Holmgren, Stewart Named Defensive Players Of The Month
A Thunder player has been named the Western Conference’s Defensive Player of the Month for a second consecutive time. After guard Cason Wallace won the award for October/November, big man Chet Holmgren has earned the honor for December, the NBA announced today (via Twitter).
The Thunder, who entered December with a 20-1 record, have looked more mortal in recent weeks, winning nine of 13 games over the course of the month. However, they still posted the conference’s top defensive rating (106.2) in December, with Holmgren acting as the team’s anchor and rim protector.
Holmgren’s 2.0 blocks per game in December ranked second in the conference, while his 8.5 contested shots per game placed him seventh among Western players. Oklahoma City’s defense this past month was nearly six points per 100 possessions better when Holmgren was on the court (101.7) than when he wasn’t (107.6).
Clippers guard Kris Dunn and a trio of former Defensive Players of the Year – Rudy Gobert (Timberwolves), Draymond Green (Warriors), and Jaren Jackson Jr. (Grizzlies) – were also nominated in the Western Conference, per the league (Twitter link).
An unlikely winner claimed the Eastern Conference’s Defensive Player of the Month award for December, with Pistons big man Isaiah Stewart taking it home despite coming off the bench in 12 of his 13 games and averaging just 23.0 minutes per night during the past month.
Despite his limited role, Stewart ranked second in the East in blocks (2.2) and contested shots (9.4) per game, helping lead Detroit to a 9-4 record and the league’s third-best defensive rating (109.8) in December. The Pistons’ defensive rating with Stewart on the floor was 104.5, compared to 112.2 when he sat.
Knicks teammates OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges, Raptors forward Scottie Barnes, Cavaliers big man Evan Mobley, and Celtics guard Derrick White were the other nominees in the East. Notably, the Nets didn’t have a nominee despite posting the NBA’s best defensive rating (105.4) in December.
Knicks Notes: Diawara, Towns, Bridges, Brown, Robinson
Mohamed Diawara lasted until the No. 51 pick in June, which the Knicks acquired from the Clippers. The French forward admitted to James Edwards III of The Athletic that he was unsure if anyone would take him despite some positive feedback in pre-draft workouts.
“I didn’t know at all,” Diawara said. “I was hoping to get drafted but I had no clue if I would at all. I worked out with 13 teams. The feedback was pretty good. I did a lot of good workouts. I feel like I showed a lot of stuff to other teams. I felt confident that I wouldn’t regret anything.”
Diawara has been a pleasant surprise and made his biggest impact this season in a five-point win over New Orleans on Monday, contributing 18 points and two steals in 18 minutes in a starting role. Diawara is currently on a one-year contract and will be a restricted free agent after the season.
“His feel for the game is uncanny for someone his size and how young he is,” coach Mike Brown said. “Everything you try to teach him, he tries to absorb it. He works extremely hard. He’s long and a pretty good defender. He’s getting better. There are a lot of little things you watch and go, ‘Wow, oh my gosh.’ All of those things, when they add up, it gives you more confidence as a coaching staff to throw him out there and see what’s going to happen.”
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- Karl-Anthony Towns wants to be an All-Star but he’d like to play for the World team under the new format in the annual event, Stefan Bondy of the New York Post reports. Towns was born and raised in the United States but has represented his mother’s native country, Dominican Republic, in international competitions, including the 2023 World Cup.
- Mikal Bridges and Brown have had some long discussions and the forward feels a bond with his coach, Bondy writes. “I think we had some meetings and talked to each other and stuff. I think honestly right now is probably the most I’ve been close with Mike. I think right now, honestly, to this day,” Bridges said. “Just have some good conversations, talk to each other. And just picking his brain, hear what he’s thinking and me voicing some things. Kind of get that clarity from your coach. Because you never know what’s going on — playing hard and just talking to him, what he’s thinking about our team and stuff. I think we had a pretty good talk before Christmas, and I think our relationship is just — it was always fine. But I think it’s definitely going up.” Bridges signed a four-year, $150MM extension in August.
- Mitchell Robinson will miss his second straight game on Wednesday against San Antonio due to left ankle injury management, Edwards tweets. Robinson hasn’t suffered a setback but the team is being cautious due to a heavy schedule recently. Josh Hart (right ankle sprain) and Landry Shamet (right shoulder sprain) remain out as well.
Knicks Notes: Bridges, Turnovers, Towns
Knicks wing Mikal Bridges always answers the bell, which makes him stand out among NBA players. Bridges is the only current player to appear in at least 500 consecutive games — he’ll push his streak up to 638 if he doesn’t miss a regular season game this season.
Bridges detailed his pregame routine to the New York Daily News’ Kristian Winfield.
“I take advantage of the cold tubs, always get a massage before the game, the stretcher routine and everything,” Bridges said. “I think it’s just being consistent with it. It’s a long season with a lot of emotions going on. People tend to stop doing all the things. I just try to be consistent all the time and continue to do all the things that are going to get me prepared for the game.”
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- Pressing defenses with quick, athletic guards can give New York problems. That was a case in point during Minnesota’s nine-point victory on Tuesday, Jared Schwartz of the New York Post notes. “It’s gonna be hard to win on the road if you have 19 turnovers for 22 points off those turnovers,” Knicks head coach Mike Brown said. “And part of it — those turnovers led to easy baskets in transition. … Give Minnesota credit, because they brought a lot of physicality to the game and created a lot of those turnovers.”
- Karl-Anthony Towns fouled out after his 40-point effort against the Timberwolves and was also whistled for four fouls in each of the previous two games. Schwartz notes that Towns has recorded 30 offensive fouls this year — most in the NBA, and six more than the next-highest player. “He just has to continue to try to not pick up cheap fouls,” Brown said. “Had a couple of cheap fouls where he led with his hands or he hooked a guy. Now, we have to sit him for X amount of minutes when he needs to be on the floor. So, 40 [points] and 13 [rebounds], it doesn’t surprise me at all, because he’s more than capable. But if you’re gonna be a great player, and I’m sure he does too, we expect more from him so he can be out on that floor.”
- In case you missed it, Knicks prospect James Nnaji has enrolled at Baylor and has been granted four years of college eligibility. Get the details here.
Knicks Notes: NBA Cup, McBride, Towns, Bridges, Anunoby
While Josh Hart says the pressure of the NBA Cup is “not even close” to competing in the playoffs, he and the rest of the Knicks are focused on winning their first in-season tournament title after being eliminated in the quarterfinals each of the past two years, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscriber link).
“Every year, we fell short at this stage,” Hart said. “So we got to get over that hump.”
The Knicks open the knockout stage at Toronto on Tuesday. If they win, they’ll advance the semifinal and face the winner of Miami vs. Orlando in Las Vegas on Saturday.
“Life is short. And this is how I look at it — you want excitement in your life. So you try to put yourselves in position when you have pressure at times,” head coach Mike Brown said. “That’s something that, if you’re a competitor and you want some excitement in your life, you embrace it. And one of our standards is having a competitive spirit. So all of our guys. Especially as you go along and advance, you should embrace any type of pressure that comes along with it.
“And it also helps you prepare for times down the road when you’re put in the same situation. So in the regular season, this is about as close as you can get to simulating a playoff run. So we try to talk about it and add more pressure to it and handle it the right way and see if we can go get it.”
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- Miles McBride, who sustained a left ankle injury in Sunday’s win over Orlando and underwent an MRI on Monday, has been diagnosed with a sprain and will miss Tuesday’s game, according to Bondy (Twitter links). The 25-year-old guard was spotted in a walking boot earlier in the day, Bondy adds. Karl-Anthony Towns, who was ruled out of Sunday’s contest due to left calf tightness, is questionable for the matchup against the Raptors.
- Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby are both worthy of legitimate consideration for their first All-Star appearances, contends James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. As Edwards explains, the Knicks are currently the No. 2 seed in the East, and if that continues, they’ll be deserving of having multiple All-Stars. Anunoby was arguably New York’s second-best player to open the season, but he missed nine games with a hamstring strain, leaving Bridges as the stronger candidate as of now. While neither player puts up gaudy offensive stats, they’ve both been highly efficient on that end on top of being top-notch defenders, Edwards writes. “He’s impacting winning,” Hart said of Bridges. “He plays both sides of the ball. Defensively, he’s been amazing. He’s been an All-Defense player for us.”
- The Knicks improved to 13-1 at home with Sunday’s victory, notes Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post (subscription required), and that edge at Madison Square Garden could be an important factor in the playoffs for a team with championship aspirations. “We’ve done a great job of protecting our home court,” Hart said after contributing 17 points, 12 rebounds and two steals Sunday. “This should be the hardest place to play in the NBA, and we want teams to know that.”
Knicks Notes: Starting Five, Hart, NBA Cup, Point Guard
During the first few weeks of the 2025/26 season, Mike Brown‘s preferred starting lineup for the Knicks featured Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, and Mitchell Robinson, with Landry Shamet stepping in when Anunoby went down with a hamstring strain.
With Shamet now sidelined due to an injury of his own, Anunoby still recovering, and Robinson no longer treated as an every-game starter, Brown said this week that he plans to stick for now with a smaller starting five that features Josh Hart and Miles McBride alongside Brunson, Towns, and Bridges, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. The Knicks used that group in victories over Brooklyn on Monday and Charlotte on Wednesday.
“[I’ll] continue to stay with it to see what direction it goes,” Brown said. “Everything is fluid in this business. Anything can happen at any time.”
Brunson said there’s “obviously chemistry” among those five players, who were the Knicks’ most-used players besides Anunoby last season. Bondy, meanwhile, argues that it’s probably the team’s fastest and most offensively talented lineup until Anunoby is ready to return.
Still, the numbers don’t suggest it’s been the Knicks’ best lineup so far. In 35 minutes together, that Brunson-Towns-Bridges-Hart-McBride group has a net rating of -10.3.
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- After averaging 23.7 minutes in his first 10 outings this season, Hart has logged 33.2 MPG in his past six appearances — more importantly, he’s seeing more action in fourth quarters. Brown acknowledged on Wednesday that keeping Hart on the bench for a couple fourth quarters earlier in the month was a mistake, Bondy writes. “I’ll be the first to say that wasn’t the right thing to do because he does so many great things for us and our group and our coaching staff,” Brown said. “And obviously as time has gone on, we’ve gotten a better feel for how we’re going to play him and he’s got a better feel, too. But back then he obviously could’ve b—hed or complained or threw a fit. He didn’t. And he continued to believe in the process, even though what I was doing was wrong at the time.”
- Hart was robbed of $185K in watches and jewelry in September, according to a report from Amanda Woods, Estrella McDaniel, and Matt Troutman of The New York Post. The theft occurred at a New York City hotel on September 5 when Hart, who was in town for a podcast event, was out of his room.
- With a win over Milwaukee on Friday, the Knicks will clinch the top spot in their NBA Cup group and become the only team to advance to the knockout round in three straight years. The team is taking that opportunity seriously, according to Brown. “Yes, we talk about [the NBA Cup],” the Knicks’ head coach said, per Bondy. “I think in life, pressure is a privilege, so you try to manufacture it from time to time. I think if you’re in a situation where there is pressure, you’re doing pretty good because obviously if you’re competitive you’re going to put pressure on yourself no matter what. So trying to feel it from the outside a little bit as much as you can is a privilege and it gets you ready for the postseason, in my opinion, so I bring it up to our guys.”
