Mike Brown Is Holding Back the Knicks on Purpose — Three Players Could Benefit
GOATIFYNew York has lost all three of its preseason games, including a 122–104 defeat to Minnesota at Madison Square Garden on Monday. That is an awkward-looking start for the defending NBA champions, especially when the Timberwolves' Anthony Edwards and Jaden McDaniels combine for 48 points and nine three-pointers. But the most useful question for the Knicks is not whether an exhibition result predicts their title defense. It is whether Mike Brown is learning which parts of his roster can take on more responsibility when the real games begin.
Brown has said he is deliberately running a predictable offense in preseason to test whether players can execute counters and maintain spacing when defenses know what is coming. That helps explain why New York's attack has looked less polished than a champion's should. It does not make every problem harmless, though. The Knicks shot just eight of 32 from three against Minnesota, and their established starters were outscored during their minutes. Underneath the poor scoreline are three different auditions: more offensive creation from the wings, a young forward trying to prove he belongs, and a battle for the final center spot.
That distinction matters because the regular season will not give Brown the same freedom to experiment. New York opens against Philadelphia on October 20, when possessions will carry a different cost and opponents will have more scouting information. Minnesota made 18 of 34 three-pointers on Monday while New York converted only eight of 32, a gap that a more elaborate playbook alone cannot erase. The Knicks also surrendered extra opportunities on the glass, a reminder that championship experience does not automatically produce preseason sharpness. Brown needs to separate correctable execution problems from structural weaknesses before the games count. If his wings can create a second attacking route, the offense becomes less predictable. If Dadiet can provide reliable depth, the rotation gains flexibility. If the backup centers can handle basic defensive assignments, the team has insurance when Towns or Drummond needs relief. Those are concrete decisions, not abstract claims that losses are secretly wins. The staff will have to prove that the experiments improved the team when the full-strength lineups return.
Anunoby and Bridges are auditioning for more than spot-up shots
The Knicks already know what Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns can do as offensive hubs. What they are trying to establish is how much more they can ask of the players around them. Against Minnesota, OG Anunoby attacked with noticeably more intent, while Mikal Bridges again handled possessions as a pick-and-roll creator rather than waiting at the arc for a pass. Those details matter more than the final preseason margin.
Anunoby finished with 15 points and made all six of his free throws. The aggressive drives that produced those trips to the line are the important part. A defense that loads up on Brunson needs to worry about the Knicks' wings beating a closeout, drawing a foul or finishing through a mismatch. Anunoby showed both the willingness to put the ball on the floor and the strength to make contact meaningful. That does not mean he must become a primary scorer every night; it means opponents cannot automatically hide a smaller defender on him.
Bridges offers a different type of pressure. He can use a screen to force two defenders into a decision, then hit the rolling big man or turn the corner himself. One early action against Minnesota did not end in a basket, but it still forced the Timberwolves to react to Bridges as a ballhandler. Later, a similar two-man action with Towns produced a cleaner finish. The difference between a good role player and a second-unit initiator is often the ability to make that simple read reliably, not a sudden leap in points per game.
The value of that development is most obvious in a playoff series. New York cannot expect Brunson to solve every possession while also absorbing the opponent's toughest defensive attention. If Anunoby and Bridges can initiate even a few more useful actions, the Knicks can move their star guard off the ball, change where a defense must help and keep their attack functional when the first option is denied. A preseason loss is a reasonable price for testing that ceiling, provided the decision-making carries over once the offense becomes less deliberately restricted.
Dadiet's seven points were a more meaningful audition than they look
Pacôme Dadiet is not competing for a starring role. The 21-year-old forward is competing for evidence that New York should keep investing in him. Seven points, one rebound and one assist against Minnesota are modest numbers, yet the individual possessions showed a player prepared to make quick decisions instead of shrinking from the ball. He took an early catch-and-shoot three without hesitation, later attacked a bigger defender off the dribble and made another three after bringing the ball up the floor himself.
For a young wing on a veteran championship roster, decisiveness can be the difference between a useful minute and a possession that stalls. Brown does not need Dadiet to create complicated shots. He needs him to recognize the ones already available, keep the ball moving and defend without being targeted. Dadiet had moments of each against Minnesota, including a first-quarter defensive assignment on Edwards and physical box-outs against larger opponents. Those plays are not a guarantee of a rotation role, but they answer a more useful question than whether he scored in double figures.
The roster context is unforgiving. New York is trying to defend a title, not conduct an open-ended development season. Experienced wings such as Bruce Brown offer a clearer immediate floor, and the club has limited flexibility to retain every camp candidate. Dadiet's age and size give him upside that older contenders for a spot cannot manufacture, but potential only matters if the staff believes it can be used during a difficult regular-season stretch. One strong preseason outing will not settle that judgment.
The next step is repeatability. Dadiet must show that he can take open shots without needing several touches to get comfortable, hold his defensive position after an opponent changes direction and avoid costly mistakes when the pace increases. If he can do those things, New York gains a younger option on the wing without requiring its stars to sacrifice possessions. If he cannot, the Knicks may prefer the certainty of another veteran. The Minnesota game offered a small but genuine argument for giving him more chances to make the case.
Bradley's perfect shooting makes the last center decision harder
The most direct roster question concerns the centers behind Karl-Anthony Towns. Andre Drummond is already part of New York's veteran frontcourt plan, but the final depth spot is being contested by players with very different strengths. Tony Bradley, Drew Eubanks and James Wiseman are not interchangeable just because they are all listed as big men. The Knicks have to decide whether they need reliable positioning, energy in short bursts or the possibility of a higher offensive ceiling.
Bradley supplied the cleanest box-score case against Minnesota: 10 points in seven minutes, shooting five-for-five from the field. Nobody should project that rate over a season, but efficiency in a short stint can still be informative. Bradley did not need plays designed for him to finish opportunities, and his size gives New York a conventional center option if the coaching staff wants to preserve its usual defensive shape. At 28, he also has enough NBA experience to understand that a reserve big must make a small number of possessions count.
Eubanks offers a different argument. He brought energy and made useful plays around the basket, including a running hook and activity in the passing lanes. Wiseman did not appear in the Minnesota game, leaving the staff with a less direct comparison on this particular night. His physical tools and theoretical scoring upside may still intrigue decision-makers, but they must weigh that possibility against what Bradley and Eubanks can deliver immediately. This is a team with championship expectations and little appetite for avoidable breakdowns from its third center.
There is a tactical reason the choice matters. Towns stretches the floor and gives New York an unusual offensive advantage at center, while Drummond can provide rebounding and interior strength when the matchup calls for it. A deeper reserve might only play a handful of minutes on most nights, yet those minutes can become essential during foul trouble, an injury or a difficult back-to-back. Brown's deliberately simplified preseason system is useful here: it exposes whether a candidate can screen, roll, rebound and execute basic coverage without a custom game plan hiding his weaknesses.
The five makes are a strong line on Bradley's audition sheet, not a final verdict. New York's staff must still consider defensive mobility, foul discipline, rebounding against starting-caliber opponents and which player complements the rest of the bench. That decision is likely to affect far fewer headlines than Brunson's scoring, but it may determine how comfortably the Knicks survive the routine attrition of a long season.
New York's 0–3 preseason record is real, and so are the issues exposed by Minnesota's 18 made three-pointers and the Knicks' inconsistent half-court offense. It would be a mistake to wave away every missed rotation or cold shooting night as an intentional experiment. But it would also be a mistake to grade this team only by a scoreboard Brown has made clear is not his principal teaching tool.
The more revealing evidence is in the roles being tested. Anunoby and Bridges are taking possessions that could make the championship offense harder to scout. Dadiet is showing whether he can earn trust without a guaranteed place in the rotation. Bradley and the other reserve centers are competing to make the least glamorous minutes more dependable. The Knicks will need their full playbook and sharper execution when the regular season starts. For now, the exhibition losses are only useful if those specific experiments produce answers that last.
