Six reasons not to overreact after the brawl at the start of the season

The Knicks have retooled much of their starting lineup this offseason to better position themselves to compete with the Boston Celtics. And that led to a lot of excitement and hype leading up to the start of the 2024-25 campaign.

However, much of that excitement was ended almost immediately as the defending champions showed why they had started the season as clear favorites to win again. But it’s not just disadvantages.

Even though it was an embarrassing 23 points, the defeat still only counts as a single loss. And while it’s hard not to think about the Knicks’ many disappointments, it’s important not to overreact… at least not yet.

Here are six reasons why.

We all knew, or at least should have known, that this would take some time

Whenever there is even a single change in the starting lineup, there is a chance that it will result in a butterfly effect that completely changes a team’s plans, styles and fit. That’s not always the case. We all saw OG Anunoby take off just earlier this year and fit in seamlessly as a Knick.

But New York is now dealing with a starting lineup that is trying to integrate not just one, but two pretty significant pieces. And in the process, as mentioned, they’ve changed their identity and plans, and it’s painfully clear that the team is still not entirely comfortable. Last night, players allowed multiple shots, deliberated themselves, and overall played with a level of caution that can only be expected from teams that lack continuity. And frankly, the level of basketball we’ve become accustomed to probably won’t be reached any time soon. That’s probably not what fans wanted to hear. It will lead to even more frustrating loss and worry. But this team’s long-term ceiling remains high.

Remember that teams take time to grow together. It’s time to find your own brand of basketball and figure out where the guys want the ball and where they will be. Last night was a tough loss for the fans. And the result was not what anyone expected. But we all knew this team was far from finished on opening night, and that perspective should make this loss a little easier to deal with.

Deuce McBride is the real deal

Just like Boston doesn’t always make 29 three-pointers in a game, Deuce McBride won’t always score 22 points through efficient shooting. That doesn’t mean Boston isn’t a great three-point shooting team, nor does it mean McBride can’t and won’t continue to be great. In fact, it’s exactly the opposite.

On a night where almost every other Knick was a disappointment, McBride was the most impressive player to wear the blue and orange. He came out of the gates confident and red-hot, was the only reason the Knicks didn’t lose by 40 points in the first half, and showed that his improvements in outside shooting last season were anything but an anomaly. It was really one of the few things fans could point to as a positive and moral victory in the first game.

The question of whether or not McBride should start will remain open, but it was clear last night that whatever role he takes on going forward, McBride will be a force to be reckoned with.

Mikal Bridges worked his way back

The first half of Mikal Bridges’ regular season debut as a Knick was atrocious and was as bad as it could have been. On offense, he allowed several open shots, and when he did shoot, he missed often and badly. Defensively, his job was to protect Jayson Tatum, who was attacking not just him but the entire team.

But Bridges found a way to gain some confidence, play more aggressively and end the night on a slightly more positive note in the second half. He still had a few three-pointers to go and then started to attack the basket more. His overall performance was still below average, and of course it would have been nice to have him play the entire game like he did in the second half. But if we’re going to take a few things from the loss, Bridges’ ability to shake off an ugly final preseason game and an equally bad first half last night should be among them.

The Knicks offense performed quite well

Much of the conversation will revolve around Bridges’ struggles in the first half, Josh Hart’s inability to make threes, Karl-Anthony Towns’ lack of aggressiveness and Anunoby’s complete invisibility last night. But New York, despite three starters having subpar to downright terrible games, still managed 109 points on 55.1% shooting against a team that finished with the second-best defensive rating last season.

Part of this was due to the game having about eight full minutes of garbage time. I can’t sugarcoat that. Given the aforementioned fact that this team hasn’t fully come together yet, a “glass half full” perspective would be reasonably happy with the current state of the offense and what it might look like in January or February.

The Knicks won’t play Boston every night, and even if they do, they won’t shoot like that

A significant portion of the Knicks’ loss on night one can be attributed to their poor schemes, poor defensive performance, poor three-point shooting and poor concentration. Overall, it was a very poor performance from the Knicks. But some of this can and should be attributed to Boston being Boston – the most elite, focused, motivated and passionate version of it. The Celtics quickly assuaged their fears of a championship hangover by scoring 43 points on the Knicks’ defense, and they never looked back.

They were and remain the championship favorites and they showed why. Fortunately, New York will be able to compete against other teams starting Friday, and even if these two face each other again, it’s highly unlikely that they’ll hit 29 three-pointers again.

The Knicks have their own holes/flaws and deficiencies that they need to address and fix. And their defense was a big reason Boston made 29 three-pointers in the first place. But some of these shots were just examples of top-notch shooting. Again, New York didn’t help itself by allowing Boston to catch fire in the first place, but this kind of historically hot and consistent outside shooting is an anomaly.

The Celtics are ready to move forward, but first they took the chance to look back

The Knicks are still led by Tom Thibodeau and Jalen Brunson

Thibodeau has many critics and is far from the perfect coach. His rotations are always questioned, he’s slow to adapt in-game, and he’s stubborn when it comes to a few things that sometimes give you a headache. But you can’t argue with the fact that he’s found a way to be competitive for the vast majority of his career. Regardless of the talent level on the roster, he was almost always able to provide a high level of intensity and defense and lead teams to high levels. Combine that with Brunson, the star of the franchise, and the Knicks should still be fine. Again, it may take some time for the team to reach its potential, but with two men who regularly preach hard work and the right approach, it shouldn’t take too long for the team to get back on track, at least playing competitively and as a team.