New York Knicks horrible season in 2014-15 might have ended all hopes for a Knicks Christmas Day extravaganza but they will open up their season against two Eastern Conference playoff teams. No remorse for New York.
Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks will travel to Milwaukee to play the upstart Bucks loaded with young talent. The Knicks might have missed out on Greg Monroe this summer but he will be in Milwaukee to start off the Bucks season against a team that was rumored to be courting him for months.
There’s also the possibility of a Giannis Antetokounmpo matchup against Thanasis Antetokounmpo, if Thanasis makes the Knicks roster.
The Knicks will have their home opener against the Atlanta Hawks and they will be welcoming back Tim Hardaway Jr, who they traded to Atlanta on draft day for the rights to Jerian Grant.
Following from Marc Berman of the New York Post.
The Knicks will find out what they’re missing right away when they stage their season opener Oct. 28 in Milwaukee against new Bucks center Greg Monroe, according to an NBA source.
The Knicks’ home opener will be Oct. 29 against the Hawks, welcoming back former first-round pick Tim Hardaway Jr. after his Draft Night trade for the rights to rookie point guard Jerian Grant.
It won’t be a Merry Knicksmas for Phil Jackson either. For the first time since 2008, the Knicks won’t be playing on Christmas, zapped from the annual nationally televised, five-game festival, according to a source.
The Knicks had played on six straight Christmas holidays, but their franchise-worst 17-65 record last season obviously was a turnoff.
Knicks not being on television on Christmas Day is a good and bad thing for the team and the NBA. For the Knicks, losing that Christmas Day revenue will not be the best scenario but it won’t break their season. Not to mention last season when the Knicks played on Christmas Day, John Wall and the Washington Wizards made easy work of the Knicks and a small fight broke out at Madison Square Garden.
For the NBA, the Knicks getting moved off television allows the casual NBA fan to view a new team on the day that the NBA dominates the airwaves. It’s been reported that the New Orleans Pelicans will be one of the teams playing on Christmas Day this year, a team seemingly replacing the Knicks spot this season.
Hopefully this also means the Knicks won’t be on national television as much as they were last season so they can fly under the radar as much as possible.
