New York Knicks vs. Minnesota Timberwolves Preseason: Preview, How, Who to Watch
Live from New York, it's ... preseason basketball.
The New York Knicks will continue their exhibition affairs on Saturday night when they face the Minnesota Timberwolves at Madison Square Garden.
It'll be the Knicks' second preseason game on a four-contest slate, one that got underway on Monday with a 114-107 victory over the Boston Celtics at MSG. New York starters played sparingly but Jalen Brunson had 10 points in a six-minute showing while RJ Barrett led the opening five with 12 tallies in 16. Immanuel Quickley led all New York participants with 21 off the bench.
Minnesota is back home in America after a two-game tour of Abu Dhabi against the Dallas Mavericks. The Timberwolves pervailed in both, the latter being a 104-96 triumph last Saturday. Potential Knicks trade target Karl-Anthony Towns led Minnesota in scoring with 34 points over his two appearances.
The first of two annual matchups between the Knicks and Timberwolves lands on Nov. 20 at Target Center.
What: Minnesota Timberwolves (2-0) at New York Knicks (1-0) (Preseason)
Where: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
When/Watch: Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET, MSG
Who's Favored: NYK -3.5
Foruner (13 in white) must take advantage of any time he's offered this preseason
Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports
Keep An Eye On: Evan Fournier
Fournier's metropolitan exile ended, if only temporarily, on Monday night against one of his former employers. The French-born sharpshooter played 21 minutes and was the Knicks' most lucrative three-point shooter (3-of-7) on an otherwise shaky evening (31 percent). With his 11 points, Fournier was the only reserve in double figures next to Quickley.
Any guarantees end once the regular season starts, so Fournier (and anyone else at risk of not gaining entry to Tom Thibodeau's exclusive nine-man front) needs to take advantage of whatever time he has left. Helping fix the Knicks' meandering outside affairs is likely his most attainable ticket.
Wolf to Watch: Troy Brown Jr.
Fresh off a breakout campaign in Minneapolis, the Timberwolves are being cautious with fourth-year man Jaden McDaniels. A calf strain kept him out of the Abu Dhabi games and the teams seems comfortable holding him out of the early stages of the regular season: Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic has reported that Minnesota management will revluate him in a week-and-a-half. The Timberwolves open in Toronto on Oct. 25.
Next in line to relieve McDaniels at the three is Brown, a well-traveled journeyman playing for his fourth team in seven seasons. He made 45 starts for the Los Angeles Lakers last season while Anthony Davis healed and wound up setting a career-best in three-point success rate (38.1). Minnesota should let him run tonight as they prepare to work through the early portions without McDaniels.
