Knicks in Abu Dhabi: Risers and Fallers From Trip Abroad

Trey Jemison III

After the Knicks completed their sweep in the Middle East, Mike Brown had special praise for Jemison, who put in seven points and three rebounds in just over eight minutes of work in the latter game, which helped them keep the sizable lead that the starters established. Jemison, who spent last year with the Los Angeles Lakers, had 11 points on 5-of-9 overall while pulling in five boards in the couple.

“Our defensive player of the game tonight was Trey Jemison," lauded Brown, per Pocholo Magsino of NBA Analysis Network. "He played eight or nine minutes, and he had two verticalities. I mean, they were picture-perfect. He went over to help, he went vertical, he took the hit, he didn’t fold, there was no foul. You can see how tough it is for a guy to take that hit and still try to finish. Trey impacted the game at an extremely high level on the defensive floor.”

Conventional wisdom suggests that there's no room for Jemison, as the team just brought in the multi-faceted Guerschon Yabusele to shore up the post picture. But if the Knicks opt to keep the two-big starting lineup they had on display in Abu Dhabi, interior depth will be more important than ever, which could give the experienced Jemison a chance over second-round sophomore Ariel Hukporti.

Garrison Mathews

The preseason means a little more to September signings like Mathews, who is in New York after two-plus tours with the Atlanta Hawks. Undrafted out of Lipscomb in 2019. Mathews has made himself indispensable in the modern Association by letting loose from deep.

Mathews offered New York a taste of that three-point prowess overseas: he was not a part of the Knicks' primary rotation in either of the Abu Dhabi showings but impressed to the tune of a perfect 3-of-3 streak in the third quarter of the debut game.

Considering that the Knicks were 24th in three-pointers last year (worst among the Eastern Conference's automatic qualifiers), Mathews offers a unique skillset that was lacking amidst last year's run to the final four. If that proves consistent, Mathews has a unique edge over incumbent depth star Landry Shamet, who has conventionally been accepted as one of the final members of the Knicks' regular rotation for the coming campaign.

Mitchell Robinson

Time will tell if the Knicks opt to keep the skyscraping starting five it had on the floor in Abu Dhabi, but there's not much to complain about when it comes to the early collaborations between Mitchell Robinson and Karl-Anthony Towns.

Robinson took advantage of the raw shooting nature of the preseason, needing just 18 minutes to pull in 16 rebounds during the debut game. He pulled in eight combined offensive rebounds over the couple, helping the Knicks earn a plus-14 advantage in second chance points (including 23 in the first game alone).

The longest-tenured may be a weapon from a bygone era, but that's still a unique weapon for the Knicks to carry. Prior to Robinson's re-entry, the Knicks were middle-of-the-pack in second chance points. With Robinson back at full strength during the playoffs, they moved up to second behind Cleveland in the same category.

Fallers

Pacome Dadiet

The Knicks used the preseason for its dwindling value when it placed Dadiet, the most recent first-round pick to take the floor in Manhattan, in the starting five in place of the somewhat-ailing OG Anunoby during game one. It was a vital chance for the French phenom and 25th overall pick from 2024, who lost most of his Summer League opportunity due to an injury.

Alas for Dadiet, he didn't do much to boost his opportunity in either Manhattan on abroad. He missed five, mostly open, chances from three-point range in the debut game and lost three turnovers (two of which came in the early entries), struggling to take advantage of a rare collaboration with the metropolitan headliners. He was back his regular among the deep reserves in part two, getting eight second half minutes that saw him miss two tries and commit two fouls.

Keeping Dadiet, or at least the pick used to obtain him, always felt like a questionable decision from Knicks management, even if the notoriously rookie-stingy Tom Thibodeau is gone. The Knicks' backup backcourt picture is crowded as is (see above with the Brogdon-Mathews-Shamet triangle), so it feels like Dadiet is more likely than ever to be the sacrificial lamb the Knicks require to keep all their late signings.

Josh Hart

It doesn't feel right to place Hart on a list like this, which shows how fairly well this trup went for the Knicks. But New York can only hope this isn't a preview what they'll face to deal with on the Hart front after last year's breakout.

Hart lasted just seven minutes in Ahu Dhabi, departing in macabrely appropriate fashion: the metropolitan hustler and procurer of clutch boards was going after a loose ball that was heading out of bounds and wound up hurting his back, picking up an absurdly early shower in the process when he launched the ball into the stands in frustration in one of the more questionable technical fouls in recent hardwood memory.

Hart is already treading on medically thin ice this season, planning to play the year with a splint on an injured finger. A chance to get into shooting shape with it was unfortunately denied, as was the further analysis over whether he'll reprise his role in the New York starting five this year.