The Knicks play Minnesota at the Garden on Monday first, so they'll be on a back-to-back with a border crossing in between. That matters less than it would in April, because Mike Brown has barely played his starters this preseason. In the 120-97 loss in Philadelphia that opened it, Mikal Bridges logged about 15 minutes, Jalen Brunson and Karl-Anthony Towns about 14:51 apiece, OG Anunoby 14:28 and Josh Hart 13:29. Most of the run went to reserves and the 5 veterans on non-guaranteed deals competing for an open roster spot. Whatever Brown decides after the Wolves game will tell you how much of the real Knicks shows up in Toronto.
For New York, the thing to watch is Brunson's left wrist. He spent much of the summer in a cast after surgery to repair a tendon. In the opener he looked fine, scoring 12 on 4-of-8 shooting with 2 threes, but 15 minutes against a 76ers rotation isn't a stress test. The other thin spot is center. Mitchell Robinson left for Boston in free agency, and that leaves Andre Drummond as the only backup big on a guaranteed deal behind Towns. A Toronto frontcourt that gets Bittle or Jackson-Davis back would give that second unit a real test.
The Raptors' problem is the one a scout flagged before camp: not enough shooting around Leonard. On a good night they look like a team chasing playoff seeding. On a bad one, Barnes and Barrett are driving into a crowded paint because nobody makes defenders pay for helping. Tip is 7:00 PM ET at Scotiabank Arena. Nothing counts until Toronto hosts Chicago on October 21, but this is the first time Leonard, Barnes, Barrett and Quickley share a floor against an opponent, and the Raptors need to see that before then.