The New York Knicks made things tougher than they had to be, defeating the Boston Celtics in double-overtime 138 to 134 in the regular season opener at MSG.
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The Knicks had a tough first half, giving up too many easy looks on defense and playing with almost no rhythm. The C’s are switchable from top to bottom, and that forced the Knicks into a more iso-heavy offense than we saw in the preseason that played in Boston’s hands…until a small-ball unit changed the momentum with transition offense and more committed defensive play. Their second-half push left the Knicks up 11 with 3 minutes left…and then they blew the lead on a series of mistakes and mishaps. Boston stormed back to tie the game at the buzzer.
It wouldn’t be a home opener without some cardiac Knicks appearances. New York and Boston had an overtime shootout that turned into a war of attrition by double-OT. But the home crowd provided a necessary boost for New York to come up with the clutch baskets and seal the game. Julius Randle carried the team through a tough first-half and didn’t left up until the final buzzer. Evan Fournier was huge on offense while RJ Barrett locked up one of the league’s best scorers. Then there was Obi, changing the game with his constant transition pressure. Let’s dive into a contest that left me more stressed than the first episode of Squid Games and see how everyone performed.
Randle and Fournier show why they got paid
Kemba Walker: There’s something poetic about Kemba Walker’s first basket as a Knick being a three-pointer. Unfortunately, the rest of the night was more struggle than success for the Knicks’ newest point guard. Kemba hit his three-pointers but struggled as a ball-handler. He turned the rock over in key situations, couldn’t get inside scoring on switches, and gave up points as players shot over him. He was relegated to off-ball play for most of overtime, playing the part of floor spacer but not much else in that span.
Walker played 36 minutes and added 10 points, 3 assists, 8 rebounds, 1 steal, and 4 turnovers. He shot 3/8 from the field, 3/4 from three, and 1/2 from the free throw line. The numbers aren’t bad, but his late game execution made the performance feel worse than those stats. He made a terrible misstep on the buzzer-beater from Schroder to force overtime. Marcus Smart hit multiple three’s over Walker as well. Meanwhile, when he managed to get a step on defenders, he was hesitant and ineffective inside.
Walker’s struggles stood out more than his successes, but there are some considerations to be made. He logged more minutes than anyone could have expected and his mistakes came later in regulation. While Walker didn’t score a ton, his presence meant great space for Fournier and Randle across the floor. Walker also did a great job grabbing boards. It’s enough to pull a 2 out of 5 on my scale…a passing grade for a bench piece, but underachieving for a starter.
Evan Fournier: There was a lot to like about Evan Fournier’s night, but we also got peaks at the blemishes in his game. Fournier beat switches and closeouts in a manner that sets him apart from Reggie Bullock. He hit multiple reverse lay-ups when bigs wandered out to him on the perimeter. Fournier also found the two-man game with Randle late, drilling three-pointers throughout the overtimes. That said, he also got torched by Jalen Brown on the opposite end. The new French Knick needed every bit of offensive production to make up for his lackluster defense.
Fournier put up 32 points, 3 assists, 6 rebounds, 4 steals, 1 block, and 1 turnover. He shot 13/25 from the field and 6/13 from three in 44 minutes. The “give” and “take” of his night was incredible. It’s best defined by how he ended regulation then responded in OT. With the Knicks up by three and four seconds to go, the Frenchman decided to double-team Jason Tatum in the backcourt. This decision led to a wide open three-pointer for Schroder. But Fournier rebounded from his defensive mistake by hitting multiple clutch three-pointers in the extra time. That’s a perfect microcosm of his night. The big acquisition was fantastic scoring, but struggled defensively throughout the night.
Despite needing to beef up his defensive work, Fournier’s overtime was enough to make up for the struggles and then some. He played Robin to Randle’s Batman throughout the night. No one else took advantage of Boston’s constant switching as effectively. That meant despite the high usage, nothing felt forced from Fournier. His offense was smooth as butter and well worth a 4 out of 5 on the night.
