SAN ANTONIO — Knicks coach David Fizdale has been more curt in his second season, but hasn’t lost his knack for finding silver linings. Particularly the black-and-silver linings of San Antonio.

Fizdale declined to say exactly what would merit a successful season, but looked at Gregg Popovich’s San Antonio journey and cited the legendary coach’s first year.

In 1996-97, Popovich’s record as interim coach was 17-47 after the then-general manager took over for the fired Bob Hill. The Spurs finished 20-62 and won the draft lottery for Tim Duncan. That was the first step in a dynasty that has compiled 23 straight playoffs berths and five titles.

“We started from scratch last year,” Fizdale said. “We gutted it down. Now we’re starting to build it back up. Even going back to Pop’s first year here, [he] won 17 games with David Robinson and they ended up getting Tim. They built it from scratch, too. Hopefully when you look at stuff like that it gives you hope you can build something special.”

The Knicks won 17 games last season and wound up with the third pick in the draft after the lottery drawing. They took RJ Barrett, who had a solid preseason and has the looks of a potential All-Star.

After using $70 million of cap space on B-to-C-level free agents, the Knicks look to be the league’s most mysterious team with nine new faces. The bar appears so low that having the Knicks in the thick of the playoff race in March would appear like a good step.

“I don’t know how to gauge success right now,” Fizdale said. “I’m just focused on one game at a time and see us get better through the course of the year.”

Fizdale has not been as forthcoming with his thoughts this preseason. He again declined to reveal his starting lineup for Wednesday night’s season opener. Mitchell Robinson will miss the game with a sprained ankle, leading to a potential surprise shuffle.

There’s speculation Fizdale may bypass his three point guards fighting for the starter’s role and put Barrett and Allonzo Trier as the starting backcourt.

It would be an indictment of the Knicks front office if Fizdale didn’t deem any of his three point guards — Elfrid Payton, Dennis Smith Jr. and Frank Ntilikina — worthy of starting.

“More my assistants than anyone,” Fizdale said on how he makes the lineup call. “I always communicate to the front office what I’m thinking, so we’re always on the same page. But we get into the film and get into the numbers and combinations and all of that stuff. [We] look at different things like that. My staff and I, we spend a lot of time talking about [it].”

Last season, Fizdale was in his honeymoon year and regaled the media during the 17-65 campaign. One of his principles was revealing his lineup to the writers once he made the decision.

“I’m allowed to change philosophies, right?” Fizdale said after leaving the media scrum at Wednesday morning’s shootaround.

Clearly, Fizdale doesn’t want the lineup to be a distraction for players who are left out and get asked about the snub. Fizdale said the lineup could only last for one night.

“Even the idea that if you’re not starting or in the rotation right now, you’re talking about an 82-game season with a team of nine new guys that I’m trying to figure out,” Fizdale said. “Keeping their minds clear and sharp is always going to be a premium.”

Smith, who shot 3 of 17 in his two preseason appearances after struggling with a back strain, didn’t sound as if he’s the starter.

“With situations like that, my faith is in me,” Smith said. “My faith is in the work that I put in. And everything that I do. And I know that everything will work out for me. So I’ve just got to stay dedicated to what I do and keep my vision clear. I’ve got a vision for myself and I can’t let anything get in the way of that, or anybody.

“It’s a job, you feel me? And you’ve got to play your position. I’ve got a vision for myself and I’ve got my faith in me. My faith isn’t in anybody else, it’s in me. So I believe if I keep that up, I’ll be where I want to be.”

Robinson has been ruled out for the opener due to his sprained ankle, but Fizdale hinted the second-year center should be back Friday in Brooklyn. Robinson rolled the ankle going for an offensive rebound in practice Monday. He didn’t realize how high he jumped and rolled it badly upon landing.

“I’m very disappointed,” Robinson said. “This is the first game of the season and I really wanted to play, but accidents happen.”

For more from Marc Berman, listen to this episode of the Knicks podcast, “Big Apple Buckets”: