MIAMI — Bam Adebayo’s first reaction to the Knicks’ offseason moves? He thought he was watching the rise of the “Villanova Knicks.”
The Heat’s All-Star and Olympic gold medal-winning center, like many others, was surprised when the Knicks made two blockbuster trades — first sending five first-round picks to the Nets for Mikal Bridges, only to quickly ship Donte DiVincenzo out as part of the deal to land Karl-Anthony Towns from Minnesota.
“Man, I thought they was gonna be the Nova Knicks until they got rid of Donte,” Adebayo said after the Heat’s morning shootaround ahead of Wednesday’s matchup against the Knicks. “They’re still the Nova Knicks, there’s what, four of them on the team? Three of them?”
DiVincenzo may be gone, but Bridges, Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart remain. Julius Randle is also out, replaced by Towns, an All-Star big man Adebayo says was acquired to push New York closer to title contention.
“I think they’re trying to improve. I feel like they’re set on that stage of trying to get over that hump, trying to get to that promised land like we are,” he said. “When you see moves like that, you understand they don’t wanna be booted anymore in the conference finals or in the second round. They wanna make it to the Finals.”
Towns brings a different skill set to the Knicks compared to previous versions of the team Adebayo has faced. A career 39.8% three-point shooter, Towns at the five allows New York to play a five-out style, creating more space for drivers and forcing defenses to collapse.
It’s a stark contrast to Mitchell Robinson, the Knicks’ long-time center who is recovering from ankle surgery. Robinson is primarily a rim-protecting center whose points come off lobs and offensive rebounds. Towns is capable of creating his own offense at all three levels.
“[I have to] trust our schemes, trust what we do,” Adebayo said. “We come up with great plans on that [defensive] side of the ball, so for us, it’s getting stops, making the shots difficult and running in transition.”
EARLY TEST
The Knicks have opened their season against a gauntlet of Eastern Conference playoff contenders: the reigning champion Boston Celtics, the Indiana Pacers, who eliminated them in the second round last season, an improved Cleveland Cavaliers team led by new head coach Kenny Atkinson, and now the Miami Heat.
Towns, this early test is exactly what the Knicks need.
“It’s good for us. Play the best of the best. You play the game of basketball, especially in the NBA, to play the best players in the world,” Towns said. “Last year is a totally different year than this year. Everyone’s started at 0-0. It doesn’t matter where you finished last year. It’s about where you’re gonna finish this year. So for us, you get to play some really good teams, and really get to test yourselves and where you’re at.”
The Knicks defeated the Pacers by 25 points but have stumbled against the Celtics (a 24-point loss) and the Cavaliers (a narrow six-point defeat), entering Wednesday’s matchup with a 1-2 record.
HOT START FOR MILES
Miles McBride is off to a blistering start to the season, averaging 14.7 points on 65.4% shooting from the field and 61.5% from beyond the arc. His early performance has generated some buzz for Sixth Man of the Year, but the fourth-year guard isn’t focused on individual accolades.
“It’s never really my goal going into a season looking at awards,” McBride said. “My only goal is to win.”
HELPING HAND
Hot microphones caught McBride giving advice to 58th overall pick Ariel Hukporti during the Knicks’ blowout victory over the Pacers. His message? Make the most of garbage-time minutes because that’s where head coach Tom Thibodeau builds trust.
“That got picked up by the mics and stuff, but I feel like anything I’m seeing out there, anything that can help someone else on my team especially, I want them to be successful,” McBride said. “Overall it’s going to push the team forward.”