RJ Barrett: With Randle and Fournier carrying the offensive load, RJ Barrett took on a task of equal importance to scoring. Barrett spent most of his night guarding Jayson Tatum, an elite scorer in the NBA. Not only did the third-year player hold his own, but Barrett put clamps on his fellow Duke alum. Barrett held Tatum to 7/30 from the field and 20 points in 45 minutes while still filling in as third high scorer. He wasn’t bad offensively, but his statement came defensively.
RJ put up 19 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks without a single turnover in 47 minutes of action. He shot 6/11 from the field, 3/7 from three, and 4/6 from the free throw line. The former top-three pick went scoreless in the first-half but took advantage when the tempo picked up in the second. He also hit a clutch three-pointer over a tough contest in the clinching second overtime. As a matter of fact, while everyone else was laboring, I was screaming for players to get Barrett more looks because he looked locked in.
Therein lies the challenge for RJ Barrett this year. He’ll be sharing the ball-handling duties more often this season. That means picking his spots and producing across the stat-line. RJ could become a premium 3 and D piece in this offense, picking his spots to step up and riding high efficiency looks to a strong year. That will save his legs for the tough defensive assignments he’ll face all year. It does mean that RJ is reduced to third or even fourth fiddle offensively at times. If he capitalizes as he did against Boston, that’ll be just fine. Barrett grabs a 4 out of 5 for outplaying an all-NBA level talent in his match-up.
Julius Randle: We got a little of everything from Julius Randle as he led New York to victory. The MIP began his new campaign looking like an MVP candidate. He abused every defender he faced for most of regulation, only slowing down in the late game as he slowed down just enough for Robert Williams to keep his offense at bay. If there’s a complaint to be had, it’s that Randle pressed for his offense late was forced into some bad shots and turnovers. But the good outweighed the bad by a long shot. The Knicks’ star was an unstoppable scorer who threw brilliant passes for assists throughout the night.
Randle lasted 46 minutes, pumping in 35 points, 9 assists, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks, and 7 turnovers. He shot 12/27 from the field, 3/8 from three, and 8/8 from the free-throw line. Don’t stress the field goal percentage too much, Randle was shouldering a heavy offensive burden for much of this game. The switchable C’s forced New York into a ton of isolations and Randle answered the bell with some incredible sequences off his triple-threat. The C’s threw every defensive look possible at the big man and it did cut into his efficiency a bit, but he was relentless anyway.
This was a statement game for Randle. He’s the reason a red hot Jalen Brown couldn’t steal the win for Boston. Randle’s defense was strong on the interior and in man-to-man situations as well, though he’s still wandering to far inside to get back to shooters. His passing was superb when Boston tried to swarm and help on defense. Randle also hit his share of jumpers from mid and long range. There’s plenty to clean up about this performance, but it was still fantastic. Randle’s grabs a 4.5 out of 5, and I expect him to turn a lot of heads that called last year a fluke.
Mitchell Robinson: When Mitchell Robinson was fresh, he was an absolute force. Robinson faced off with a true center in Robert Williams and the extra weight made a big difference for Mitch. Players couldn’t move New York’s big man off his positions which meant a massive rebounding performance with perfect shooting from inside to boot. He did slow down when tired though, which left him unable to rotate in time when the minutes caught up to him.
Mitch played 34 minutes, tallying 11 points, 17 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks, and 1 turnover. He went 5/5 from the field but just 1/4 from the free throw line. The numbers are scary considering how labored he would look if he stayed out there for long spells. Robinson’s just getting his legs under him and already an impact player. He clocked 2 blocks, but must have changed ten more as players wouldn’t even risk challenging the big man. Just wait until his gas tank is full instead of half-empty at tip-off.