- Hart suggested that the NBA Cup champion should be awarded a half-win to give that team the tiebreaker advantage in the regular season standings at season’s end, according to Bondy. As it stands, the NBA Cup championship game doesn’t count at all toward the regular season, so the only incentive is the prize money at stake. “For me, that’ll be watch money,” Hart joked.
- Ian Begley of SNY.tv (YouTube link) fields a handful of Knicks-related questions in his latest video mailbag, including a couple about the team’s likely priorities at the trade deadline — Begley believes a reliable backup point guard will be at the top of New York’s wish list.
Knicks Notes: Yabusele, Bridges, Hart, Robinson, Anunoby
When the Knicks used most of their taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Guerschon Yabusele over the summer, they envisioned him being a key member of the rotation in 2025/26. It hasn’t worked out that way this fall, with the French power forward largely struggling in his limited minutes, writes Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News.
Yabusele isn’t solely to blame for his sluggish start, according to head coach Mike Brown.
“It’s the circumstance sometimes,” Brown said. “I put him in, take him out. It’s a little hard to get a rhythm doing that. I’ve got to take some blame in that as well. And I think over time, because he’s a really good basketball player, he’ll show it. He needs some minutes to show it, and I don’t know if those are always there for him.”
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- After a five-game winning streak, the Knicks were pummeled by Orlando on Wednesday. More importantly, Jalen Brunson injured his right ankle late in the lopsided defeat, though it doesn’t sound like it will be a long-term issue. Key wings Mikal Bridges (one minute) and Josh Hart (zero) were benched by Brown for nearly the entire fourth quarter, notes Stefan Bondy of The New York Post. Bridges had no explanation for the decision. “I’m not sure,” said Bridges, who scored a season-low six points on 3-of-9 shooting. Hart said the team will be looking to bounce back on Friday against Miami, Bondy writes. “I don’t think we responded properly [to Orlando’s physicality],” Hart said. “So, learned a lesson. We have a tough, physical opponent on Friday. And we got to respond.”
- While the playing time and workload of Mitchell Robinson continue to be carefully monitored by the team’s medical staff, Brown pushed back on the suggestion that the 27-old center would continue to frequently sit out games throughout the season, per Winfield. Brown made the comments after Tuesday’s win over Memphis, when Robinson was inactive for the front end of a back-to-back. “Well, I’m not sure about that,” Brown said. “We just gotta take that thing one game at a time and follow the lead of our medical people in terms of what the process is gonna be.”
- Brown said Tuesday that OG Anunoby deserves to be an All-Star for the first time, as Peter Sblendorio of The New York Daily News relays. Brown credited the 28-year-old forward’s work ethic and said he has improved in multiple facets of the game while still getting used to the new system. “Not only is he an All-Star, he’s an All-Defensive performer,” Brown said. “In my opinion, he should have an opportunity, amongst others in our group, to fight for Defensive Player of the Year in the league.”
Knicks Notes: Towns, Rotation, Robinson, Bridges, Hart
Karl-Anthony Towns seems to be growing comfortable with new coach Mike Brown‘s schemes. The Knicks big man racked up 33 points, 13 rebounds and five assists in a 119-102 victory over the Wizards on Monday.
“KAT was a monster. He was a monster on the glass, he was really good defensively, he was a monster inside, outside,” Brown said, per Kristian Winfield of the New York Daily News. “He’s starting to feel and find his rhythm in what we’re trying to do.”
Towns had scored fewer than 20 points in half of New York’s first six games.
“Really, we’re all figuring it out. Getting better every day, understanding what our roles are and what we’ve got to do,” Towns said. “It’s good, we’ve got two wins in a row but we’re obviously still a work in progress.”
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- Brown has trimmed the rotation to nine players in the past two games, Winfield notes. Against the Bulls on Sunday, Brown went with Josh Hart, Landry Shamet, Miles McBride and Jordan Clarkson off the bench. On Monday, with Mitchell Robinson sitting for load management purposes, Shamet moved into the starting lineup and Guerschon Yabusele played on the second unit. “The last two nights were the best I’ve done for them in terms of rotations. They kinda sorta knew when they were coming out or going in, who was going to play together,” Brown said.
