Is there really a game already? Oy vey. We are still getting used to how brief the summer break is when the basketball team you cover is actually successful in the postseason.
Indeed, the NBA champion New York Knicks open their preseason schedule tonight. They’ll travel to face a Philadelphia 76ers club that has bolstered its own championship aspirations this summer. What was a solid but flawed Eastern Conference contender now features LeBron James and Jaylen Brown alongside Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and sophomore VJ Edgecombe, assembling one of the most star-studliest lineups in the league.
For the defending champions, this scrimmage will be the first peek at what Mike Brown hopes to tweak for the upcoming season. The second-year coach has already stressed that he intends to ease his core into the exhibition slate. They had a short summer recess, after all. Jalen Brunson, Mikal Bridges, Josh Hart, OG (The Tippinator) Anunoby, and Karl-Anthony Towns will not shoulder heavy workloads right away, which should open the door for extended looks at the players still fighting for roster security and rotation minutes. Additionally, sophomore Mohamed Diawara will be challenged to prove that he’s ready for a leap after a promising first season and fizzling out in summer league.
We’ll be focused on the center position where the coaching staff is still sorting out depth behind Towns and former Sixer Andre Drummond. Journeymen James Wiseman, Tony Bradley, and Drew Eubanks are all competing in camp for the third-string spot, and Monday’s game affords them a chance to show how they stack up against Embiid and ex-Knick Ariel Hukporti.
As for the health of New York’s starters, Hart continues to play with a damaged digit, and Brunson has reportedly looked sharp in camp after recovering from wrist surgery. Meanwhile, there’s an undercurrent of unresolved contracts, with Towns, Hart, and Miles McBride all eligible for veteran extensions. Because they are in (or effectively in) the final year of their deals—McBride on an expiring contract, Towns with a $61M player option for 2027-28, and Hart with a $22.4M team option for 2027-28—they can negotiate and sign extensions at any point until June 30, 2027. All three have expressed interest in buttoning up their paperwork sooner than that, but this seems like the storyline that will hang over the entire season.
For the Fightin’ Cheesesteaks, our curiosity centers around how coach Nick Nurse will get James, Brown, Embiid, and Maxey to share the ball and defend consistently. We expect their early games to have some of the confusion of an All-Star game, when the alphas try to figure out who will be less-alpha on any given play.
Really, the primary goal of a preseason game is “Don’t break nothin.” You won’t see Captain Brunson take a charge tonight, or Hart do anything that could make his finger fall off. New York swept the Liberty Bells in the second round of the playoffs, as part of a 13-game win streak, and while tonight’s opponent has improved, neither club wants to reveal its tricks in a meaningless contest. They’ll save the good stuff for opening night, when they clash on banner night at Madison Square Garden. Still, it will be fun to see our champs take the floor again. And so soon. Prediction: Knicks by six.
Who: New York Knicks (0-0) at Philadelphia 76ers (0-0)
Date: Monday, October 5, 2026
Time: 7:00 PM ET
Place: Xfinity Mobile Arena (formerly Wells Fargo Center), Philadelphia, PA
TV: MSG
Follow: @ptknicksblog and bsky