3 Takeaways from Knicks’ Win vs. Cavs With KAT Playing Through Calf Strain

1) The Offense Was Less Predictable

Last season, the offense ran mostly through Jalen Brunson, and while that never figured to change a whole lot this season, the idea was that the supplemental pieces - Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, KAT, Miles McBride, Josh Hart - would get a chance to really shine.

That was true tonight - Bridges was 6-for-11 from the field and collected 16 points, while Anunoby drilled four three pointers en route to a 24 point night. No Knick player was exceptional, but several were very good, and that's a formula that will guide them to some high heights if they let them.

2) The Team Won With Brunson Not At 100%

At this point, Knicks fans are used to impossibly strong performances across the 82 games from Jalen Brunson - three-point averages between 38 and 42 percent, and field goal percentages hovering around 48 and 49 percent.

On Wednesday, however, Brunson shot 1-for-9 from downtown, and was 5-for-18 (27.8%) from the field. Brunson looked fairly uncomfortable, a fact he acknowledged in the postgame.

"I'm very comfortable shooting the ball, regardless of however I shoot the ball. I wasn't comfortable tonight - 5-for-18 - but I have a comfort level that I'm very confident with," Brunson said.

The fact that the Knicks were able to find offensive rhythm for almost the whole game, and from so many different sources without Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson as Brunson found most of his offensive success from the free throw line (12-for-13) is a promising sign.

3) Karl-Anthony Towns' Injury Is Worse Than Previously Thought

With Robinson already out, KAT's injury status was a major concern for the Knicks, as the star forward went from doubtful to questionable to then probable in the span of a couple hours.

Towns was, and continues to battle through a quad injury, and it was reported by SNY's Ian Begley that Towns is dealing with a Grade 2 quad strain, an injury with a typical recovery time of four to six weeks.

Not that it had any impact on KAT's performance - the second-year Knick recorded 19 points and 11 rebounds, and acknowledged that he was banged up.

""I've been banged up and haven't really got a chance to practice or play in those last two preseason games, but I didn't want to disappoint the fans," Towns said postgame.

KAT already has a reputation of working through many injuries throughout his career, so this is definitely something to keep an eye on, though the star's tenacity can't be understated.

Tonight, the Knicks showed a lot of why there is a lot of hype around them this season, and did so against a strong opponent even as Cavs stars Evan Mobley and Donovan Mitchell put together strong performances of their own.