Mike Brown sits Knicks starters to better observe roster in preseason blowout to Wizards

The Knicks were trounced by the Wizards in Monday’s 120-103 preseason loss.

Here are 3 observations:

• I feel for anybody who purchased a ticket for this one. You’d have been better off binge-watching Netflix, or going to the dentist, or most anything else. The Knicks rested all their top players for their second-to-last preseason game, with Jalen Brunson, Karl-Anthony Towns, OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges, Mitchell Robinson and Josh Hart all inactive. Mike Brown, the new coach, said he wanted to get a better look at the rest of the roster, including players on nonguaranteed deals who are fighting for a guaranteed roster spot.

“It’s important,” Brown said. “We want to try to give some guys some extended minutes to take a look at them tonight. It’s important because they’ve all been busting their behinds and making that decision is extremely tough.”

Unfortunately, none of them made a good impression.

It was a blowout from tipoff till the final buzzer.

The defense was atrocious, allowing a ridiculous 75 points in the first half on a glut of wide open 3-pointers. Who came out looking the best? Landry Shamet, who is fighting for a roster spot but didn’t play Tuesday because of an illness.

The Wizards were playing on the second night of a back-to-back and also rested starters — namely Khris Middleton, Alex Sarr and CJ McCollum— but they still bulldozed the Knicks.

So what was the highlight for New York? A gutsy timeout performance from a fan, who won Tic Tac Toe at half-court by sprinting and diving with the winning X in the corner square.

• Of all the reserves in preseason, I’m most concerned about the play of Guerschon Yabusele. Just relative to expectations, there hasn’t been much of a reason to get excited. Perhaps there’s a level of fatigue given his participation in the FIBA World Cup, but Yabusele looks a step slow. He started at center Monday — a position that, to be fair, he shouldn’t be playing — and the Knicks were outscored by 33 points in Yabusele’s 23 minutes. The struggles of Pacôme Dadiet, while still disappointing given his first-round draft pick status, are easier to swallow if they last. He’s only 20 years old and not expected to have a role in the regular season.

• You can’t watch the Wizards without thinking about that first-round pick. Originally acquired by the Knicks in a complex 2022 draft-day trade, the Wizards pick is protected 1-8 in 2026. If it doesn’t fall outside the top 8, the pick becomes two second-rounders — one in 2026, the other in 2027. That’s the most likely outcome. Washington is built to tank and desperately wants to keep that pick. But an optimistic Knicks fan will hope for the Wizards to impress, giving Leon Rose a real asset to trade or use in the summer.