The New York Knicks arguably won the offseason, acquiring stars Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges.
It’s still early, but things haven’t gone smoothly for the Knicks, who play the host Miami Heat on Wednesday night.
Depth has been an issue for New York, which is missing center Mitchell Robinson and power forward Precious Achiuwa, a former Heat first-round pick.
Robinson hasn’t played this season as he recovers from May ankle injury. Achiuwa suffered a strained left hamstring injury in the last preseason game and was expected to miss two to four weeks at the time of the injury.
Starting wing Josh Hart is battling an ankle injury and did not finish Monday’s 110-104 loss to the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers.
Hart, who had 16 points and 13 rebounds on Monday, limped to the locker room late in the fourth quarter and did not return. He is listed as questionable for Wednesdayy’s game.
“You want your brothers out there finishing the game with you,” Brunson said when asked about Hart. “We’ll see (about Hart’s status) going forward.”
Another issue for the Knicks is team chemistry. They traded Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to get Towns, who is regarded as one of the best perimeter-shooting big men in NBA history.
So far, Towns is shooting well — 93.3 percent on free throws and 66.7 percent on 3-pointers. But he is just fourth on the team in scoring (15.3).
Towns is also shooting just 45.5 percent on 2-pointers, compared to his career percentage of 56.9.
Brunson leads the Knicks in scoring (23.0) and assists (4.7). Though it’s early, his numbers are down across the board as he adjusts to New York’s new dynamic.
There’s also that feeling among those who follow the Knicks that they’re missing the long-range shooting of DiVincenzo, who led the team last season with 283 made 3-pointers, shooting 40.1 percent from deep.
Meanwhile, the Heat, after a humbling opening-night loss to the visiting Orlando Magic, won two straight games, albeit against non-playoff teams Charlotte and Detroit.
When the Heat are cooking, it usually starts with their defense. That was the case on Monday when Jimmy Butler had four of Miami’s 15 steals in a 106-98 win over Detroit.
Butler lacked activity in the loss to Orlando with just three points, two attempted free throws and one steal in 26 minutes.
In the next two games, Butler averaged 24.5 points, 14.0 attempted free throws and 3.0 steals.
Indeed, when the six-time All-Star is right, he’s getting into the paint and drawing fouls.
“I’m not going to get away from my game because of the way people would like us to play,” he said. “I have to be on the attack.”
Terry Rozier (19.3 points per game), Tyler Herro (18.3) and Butler (17.3) are Miami’s scoring leaders through three games. Bam Adebayo leads in rebounds (8.7) while Butler tops the squad in assists (6.7) and steals (2.3).
There is something else that works for Miami.
“We’re in better shape than a lot of guys around the league,” Butler said. “We’ve always taken pride in that. We get up and down and get after it in practice.”
As for his propensity to get steals, Butler — a five-time member of the NBA’s All-Defensive team — has ideas on that as well.
“Gamble,” he said. “(Coach Erik Spoelstra) would probably get mad. But if I get four out of six (when gambling for steals), he can’t be too mad.
“I want all the gambling in the world. That’s what I do, and I want my teammates to follow.”
–Field Level Media