What really makes this exciting is that we’re seeing the tip of the iceberg. The rest of the Knicks’ starters can force a switch threw virtually every screen and that leaves Mitch against undersized opposition often. Even when he’s not rewarded on the roll, he’s in a position to gobble up offensive rebounds like the calories he’s packed on. He’s barely gotten his feet wet with the new starting unit, so expect chemistry to grow and that will mean more easy looks inside. Mitch gets a 3 out of 5 on the night and that’s despite defensive lapses when he fatigued. When he’s in shape and comfortable, this could be a leap year.
Rose and Obi help the bench as a newcomer starts to shine
Derrick Rose: There wasn’t much falling for Derrick Rose to start his season, but his overall performance was solid. Rose got to his spots, blowing by defenders in a manner that we’ve grown accustomed to during his time in New York. But even the bunnies seemed to rim out for the former MVP. His game was buoyed instead by quick transition passing and clever defensive moments. Rose also benefited from sitting through most of the fourth quarter and overtime before entering double-OT with fresh legs. He shined there, sinking the last field goal of the game and pulling the curtain closed on Boston.
Rose shot 3/11 from the field, 1/3 from three, and 2/2 from the free throw line in 22 minutes of action. He made up for the shooting elsewhere though, tallying 9 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds, ,2 steals, 1 block, and 2 turnovers. One of his turnovers came trying to throw a long bounce pass past defenders in transition. It stood out to me because a few Knicks made similar mistakes when they could have thrown the ball right over the top of defense. But that’s a minor nitpick. It was an outlier among a number of successful transition dimes and alley-oops.
The performance didn’t quite live up to lofty sixth-man of the year predictions. But a couple of bounces the right way would change that viewpoint. He was still a maestro with the rock, the steady hand that the Knicks can use when younger players get overanxious or press. To that end, I wanted to see him closing the fourth quarter over Kemba Walker. Thibs went with added spacing that Walker provides, but I think Rose will be the better choice at least early on. He’s acclimated to any and every situation. Rose nabs a 2 out of 5 for a solid performance that we still know he’s better than.
Immanuel Quickley: Immanuel Quickley got benched after the first half. That was the result of some shoddy decision-making and poor shot selection. IQ played just 8 minutes, grabbing 2 points, 1 assist, and 1 steal off 1/4 from the field. He missed all three of his three-point attempts which continues a scary trend from the preseason and Summer League. I’m not too worried though, he seemed like he was pressing in the home opener.
Alec Burks: It was a quiet night for Alec Burks. The microwave scorer didn’t get many opportunities to catch a rhythm and his shooting suffered as a result. He flashed his quick trigger on a nice mid-range pull-up but did little else to stand out. More worrisome was that his rebounding was plain bad. Burks was near some long boards but consistently lost the footrace.
With just 16 minutes to work with, Burks put up 5 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 1 steal. He shot 2/5 from the field and 1/4 from three. He was never able to put together enough possessions consecutively to feel fully engaged. That relegation off-ball wouldn’t be bad if his three-pointers were falling, but he was off the mark. I wouldn’t stress it too much because he got good looks. But for this night, with little to report on and just hitting the threshold to earn a performance score, Burks is stuck with a 1.5 out of 5.
Obi Toppin: After 2 quarters and then some of struggling, New York finally picked up momentum behind the energy that Obi Toppin brought to the floor. Toppin had spent all of Summer League and preseason terrorizing opposing bigs simply by sprinting. He routinely beat his men down the court and turned every defensive rebound into an opportunity to push the pace. That continued against Boston as Obi broke the game open with his speed in a small-ball line-up next to Randle. He also got to be the roll man a few times which felt like a rarity last season.
Obi forced his was to 28 minutes, putting up 14 points, 5 rebounds, 1 block, and 1 turnover. He shot 6/9 from the field, 0/3 from three, and 2/3 from the charity stripe. Obi finished over smaller players and then put on acrobatic displays to pick on the players his own size. His three-ball was the only glaring flaw. Jeff Van Gundy (legend) even asked Mike Breen how the shot was coming along because Obi took them fluidly but bricked badly. It looked promising in preseason but is clearly a work in progress that could unlock another level of performance.
