The Knicks\u2019 preseason starts today in Abu Dhabi. This first of two tune-ups against the 76ers gives us a chance to see how Mike Brown\u2019s plan will actually work. Since joining the team this summer, Brown has said that he wants pace, spacing, and shooting. Today\u2019s soft-open scrimmage gives him a controlled environment to test whether personnel and schemes align with that mandate and whether the front office\u2019s offseason signings have fortified a championship infrastructure or were merely cosmetic upgrades.<\/p>\n
The primary on-court question concerns the fifth starter. Josh Hart offers playoff-proven defense and toughness; Mitchell Robinson brings rim protection and paint dominance; Deuce McBride supplies two-way energy; and Jordan Clarkson could be a surprise insert, given his scoring chops. If Brown prioritizes spacing and offense, the nod could go to McBride or Clarkson; if he leans defensively, Hart or Robinson makes more sense.<\/p>\n
Obviously, whoever gets the nod today guarantees nothing, but the choice gives us a peek inside Brown\u2019s masterplan.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll also be watching how Brown deploys Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns. Since arriving in New York, the new skip has pontificated at some length about his strategy for Towns (e.g., more threes). Today\u2019s soft-open gives us a chance to see how that translates to the court.<\/p>\n
This summer\u2019s additions (Gershon Yabusele, Jordan Clarkson, and Malcolm Brogdon) were signed to bolster a bench that couldn\u2019t buy a point. Will they create and convert high-value offense under pressure? How will they affect the team\u2019s defensive identity? Yabu in particular looks like a potential multiplier for the second unit; if he supplies consistent shooting and strong closeouts, we\u2019ll be sending him valentines.<\/p>\n
With the starters on minutes limits, the young depth pieces like Ariel Hukporti and Tyler Kolek will get extended run. They\u2019d be wise to use this audition time to impress Coach Mike.<\/p>\n
Philly\u2019s skipper Nick Nurse will test Brown\u2019s defensive schemes early. The Flaming Cheesesteaks remain a Joel Embiid-centric team when the very expensive Cameroonian isn\u2019t chilling on the sidelines. If he plays today, his minutes will be monitored, natch. Note: Embiid, Paul George, Trendon Watford, and Quentin \u201cJust Signed\u201d Grimes are all game-time-decisions; Jared McCain is out.<\/p>\n
For the Knicks, Ariel Hukporti and Pacome Dadiet appear on the injury report as game-time-decisions.<\/p>\n
Expect controlled minutes for stars and hungry play from depth players. As for Mike Brown, he still has that new car smell. We can\u2019t fathom that anything he\u2019ll do today will diminish our enthusiasm too terribly today.<\/p>\n
Who: New York Knicks (0-0) vs Philadelphia 76ers (0-0)<\/p>\n
When: Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025, 12:00 p.m. ET<\/p>\n
Where: Etihad Arena, Yas Island<\/p>\n
Watch: NBA TV \/ League Pass<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Knicks\u2019 preseason starts today in Abu Dhabi. This first of two tune-ups against the 76ers gives us…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":185351,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,118458,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-185350","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-basketball","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-basketball","11":"tag-knicks-game-previews","12":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=185350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/185350\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/185351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=185350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=185350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=185350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}