- Robinson’s availability remains something of a mystery, Jared Schwartz of the New York Post writes. Robinson has only played a combined 33 minutes through the first seven games. Left ankle injury management is the club’s reasons for limiting his minutes and game appearances. Don’t expect that to change. “We’ll keep doing that throughout the course of the year. Whatever they tell me, I’m gonna do,” Brown said.
- Mikal Bridges‘ all-around game has been on display this season, Mike Vaccaro of the New York Post writes. He has also been a lot more vocal in his second year with the club. Bridges, who signed a four-year extension in the offseason, is averaging 16.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.4 steals per night.
- Despite dealing with hand and ankle injuries, Hart contributed 12 points with 10 rebounds and five assists in just 26 minutes on Monday. “Basically been banged up and hurt for what, three months?” Hart said, per Stefan Bondy of the New York Post. “Little frustrating, but it comes with the territory. It comes with being in a contact sport, so it is what it is.”
Knicks Notes: Towns, McBride, Novak, Bridges
After expressing some uncertainty ahead of the regular season about his fit in Mike Brown‘s offense, Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns has gotten off to a shaky start this fall. The big man is shooting just 35.2% from the floor through four games and scored a season-low eight points on 2-of-12 shooting in Tuesday’s loss in Milwaukee.
As Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News writes (subscription required), Towns attempted just one shot in the first half of that loss to the Bucks while playing the way Brown wants him to — making quick decisions and giving up the ball when the defense zeroes in on him. He was a +15 in those first two quarters. In the third quarter, Towns began hunting for his own shot and was a -14 while making just 1-of-9 field goal attempts.
“(Towns’) first half was beautiful. He played the right way. And that’s all you can ask your All-Star guys to do,” Brown said. “If you’ve got an All-Star, and they’re taking him out with a second guy (double team), believe in your teammates, believe in the process. When those guys make plays, eventually they won’t double as much, and you’ll get it back.”
While the Knicks’ first-half success as a team (they were up 71-59 at the break) back up Brown’s comments, Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscription required) argues that it’s “unreasonable” for the new head coach to ask the Knicks’ maximum-salary star to embrace a style that results in him attempting a single shot through two quarters.
Brown is attempting to make the Knicks’ players adjust to his system rather than adjusting his system to the talent on the roster, according to Bondy, who suggests that some tweaks may be necessary to better take advantage of Towns’ elite scoring ability. For his part though, the five-time All-Star continues to try his best to fit into Brown’s scheme.
“I got to do whatever’s needed to win, and first half I played how we needed me to play,” Towns said after Tuesday’s loss, per Steve Popper of Newsday (subscription required). “And the game, I felt, switched up and I tried to get going just in case we needed me, and I just didn’t make a shot so I pressed a little bit too much. I have more experience than to do that, but I didn’t do what we needed me to do, and that’s on me and I take full responsibility.”
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- Miles McBride has rejoined the Knicks after being away from the team for family reasons for two games, according to Bondy. The team’s bench scoring has slipped during McBride’s absence, and Brown is happy to have him back. “He does a lot of things on both ends of the floor,” the Knicks’ coach said. “His energy is contagious, he’s a two-way player. He can play on the ball, he can play off the ball defensively. He can play on the ball or off the ball offensively. Even though he’s a small guard, his athleticism and power obviously make him a good offensive rebounder. He can defensive rebound too. So there’s a lot he can bring to the table besides scoring that you miss when he’s not around.”
- Former NBA sharpshooter Steve Novak, who appeared in 135 regular season games for the Knicks from 2011-13, has joined MSG Networks as a game analyst, per Bondy. The plan is for Novak to work about a dozen games this season when Clyde Frazier is off.
