Washington Wizards Set for Preseason Opener vs. New York Knicks

At last, the new-look Washington Wizards are set to take the floor on Thursday when they travel to New York to face the Knicks inside Madison Square Garden. After three seasons of rebuilding, head coach Brian Keefe is looking ahead at the first unofficial test for an upgraded roster that has an opportunity to now put it all together on the floor and, five days after scrimmaging inside Capital One Arena, now against another team.

While Keefe recognized the chance to compete against the New York Knicks, their first game since their NBA title run, who plays for the Washington Wizards remains to be determined.

The team previously announced that Tristan Vukcevic will be re-evaluated later in October after being diagnosed with a left hip impingement, while Jamir Watkins remains sidelined after undergoing surgery for his torn ACL. Alex Sarr returned to contact drills earlier this week, though head coach Brian Keefe cautioned he has not become a full participant yet with uncertainty for his status on Thursday. Khris Middleton, meanwhile, has participated in practice this week as Keefe previously noted he's ramping up team activities since re-joining the organization this offseason.

Beyond that, the expectation is the "majority of the roster" will suit up on Thursday, though none of the players are expected to play heavy minutes in the opener. Thursday's starting lineup isn't expected to be indicative of the staff's thinking on opening night, but it marks one of several intriguing storylines ahead of game one.

With the personnel to add size, scoring or length, Thursday does offer an opportunity for the coaching staff to begin analyzing which lineup combinations do -- and don't -- work with much to be decided within the rotation.

While Tre Johnson pointed to the final score being part of a successful unofficial opening night, Kyshawn George pointed to the chance to implement and execute the defensive concepts that the coaching staff has prioritized throughout training camp as a goal.

"These are the things that down the road, will lead us to winning," George said. "So if we can establish that in our first preseason game, I think it'll hang with us the rest of the season."

Johnson also pointed to the chance to review the film to evaluate his shot selection, a point of emphasis ahead of year two, adding, "I can make shots. That's easy."

Tipoff is set for 7:30 PM inside Madison Square Garden before the Wizards return to Capital One Arena to host the Detroit Pistons on Saturday, Oct. 10 for one of two home games prior to the regular season opener against the Milwaukee Bucks on Oct. 21.