Grading Every Knicks Player After Preseason Loss vs. Timberwolves

Coming into Monday, the Knicks had lost both of their preseason games, but the substance hasn't been all bad. The starters, especially Jalen Brunson and OG Anunoby, have looked solid. Landry Shamet continues to impress. Andre Drummond and Mohamed Diawara have shown some nice flashes as well.

In exhibition No. 3, the Knicks added to their loss total. But how'd everybody do in the process against the new-look Timberwolves?

Jalen Brunson: B+

The Knicks' point guard started the game with an airball from three but went on to settle down eventually. He took advantage of the young Cody Williams defending him by drawing a foul-something he'd end up doing alot.

Brunson finished the night with 20 points on 6-13 shooting from the field and also went 7-8 from the free throw line in the process. Brunson has now struggled in back to back games from three though.

Josh Hart: C+

Hart had a very active second game of the preseason against the Wizards but was rather quiet offensively Monday, taking just two shots in 22 minutes. He was playing some solid defense in the first quarter, and did finish the night with three rebounds and three assists. Overall though, it was a lackluster showing.

Mikal Bridges: B

Bridges came into the game struggling from the field, though he was active early on. Bridges hit a shot in the first few minutes when two defenders went with a rolling Towns and drove to the basket without settling for a midrange. He was also on the ball a good amount with the starters in the first quarter.

Bridges finished with only nine points but did go 3-6 from the field and went 1-2 from three. It still isn't what fans may want from him, but it was a step in the right direction.

OG Anunoby: A-

Anunoby may be the most impressive Knick throughout preseason so far and he continued to be so on Monday night. Besides his usual great defense, which led to three steals on the night, Anunoby scored 15 points on eight shots.

Yet the most impressive part of the night came from his six free throw attempts. Anunoby averaged a career-high 3.3 FTA/G in 33.2 MPG last season but after this game, he's now averaging 5.6 FTA in 18.3 MPG. It would be a huge for both him and the Knicks if that becomes a new addition to his game.

Karl-Anthony Towns: B-

As has been the case for much of the preseason, Towns started slowly offensively. His first shot didn't come until almost the 6:00 minute mark, and even that came off of a broken play.

The big man has done a pleasantly surprising job of keeping his fouls down. He finished the night with 11 points on 3-6 shooting but did go just 1-4 from three and committed three turnovers.

Jose Alvarado: C

While the same cannot be said about a lot of Knicks in this one, the backup point guard was very active. Alvarado took eight shots, grabbed two rebounds, assisted on two baskets, and committed three turnovers all in just 15 minutes.

The energy, as always, is a nice change of pace to the game, but it wasn't a very efficient night from Alvarado.

Landry Shamet: D

After Anunoby and Brunson, Shamet was probably the third most impressive Knick coming into Monday night's game. But against the Timberwolves, Shamet was a non-factor. In 12 minutes, Shamet got up just two shots and recorded just one assist, one turnover, and two fouls.

Miles McBride: D

Like Bridges, McBride also came into the game struggling with his shot. While he did hit his first one, he went on to miss his next four. And he also had the ball stripped dribbling the ball up, bringing back some ugly memories of his handling woes in the Finals.

I still think McBride's jump shot will come back and that he'll be just fine given all the other little things he does. But he's now just 2-13 from three this preseason.

Mohamed Diawara: C

Diawara has seemingly looked less and less active and aggressive as the preseason has gone on. I'm still of the belief that the more he plays with better players, the better he'll look. And that like McBride, he'll be okay once the season gets going. That being said, it was not a very substantial game from Diawara.

Andre Drummond: B+

The reserve big's lack of touch showed when he rushed a floater on his first attempts. Yet he did redeemed himself at the end of the first quarter with a nice shake and bakeoff-the-dribble.

Drummond bag work? pic.twitter.com/BoSsAg1jBi
— New York Basketball (@NBA_NewYork) October 13, 2026

Obviously that isn't a play the Knicks will go to often, but it was still a nice move. Drummond was also good at contesting around the rim in the first quarter, even blocking one of Anthony Edward's shots.

He ended up with only 12 minutes, but did record four points, 4 rebounds, one steal, and one block and looked solid while on the court.

Jordan Clarkson: B-

Clarkson scored five points in 10 minutes, going 2-3 from the field and 1-1 from three, and even recorded a block. There wasn't much to be disappointed about, but also not too much to be overly excited about, either.

Tyler Kolek: C

After a solid preseason opener, Kolek has now struggled in back-to-back games. The defense still looks shaky, even when he battles. And his scoring still leaves a lot to be desired.

Kolek's passing is his greatest asset, and we continue to see glimpses of it like. But if he can't create advantages by being a scoring threat, it just won't matter. Going 1-4 from the field and 0-1 from three was disappointing to see.

Pacome Dadiet: B-

In the surprise of the night, Dadiet came on relatively early in the first half. After struggling from the field in prior games, he finished the night with seven points on 2-3 from both the field and three.

Unfortunately though, Dadiet didn't do much else as he recorded just one rebound and one assist in 14 minutes.

Ochai Agbaji: D

Agbaji's preseason remains disappointing. It's difficult to get in a rhythm and make a positive impression when you're fighting for a spot and have to do so with such inconsistent playing time.

But in 18 minutes, Agbaji is now shooting 0-6 from three and hasn't scored a point. He battles defensively, though that just isn't going to cut it.

Drew Eubanks: B

The big man got sparing minutes but looked solid defensively. He recorded one steal, and one block and caught a nice alley-oop from Alvarado. It's hard to impress in such a short span, yet he did his job.

Kevin McCullar: B-

McCullar, like Eubanks, got very limited playing time. In seven minutes, he went 1-2 from the field and recorded two assists. It's hard to grade a player when they get such little minutes, especially when a good chunk of it comes during garbage time. He was fine.

Tony Bradley: B+

Ten points and two rebounds while shooting a perfect 5-5 from the field in just seven minutes is great. The only thing keeping it from a higher grade is the fact that it came during garbage time.

Props to Bradley for continuing to play hard and being aggressive despite the choppy play. He did more than Eubanks and McCullar did despite playing the same amount of minutes, which might help him remain in the hunt for the third-string center job.

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