- Veteran forward Mikal Bridges has embraced a mentorship role with younger Knicks players like Tyler Kolek, Pacome Dadiet, and Ariel Hukporti, writes James L. Edwards III of The Athletic. “You can see that when he was a younger guy in the league that he had those vets, too,” Kolek said. “They built a culture of brotherhood. You don’t see that every day in the NBA nowadays. (Mikal) was so welcoming and teaching us the little things, and not just the basketball stuff. He shows us how to move, how to be a man and be an actual professional.”
- Speaking of Dadiet, he’s the only player with a 2026/27 rookie scale team option who hasn’t had that option exercised or declined yet. The deadline to pick up that option is the end of the day on Friday, so the Knicks’ decision should be reported in the coming hours.
- In case you missed it, Knicks center Mitchell Robinson went through a full practice on Thursday and is considered a game-time decision for Friday’s game in Chicago. Robinson has yet to play this season due to what the team has referred to as left ankle injury management.
New York Notes: Kolek, Yabusele, Thomas, Powell
In the wake of Malcolm Brogdon‘s sudden retirement announcement, the Knicks are weighing their options for the backup point guard position behind Jalen Brunson.
In the view of Stefan Bondy of The New York Post (subscription required), the team has three options: Trade for a backup, give second-year guard Tyler Kolek a chance to earn a rotation role, or take a committee approach, with Miles McBride, Jordan Clarkson, Josh Hart, and Mikal Bridges all taking on additional ball-handling responsibilities.
For his part, Brunson doesn’t sound like someone who wants the front office to go out and make a trade to fortify the depth at his position. He expressed confidence in the team’s in-house options, according to Peter Botte of The New York Post.
“We’re in good hands, great hands,” Brunson said on Thursday. “[Kolek] has been getting better every day. Deuce has been getting better every day. Those guys, they come in and they work on their game nonstop. When you see that, you have the utmost confidence that when their number is called they’re going to be ready to go. So like I said, we’re in good hands.”
Head coach Mike Brown also made it clear he’s not particularly concerned about how the Knicks will get by when Brunson is off the court.
“We feel like we have a deep roster, and a lot of guys will have an opportunity to grab whatever minutes might have been there or might not have been there,” Brown said, per Botte. “It’s just a case of earning your stripes, and we’ll figure it out at the end of the day, whoever’s gonna get whatever minutes are available.”
Here are a few more notes on the NBA’s two New York teams:
- It hasn’t been an especially memorable preseason for Knicks forward/center Guerschon Yabusele, who has scored just seven points on 3-of-13 shooting in 42 total minutes of action through three games. As Bondy writes for The New York Post, Brown and the Knicks recognize that there will be a “learning curve” for the newcomer as he adjusts to both a new team and a new system. “I’m really trying to be as much as I can be focused to try to get every detail to make sure I’m at the right spot,” Yabusele said. “For me, it’s a new team with new guys so I really try to fit into the system and be a solution, not a problem.”
- Brown has expressed a desire to treat Friday’s preseason finale as a dress rehearsal for the season and use his “normal rotation” for the game. However, four key Knicks – Hart (back), OG Anunoby (ankle), Karl-Anthony Towns (quad), and Mitchell Robinson (load management) – are considered day-to-day and may not be in position to play big minutes, if they’re available at all, writes Kristian Winfield of The New York Daily News (subscription required).
- Given the make-up of the Nets‘ roster, it’s safe to assume Cam Thomas will do plenty of shooting and scoring in 2025/26. Still, head coach Jordi Fernandez is pushing Thomas to take advantage of the defensive attention he’ll receive by improving his play-making and creating shots for teammates, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “Yeah, me and Jordi always talk about it, we always have conversations about it,” Thomas said. “Jordi is also very understanding of who I am as a player. He knows I’m a scorer and he knows how I play. But it’s also the fine line of being aggressive, get your own shot and then getting guys other shots. We always have that dialogue, and it’s great. So this year we have a better understanding. He has a better understanding of me, and I have a better understanding of what he wants.”
- Nets rookie Drake Powell‘s 13.8% usage rate during his first and only season at UNC was the lowest of any wing ever drafted, per The Athletic, but Fernandez isn’t concerned at all about that, writes Lewis. “I wasn’t there [at UNC], and I cannot judge whether it’s positive or negative,” the Nets’ head coach said. “But I see [Powell] as an elite on-ball defender, as probably the best athlete of this draft, a player that can run a play on the second side, a very good ball-handler. … He’s going to have to take advantage of his minutes. If he starts with [an] opportunity, great. If not, the opportunity will come.”
Atlantic Notes: Edgecombe, Minott, Bridges, Raptors
VJ Edgecombe missed the Sixers‘ game on Friday against the Magic due to hip soreness, as Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. Pompey notes that despite receiving a day-to-day injury designation, Edgecombe was a part of shootaround this morning and will be a participant in practice next week, barring a setback.
Staying healthy is crucial for Edgecombe, especially since he has an opportunity to play a big role for the Sixers this season. Tony Jones of The Athletic writes that the rookie guard has a real shot at being a starter, though his role could hinge in large part on the health of Paul George and Joel Embiid.
Regardless of whether he starts or not, Edgecombe should be in line for plenty of minutes this year, according to Jones, who highlights Edgecombe’s ability to play as a pick-and-roll ball-handler and passer off the dribble as a more underrated part of his skill set. As is the case for many athletic guards, Edgecombe’s development will hinge on how good he can become as a shooter and ball-handler.
We have more notes from around the Atlantic Division:
- As part of the Celtics‘ plan to reset their books with Jayson Tatum injured, the team brought in younger, unproven players to try to rebuild its depth following the departures of Kristaps Porzingis, Jrue Holiday, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet. One such player who has stood out so far, according to Brian Robb of MassLive, is Josh Minott. The 23-year-old forward, who came to Boston after three years with the Wolves, showed a bit of everything except for shooting in the Celtics’ preseason game on Wednesday. While all of the Celtics’ young players played well on Wednesday, Robb writes, Minott’s hustle and defensive ability stood out. Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe (subscription required) echoed that sentiment, while adding that Minott’s versatility could allow him to carve out a role in head coach Joe Mazzulla‘s game plan.
- The Knicks are still adjusting to Mike Brown‘s offense, but there’s excitement about the changes the new head coach is bringing to the team, with second-year Knick Mikal Bridges expressing appreciation for Brown’s approach, writes Ian Begley for SNY. “He and his coaches, they all run a tight ship. You can tell that whatever we’re doing out there, they’re all on the same page, no matter what the situation is,” Bridges said. “And that’s a lot of credit to him… for everybody to be on the same page makes it easier for us players when they talk to us because any coach you talk to, you’re going to hear the same thing.” Brown knows it’s going to be a process to incorporate his changes. “Right now, I don’t care if we win or lose, as long as we keep trying to play the right way and trust it,” he said. “I want them to learn how to play basketball the right way offensively within our staples. That’s pace, whether it’s in the full court or the half court… If you hit that paint and you don’t have the ball, don’t just stand there. Get out right now and re-space to create more opportunities for driving and kicking…. Space the right way all the time… Hey, it hits your hands, shoot it, pass it, snap drive it to try to collapse the defense. Those are things that we believe in.”
- With 14 Raptors on guaranteed standard contracts, head coach Darko Rajakovic is unsure if the team will fill its 15th spot for the regular season, indicating on Friday that Toronto is weighing its options, per TSN’s Josh Lewenberg (via Twitter). A.J. Lawson would likely be the favorite if the team does carry a 15th man, Lewenberg notes. Lawson was a standout for the Raptors’ Summer League team and has averaged 4.0 points in 5.4 minutes through two preseason games.