New York Knicks: 3 takeaways from preseason opener vs. Nets

3. First looks at Tim Hardaway Jr. and Frank Ntilikina

For those of you hoping I would dig into the atrocities first, you’re going to have to wait. Let’s start with some optimism and feel-good takeaways. Firstly, fans finally got to see the first of Frank Ntilikina, and not just in practice or an open gym doing shooting drills. He was given limited minutes, likely because of his groin injury.

In just under 12 minutes on the court, we should hope that Frank is not likely to shoot 1-for-7 again. I will give him the benefit of the doubt here, and point the finger toward first NBA game jitters. Outside of a miserable shooting percentage, we saw the defense that everyone knows is his strength. He sticks his man, slides through pick-and-rolls and most importantly, he can hustle. He finished the night with just five points, three assists one steal and one rebound.

Tim Hardaway Jr., however, came out of the gate firing in his second stop in New York for his career. Attempting shots from beyond the arc almost exclusively, he shot an impressive 5-for-11 on 3-pointers (45.5 percent).

He tied with Enes Kanter, who also had an impressive Knicks debut, for the team leader in scoring with 17 points.