The Knicks’ new starting point guard, Derrick Rose, is currently embroiled in a civil case regarding sexual assault, so he missed Monday night’s preseason game against the Washington Wizards. Of course, any team with Rose and his checkered injury history on it has more need of a legitimate backup point guard than most, which is why it was so crucial that they signed Brandon Jennings this offseason. He’s never lived up to his rookie-year offensive explosion, but he’s a serviceable NBA player — and he’s endearing himself to the Knicks faithful in a big way.
For some reason, Jennings got a bug up his behind while driving the lane for a tough floater in traffic during the third quarter, after he ditched his defender, training camp invitee Casper Ware, with a killer Kristaps Porzingis screen. He got directly in Ware’s face and started jawing before getting back on defense, then got in Ware’s chest again on the defensive possession. It doesn’t look like that much was said before the two were separated, but something got Jennings clapping like a madman, and the crowd at Madison Square Garden loved it.
They even got a “Brandon Jennings! *CLAP CLAP CLAP-CLAP-CLAP*” cheer going for a second, which is a massive achievement for any preseason game. Jennings responded by hitting a circus 3-pointer and drawing the foul on Ware. This came after Jennings made the right read on a pick-and-roll to find Porzingis waiting baseline for a dunk.
If Rose’s legal battle affects his Knicks tenure in any way, fans seem pretty ready to get behind Jennings as their crowd avatar at guard. Who’s ready for Jenningsanity?