From BarrettPhoto: Special to the NY Beacon  

By Samori Benjami 

The Knicks are a week away from tipping off the 2023-2024 campaign.  On October 14^th they hosted Minnesota and fell 121-112.  Minnesota got a game high 22 points form forward Naz Reid and 17 points apiece from their star players Anthony Edwards and Karl Anthony Towns.  The Knicks got a game high 23 points from RJ Barrett, 16 points from guard Miles McBride and 14 points from shooting guard Evan Fournier. 

The Knicks are hoping they get the best year yet from Barrett going into the season.  The #3 overall pick from the 2019 NBA draft is entering his fifth season.  The Knicks highest draft pick since Patrick Ewing in 1985, the Knicks desperately need Barrett to raise his game to a level not yet seen from him in a Knicks uniform.  The Knicks had a good season last year finishing with the fifth best record in the Eastern Conference and winning only the franchise’s second playoff series in the last 23 seasons.  But the Knicks are still a considerable way away from having enough to win the championship. No superstar is going to fall into their lap.  Which is why the Knicks need RJ to become an All-Star.

After being up by as many as 17 earlier in the game, the Detroit
Pistons were about to cut the lead down to just four with 80 seconds
left. After Wednesday’s disastrous loss in Brooklyn, the New York
Knicks needed this game and got it. The team scored 7-straight to put
the game out of reach and won 121-112. RJ Barrett exploded for 20 in
the first half and finished with a season-high 30 points. Jalen
Brunson added 26 points and 7 assists, while Julius Randle added 21.

Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau said after the game, “I think the start of the game was good.
The thing that was different about this game is we still didn’t shoot
the ball great, but I thought we made a lot of unselfish plays that
helped get high-quality shots. I thought everyone was focused on
helping the team first and we ended up scoring 120 points.”  ‘His Life Has Not Even Started’: 7-Month-Old Mauled by Pit Bull Left with Fractured Skull, ‘Fighting for Life’ in Intensive Care

Thibodeau praised the play of Barrett. “Great downhill, attacking the basket, a lot of pressure on the rim,” he explained. “We’ve been terrific with scoring in the paint all year
long, and a big part of that is the pressure he puts on people. I
thought guys made unselfish plays. I thought Derrick (Rose) played
with a lot of energy, got into the paint, made plays. I thought Jalen
(Brunson) had timely buckets in the fourth quarter. Julius (Randle) with big time rebounds at the
end in traffic. We had a lot of guys step up. I thought Isaiah
(Hartenstein) played really well over the course of the game.”

 By Bobby Childs In the month of October, a few things are expected.  The leaves begin to fall from trees, a slight chill enters the air, and the NBA starts their season.  The New York Knicks will be starting their 75th year playing host against the only other remaining original team from 75 years ago, the Boston Celtics.

Over those years, the Knicks have a record of 2,840 wins & 3,019 losses, while the Celtics have won 3,462 versus 2,406 losses.  Prior to last year, wins have been hard to come by for the Knicks. The Knicks had a winning record in only 2 of the last 10 years. Last year under new head coach Tom Thibodeau, the team finished with a 41-31 record and hosted a 1st round playoff series.  The season also saw a breakout season from Julius Randle who was named an All-Star and Most Improved Player.

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The Knicks provided great excitement for its fan base as the city was dealing with COVID19 in shelter and related protocols. The fun season came to an end just as fans were allowed back in The Garden to watch the team, as the Knicks were eliminated in the playoffs by Atlanta Hawks and their dynamic young star in Trae Young.

As the new season starts, the Knicks added 5 new players starting with NBA veteran & Bronx native Kemba Walker. Joining him are vets Evan Fournier and Wayne Selden. Two rookie draft picks Quentin Grimes and Miles “Deuce” McBride round out the 15-player roster.

The other thing October brings is Halloween.  So, Knick fans will be wishing for another season of treats from Randle, Derrick Rose, RJ Barrett and others, versus a return to bad tricks.

Bobby Childs is special contributing writer for the New York Beacon as well as host of the Open Line Online show on WBLS Facebook page Sunday 9:15am.

 

By Derrel Jazz Johnson

 

 The New York Knicks won their first game of the preseason, playing solid basketball on both sides of the court. In their second game of the preseason, their first at the World’s Most Famous Arena, Madison Square Garden, the defensive effort was subpar, and the Washington Wizards scorched them from the three-point line, nailing 19 three pointers in route to a 115-99 loss.

 Knicks head coach David Fizdale discussed the loss after the game. “We stopped guarding the three,” Fizdale said. “We relaxed. For whatever reason, we weren’t taking that next step to get to them with discipline. And whenever we did, we fouled them.”

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