The New York Knicks are looking to improve and part of that is the young group of players coming in that head coach Derek Fisher will try and groom for the future of the franchise. Kristaps Porzingis is off to a good start as he earned the starting nod in the first preseason game. Jerian Grant is also earning early season praise as he battles for playing time with Jose Calderon and Langston Galloway.
In the first preseason game, Grant certainly got plenty of playing time as the Knicks try and see if he is the point guard of the future for the team. Grant finished the night with eight points and four assists while playing 28 minutes. While Calderon got the start for the team, it was Grant that left a big impression on Fisher as the team could give him more responsibility in the coming weeks.
"Jerian has a good feel for the game," Fisher said, via Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News. "It's a hard thing to do for young guys to have a pace and kind of composure to his game which I think allows for more efficiency. A lot of times young guys just play really fast and are trying really hard. And I think Jerian's ability to kind of - whether it's natural or learned, he's a pretty cool guy, pretty relaxed and calm."
Anthony also had praise for the rookie saying that he brings good work ethic and emotion to practice which is paying off in games. Grant could dictate the future of the Knicks' roster. The team currently has four point guards under contract. Calderon's deal is too expensive to cut while Galloway and Travis Trice are signed to non-guaranteed contracts. If Grant improves a lot, he could be the reason someone gets cut.
While the Knicks are pleased with the rise of young talent, the injury list is getting too lengthy for comfort. According to ESPN's Ian Begley, Arron Afflalo continues to deal with hamstring issues, Lou Amundson is out for personal reasons, Kevin Seraphin has a knee problem while Robin Lopez has general soreness. None of these issues are considered serious by any means, but the Knicks certainly do not want them to continue as it hurts practice.
The Knicks could end up surprising some people. Porzingis' first game came with positive reviews while Anthony played like he has never been injured before. The rise of both Porzingis and Grant mean that while the short-term outlook might be rough, the long-term outlook is positive.