic improvement from key players if they want to be a legit contender.
Head coach Tom Thibodeau only has nine rotation slots in his system. The preseason is being used for any role players to prove that they deserve minutes in their slim nine-man rotation. Here are the winners and losers from the Knicks preseason who may have earned or lost rotation spots.
Loser: Evan Fournier
Evan Fournier signed a four-year deal with the Knicks in 2021 in hopes of him being a key contributor. After his first season, his minutes started to diminish and, in 2023, when the Knicks went to the nine-man rotation, he fell out of completely.
Fournier is a very talented player who averaged around 16 points per game from 2017 to 2022. His falling out of the rotation was a big deal. The thing that really hurt him was that the Knicks had a top-five record in the league when he stopped playing.
He has been using this past offseason and preseason to really prove why he should be put back in the rotation. The two most important things for him to be back in the rotation are for him to be able to make his 3s and play defense.
In his first three games in the preseason, he's played pretty well. In the first game, he had 11 points, three rebounds and shot 3-of-7 from 3. In the second game, he had 15 points, four rebounds, shooting 6-of-10 from the field and 3-of-6 from 3. His third game was poor, scoring 10 points, two rebounds, shooting 3-of-10 from the field, and 1-of-4 from 3.
His first two games were pretty good which may make him seem like a winner but it actually makes him a loser. In his time on the court, the Knicks were outscored by 39 points and he has been one of the worst defenders this preseason.
That isn't enough to be in the Knicks rotation. Since they have a lot of talented guards coming off the bench, it makes it that much harder for him. It seems that he'll be out of the rotation to start the season but he may have played well enough to be traded to a team that wants him.
Winner: Mitchell Robinson
Mitchell Robinson is the longest-tenured Knick but he is also a small winner in this preseason. Robinson's job is pretty simple, set screens, rim protect, lob threat, rebound, and be a great offensive rebounder.
He has been doing that at a very good level for his whole career. One of the best improvements he has had throughout his career is fouling less while defending at the rim. He has picked up right where he has left off in this preseason.
In the first preseason game he had 10 points, seven rebounds, four were offensive, two steals, three blocks and shooting 5-of-6 from the field. In the second game, he had eight points, seven rebounds, three were offensive, one block and shot 4-of-4 from the field. In his last preseason game, he had 12 points, seven rebounds, four were offensive, three steals shooting 5-of-6 from the field.
In the first three preseason games, he has been doing his job at an elite level. This preseason there has been some improvement to his game. Robinson would always struggle with his put-backs off of offensive rebounds that weren't wide-open dunks.
Most of the time when Robinson gets an offensive rebound he is trying to dunk but when there's a defender he usually just passes out or gets fouled. This preseason he has looked a lot stronger when going up for those putbacks and has added a bit of a post game.
He doesn't need to have the best post game but when he's by himself at the rim, he needs a strong move to get good positioning. He has been doing exactly that because no one has stopped him from scoring off a putback so far.
He is still a poor free throw shooter but he's been going up strong enough to finish through contact. This is a huge plus for the Knicks because Robinson's offensive rebounding is important but being able to finish off those for an easy two points can have a big impact on the scoreboard.
Robinson in this preseason has been a huge winner with this new post game and ability to finish strong at the rim. Also, his defense has looked better than ever and he could be a Defensive Player of the Year candidate.
Loser: Donte DiVincenzo
Donte DiVincenzo was the Knicks big free agency acquisition, signed to a four-year, $50 million contract. After shooting 39.7 percent from 3 and playing stellar defense last year, pairing him alongside three of his former Villanova teammates seems like a match made in heaven.
In the first three postseason games, it has not seemed like a perfect pairing. In his first game, he had eight points, three rebounds, two assists, shootin' 2-of-8 from the field and 2-of-5 from 3. In the second game, he had four points, three rebounds, three assists, two steals, shooting 2-of-3 from the field. In the third game, he had 15 points, three rebounds, three assists, one steal on 3-of-12 shooting from the field and 3-of-10 from three.
He has been playing really well on the defensive side of the ball and has been playmaking pretty well for being a shooter. He is paid to be a great shooter. The Knicks were in the bottom half of 3-point shooting last season and need him to be a great shooter.
His shooting woes so far this preseason have made him one of the biggest losers on the Knicks. With Grimes, Mcbride, and Quickley playing well, he could easily fall out of the rotation if he isn't shooting the ball well.
DiVincenzo is one of the most important pieces for the Knicks. They signed him to be one of the better 3-point shooters on the team. With the very limited floor spacing they do have, they need him to be a good shooter to be if they want to contend.
Winner: RJ Barrett
The Knicks third overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft has been the biggest winner so far this preseason. That is beautiful news for the Knicks because being their third option, a lot of the Knicks success depends on Barrett's improvement.
Over the course of Barrett's career, he has averaged 18.1 points per game but he did that shooting 42.2 percent from the field, 34.3 percent from 3, and 70.9 percent from the free throw line.
Barrett is very good at scoring at the rim, solid mid range shooter, and a below average three point shooter. All of that is fine if you can score at the rim at an elite level but the one thing that he can't be is a poor free throw shooter.
Barrett has slowly improved his free throw shooting every year getting it up to 74 percent last season. Even with him improving, shooting 74 percent leaves a lot of points up on the board. Barrett knows that and focused this past offseason working on his free throw shooting.
His work is paying off and he has made a drastic improvement at the free throw line. In the first game he went 9-of-9 from the free throw line and in the second game he went 9-of-12 from the free throw line. He is shooting a total 86 percent from the free throw line in the postseason.
Him shooting 86 percent for a season may be a stretch but, shooting around 80 percent would be ideal. Along with shooting a high percentage, he has gotten to the free throw line a lot. This is a really good thing because it means he's attacking the basket and staying away from the three point line.
He uses his strengths and making his free throws makes him the biggest winner for the Knicks. The improvement from RJ Barrett is the most important factor if the Knicks want to be taken seriously as a contender.
