Good morning! Your Knicks are officially world travelers, arriving yesterday in Abu Dhabi for their two preseason games with the Sixers, the first of which tips off Thursday at noon on NBATV.

It’ll be interesting to see how much the starters play in either of these games, although my gut tells me it’s probably more than we expect. Much like Thibs, Mike Brown does not strike me as one to waste valuable court time, especially with a new team.

Before we get to today’s piece, a quick note for anyone who may be interested in getting involved in sports media or perhaps knows someone with that goal. This season, I’m looking to hire 1-2 interns to work at Knicks Film School and on another sports media-related project that covers the NBA. This will be either an unpaid or very low-paying gig, so this is probably ideal for someone in college or a recent grad. That’s the downside. On the plus side, there’s absolutely on-air opportunities available, and we’re open to considering any and all specialty areas, although social media fluency is a must. If anyone needs convincing, note that the one and only Kris Pursiainen started as a KFS intern and was just a credentialed reporter at Knicks media day. No prior experience in media is necessary. If you or a young person you know is interested, please send me an email at macri@knicksfilmschool.com.

Today’s question from Drew pertains to the longest tenured Knick who also happens to be a fan favorite:

Mitch has averaged 3.4 shot attempts per game in his career. I’d bet at least 3.3 of them have been either put-backs or dunks. (There was that one time he drove the lane last year!)

Do you think we get to see Mitch actually take some shots under Mike Brown? We’ve all seen his videos where he’s in the gym making 2’s and 3’s over and over again. Does Mike let him participate in the offense more than just setting picks and rebounding?

Ostensibly, this is a question about Mitchell Robinson, but really, it’s all about Tom Thibodeau.

Perhaps more than any coach in recent NBA history, Thibs hung his hat on minimizing mistakes. Quite literally every Thibodeau tenet, from his best to his most infuriating, was at its core a way to control what he could control and minimize errors.

It’s why New York was always a low turnover team. It’s why their offense was as exciting as paint drying. It’s why he largely avoided defensive schemes that came with high downside risk, especially when it came to allowing shots at the rim. It’s why the ball was always in Jalen Brunson’s hands. It’s why young players rarely got burn, and when they did, it was in a controlled capacity. It’s why, with rare exceptions, he didn’t play anyone whose effort was ever in question.

And its a big reason why Mitchell Robinson has been among lowest usage players in basketball over the course of his Knick career: