SNY's The Warm-up: Knicks opener — Nets crush GS — Other QB options for Jets in draft

Get Today’s New York Sports Here Tweet of the Day --------------------------------------------------------------- Good morning. This is the last edition of The Warm-Up of the year. Try not to look so sad. We'll be back soon. --------------------------------------------------------------- This week's sports schedule... Wednesday - Knicks at Pacers, 7 p.m. 🏀 - No. 11 Rutgers at No. 23 Ohio State, 4:30 p.m. 🏀 - Georgetown at Seton Hall, 5 p.m. 🏀 - DePaul at UConn men, 9 p.m. 🏀 Thursday - No New York sports events. Friday - Nets at Celtics, 5 p.m. 🏀 Saturday - 76ers at Knicks, 7:30 p.m. 🏀 Sunday - Browns at Jets, 1 p.m. 🏈 - Giants at Ravens, 1 p.m. 🏈 - Nets at Celtics, 7 p.m. 🏀 - Bucks at Knicks, 7:30 p.m. 🏀 Word count: 825 words (about seven minutes) --------------------------------------------------------------- SNY originals... Baseball Night in New York - [Sal Licata explains his love for ex-Mets pitcher Tom Glavine]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Everything to know ahead of the Knicks' season opener tonight Raj Mehta/USA Today The Knicks begin their 72-game season tonight against the Pacers in Indiana. Here's a quick catchup before the game... What's the starting lineup? - We're not sure yet. And neither was Tom Thibodeau, [reported]( SNY's Ian Begley on Tuesday. "At least one starting spot was still being debated," he wrote. [Here]( Begley's stab at the 10-man rotation. What's been encouraging? - Immanuel Quickley, of course, who is a good early candidate to outplay his draft position. He played in three preseason games, dropping 22 in the final tune up. What's been not so encouraging? - The Knicks shot only 36-of-119 (30.3 percent) from the 3-point line in four preseason games, a mark that's both voluminous and inefficient. Other notes: - The Knicks were eight-point [underdogs]( against the Pacers as of Tuesday night. - Most [sports books]( have New York's over/under for win totals listed at 22.5, among the lowest in the NBA. On SNY.tv: [Obi Toppin is prepared for his first real taste of NBA action]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 2. It's only one game, but ... NBAonTNT/Twitter NETS 125, WARRIORS 99 -- The new-look Nets' debut [went about as well as it could have last night]( with a 26-point win over the (not-so-formidable) Warriors to kick off the Kevin Durant-Steve Nash-Kyrie Irving era. GIF'd above: Durant's first points in a real NBA game since Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals, and his first bucket as a Net -- only took him 70 seconds. Stat lines: - Durant: 22 points, 7-of-16 shooting, five rebounds, plus-26. - Kyrie Irving: 26 points, 10-of-16 shooting, plus-32. - Caris LeVert: 6-of-17 shooting, 20 points off the bench. FYI: Nash chose a starting five of Irving, Spencer Dinwiddie, Durant, Joe Harris and DeAndre Jordan, though Jarrett Allen ended up playing more minutes at center. --------------------------------------------------------------- DAILY TRIVIA Who did the Jets take when they last held the No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft? 3. Meet the other top-rated QBs in next year's draft class Aaron Doster/USA Today In the event the Jets flirt with taking a quarterback other than Trevor Lawrence in the 2021 NFL Draft, here's a crash course in the four other top prospects. Ohio State's Justin Fields (6-foot-3, 223 LBs): - [Projected]( as the No. 3 prospect by ESPN. - 19-1 as the starter for the Buckeyes, who are in this year's College Football Playoff. - Threw 41 TD's and three INT's last season. - Has a 72.6 percent completion percentage this year and is [third overall]( in QBR (89.5). BYU's Zach Wilson (6-foot-3, 210 LBs): - [Projected]( as the No. 14 prospect. - Three-year starter who led BYU to an 11-1 season in 2020. - Was seventh in QBR (87) this season, and threw for 33 TD's while running for 10. - Also: Check out [this]( throw from last night's bowl game. Alabama's Mac Jones (6-foot-3, 213 LBs): - [Projected]( as the No. 15 prospect. - Led Alabama to an 11-0 record this season after succeeding Tua Tagovailoa. - Was first in QBR this season (95.6) with a 76.5 percent completion percentage. North Dakota State's Trey Lance (6-foot-3, 224 LBs): - [Projected]( as the No. 16 prospect. - The biggest wild card of the group, having played his entire career in the FCS. - Played only one game this season because of FCS cancellations but went 17-0 in his career as a starter, winning the FCS title in 2019. - Threw for 28 TD's in his college career, rushed for 14 more and never threw an INT. On SNY.tv: [Joe Namath 'surprised' by the Jets' win that hurt chances of drafting 'very special' Trevor Lawrence]( --------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Four things to look out for this week Orlando Ramirez/USA Today Because you won't have your trusty newsletter to keep you up to date until 2021, here are a few stories to keep in mind from now through the new year... 1. Where will DJ go? The betting favorite to sign DJ LeMahieu might still be his most recent team, but the whispers have started to creep in over the last few days, [including]( some about the Mets. 2. The Giants' last stand. In order to make a final push for the postseason, the Giants will likely have to beat the favored Ravens this Sunday. (The Football Team hosts the Panthers). - As of Tuesday afternoon, Daniel Jones' status for the game was unclear. "I want to make sure I make the right decision for him short-term and long-term," Joe Judge [said](. 3. The race to the bottom. For all the (well-deserved) fuss over Sunday's win for the Jets, there's still a path for New York to recapture the No. 1 pick. - The Jets are double-digit underdogs again against the Browns on Sunday, while the Jaguars, current holders of the No. 1 spot, are 7.5-point underdogs against the Bears, who are prone to bad losses. 4. Rutgers' rise. The No. 11 Rutgers men's basketball team plays No. 23 Ohio State today. Should the Scarlet Knights win a second game in a row against a ranked opponent, they'll slide into next week's AP Top 10 for the first time since March, 1976. --------------------------------------------------------------- 5. The New York Minute - [READ]( Noah Syndergaard and the Mets have avoided arbitration, settling for a $9.7 million deal for the 2021 season. - [READ]( The UConn women improved to 5-0 last night with a 38-point win over Villanova. - [READ]( VACCHIANO: Has the Giants' performance this season been enough for Dave Gettleman to keep his job? - [READ]( Evan Engram is the first Giants tight end to be named to the Pro Bowl since 2006. --------------------------------------------------------------- Trivia answer: Keyshawn Johnson, 1996. That's the buzzer, folks. Stay safe and enjoy the holidays. (Have feedback for The Warm-Up? Click [here](mailto: SNYfeedback@gmail.com?subject=)) This email was sent by: SportsNet New York (SNY) 150 Greenwich st 50th floor New York, NY 10007 US [Unsubscribe]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Facebook](