Knicks To Open 2022-23 Season in Memphis
A former Wildcat's first test as a New Yorker will come against some Grizzlies ... those of the Tennessee variety, to be precise.
Per Fred Katz of The Athletic, the New York Knicks will open the 2022-23 regular season against the Memphis Grizzlies on Oct. 19. It'll be Jalen Brunson's first official contest in blue and orange after inking a four-year, $104 million deal this offseason and will also serve as Memphis' tip-off game.
Both teams come into the season with heightened expectations: the Knicks' addition of Brunson, as well as the next step of development for young veterans like RJ Barrett, has observers intrigued by the third year of the Tom Thibodeau era. Memphis, on the other hand, will be gearing up for the fourth year of the Ja Morant era after posting a second-place finish in the Western Conference last season. Over the offseason, the team re-signed Tyus Jones and added first-round choices Jake LaRavia and David Roddy on draft night.
Memphis earned a sweep of the Knicks in the annual two-game set last season, their first since a six-contest winning streak over New York between 2013 and 2016 (also winning the shortened one-game set in 2020-21). The Grizzlies won the first matchup 120-108 at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 2 despite 30 points from Evan Fournier and double-doubles from Julius Randle and Mitchell Robinson.
A rematch at FedExForum in March was closer, with the Knicks leading by nine entering the fourth quarter. But a Morant outburst, where he scored 15 of his 37 points, doomed them to a 118-114 defeat. Randle and Robinson once again had double-doubles, with the former earning 36 points.
Two of the Knicks' 82 games for the 2022-23 season have been revealed, as it was previously reported that the team would return to its familiar Christmas Day slot against Philadelphia.
