A new era of Knicks basketball begins — in the United Arab Emirates.
The Knicks are set to play their first of two preseason-opening games against the Philadelphia 76ers in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, a matinee matchup airing at noon on MSG Networks and NBATV. It’ll be the first glimpse of a championship contender adjusting to a new system, a new style and a new sideline presence as Mike Brown steps in to replace Tom Thibodeau.
Brown and his players have talked the talk. They want to play fast. They want to shoot a volume of threes worthy of their lights-out roster. They want to move away from isolation-heavy sets and embrace a free-flowing, player-movement-heavy offense grounded in pace and spacing.
Until now, it’s all been talk.
This week, the Knicks finally get a chance to walk the w