Knicks announce starting lineup for preseason opener, get pep talk from Ewing

Breathe in. Now breathe out. We made it through the (unusually quiet) offseason!

Tonight, the Knicks will finally start playing some actual basketsports again, tipping off the preseason at 7 p.m. against the Wizards. And, after all the ballyhoo about all of the starting spots being open, we now know who will occupy said spots in the first preseason game:

So Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway Jr., Kevin Knox, Lance Thomas and Enes Kanter are your (preseason) opening night starters. Only one true head-scratcher there (Lance), so I suppose that’s kind of an improvement on years past.

Or is it surprising? Remember when David Fizdale said that he thought Lance Thomas could be the Knicks’ version of Draymond Green? Gulp.

Don’t worry too much though. Fizdale was quick to point out that this starting lineup isn’t necessarily a reflection of what fans can expect on opening night:

So yeah, it’s only the first preseason game. On to happier sights. Look who showed up to practice!

Here’s hoping that Patrick Ewing took Mitchell Robinson aside personally and let the young fella pick his brain about how to play center. Pat’s a busy guy these days, who knows when that opportunity might roll around again!

Lastly, it looks like Courtney Lee will be out tonight with a sprained neck (ouchies):

That concludes your updates prior to the preseason opener. Let’s play some damn basketball!