The other key to Obi’s success has been improved defense. He’s no Mitchell Robinson, but Obi’s no longer a pushover. He had a lovely trailing block on Jayson Tatum that was all about timing. Despite his lack of assists, Toppin made some nice passes as well that led to points via free-throws. His offensive package is incredibly unique with big hops, dynamic speed, and heady passing. The numbers don’t do his impact justice on the stat sheet, but he’s getting a 3 out of 5 from me. That Obi/Randle front court is a scary proposition offensively and has held up defensively so far.
Jericho Sims: It doesn’t look like Jericho Sims is ready for rotation minutes. He played just 7 minutes, picking up 1 point and 1 rebound on 1/2 from the free throw line. He’s a physical specimen but his defensive awareness and positioning left a lot to be desired. That meant the quick hook and limited minutes. Sims needs time to pick up the nuances that will help him be productive. He’s still promising, but I’d like to see some g-league reps when other bigs get healthy.
Meaningless games make for unlikely opportunities when Thibodeau leads
Tom Thibodeau: Here’s a shocker, I think Tom Thibodeau fell asleep at the wheel to close the fourth. He let Julius Randle force too much, didn’t reel in Kemba Walker late, and left an abysmal defensive unit on the floor for the game-tying close. Thibs had a shot to get his defenders in while Randle shot free-throws, but he must have assumed an intentional foul would give him the chance to make subs later…that didn’t happen and his player logged more minutes than necessary.
That said, we also saw Thibodeau doing some Thibodeau things. When the team struggled in the first half, he tightened up the rotation. That allowed for a small-ball unit that blew the game open for New York. Thibs also trusted his best players to leg out additional minutes and didn’t take any risks for the sake of resting anyone. That gets him in trouble with the media, but every second mattered in this double-overtime victory.
The mixed bag of decisions leaves Thibodeau split right down the middle. He grabs a 2.5 out of 5 for coaching performance in my book. It was a solid night, but not without very obvious missteps along the way. We’ll see how the rotation shakes out when everyone is healthy, but it’s good to see that he trusted the Obi/Randle front court again. That combo has exploded offensively twice now, and in a nick of time on both occasions. We’ll see what else he has in his bag when everyone heals up and players hit midseason form.
Closing Thoughts
I didn’t get to visit the Garden often for the 90’s Knicks of lore. That made any trips to MSG whimsical in a way that only a youngster can feel. With 20 years of attrition, I really wasn’t sure how much nostalgia tainted my memories of the Garden being magic. There were rare reminders in some of my trips later on. I’m lucky to have caught a Jamal Crawford buzzer-beater over the then champion Detroit Pistons. But a lot of other trips didn’t have quite the spirit of the past. The team wasn’t good for most of these past two decades and that left the Garden full of nihilists and boo’s…we’d even boo on draft night.
But I was at the Garden for game one of the playoffs and saw the crowd last night. How could you not? I’m pretty sure there were people in Jersey calling noise complaints because it was LIVE! This enthusiasm is something that felt like a fading memory a couple of years ago. I clung to the 90’s and told younger fans to wait for the magic to come back while hiding some doubts of my own…not any more. This is that magic. The crowd is electric and we’ve got 81-games to go! New York is basketball town, a Knicks basketball town, and we finally get to feel that rush again.
It’s one down and a myriad to go. The marathon began with its own mini-marathon and the Garden got to enjoy two extra quarters of madness just to get everyone warmed up. I couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come… maybe a pinch more when these guys start hitting their free throws. But it’s more than wins and losses, it’s the community we’ve fostered through perseverance. Every win’s a party and we’ll pick each other up after the losses. This was game one. I’ll see you for the next 81 and then some Knicks fam!
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