Knicks Drop Season Opener to Celtics

I woke this morning thinking: How did the Knicks almost win last night?

I woke this morning thinking: How did the Knicks almost win last night?

Jalen Brunson was very un-Brunson-like, shooting just 6-of-21 from the floor. Julius Randle was also staggeringly inefficient on the offensive end, converting just five of his 22 FG attempts and knocking down only one of his five free throws. As a team, the Knicks missed 12 freebies, shooting under 54% from the charity stripe. Mitchell Robinson missed both of his FT attempts and was largely invisible due to foul trouble and poor play. 

Meanwhile, Jayson Tatum was awesome, racking up 34 points with 11 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and three 3-pointers. (Tatum scored 34 points on 22 shots, while Brunson and Randle combined had 29 points on 43 shots). And Kristaps Porzingis, making his debut for Boston, was even more impressive, dominating the game at both ends of the floor for long stretches. With Knicks fans jeering him right from the opening tip, KP had the last laugh, finishing with 30 points (8-of-15 FGs, 9-of-10 FTs), eight rebounds, four blocks, and five 3-pointers.

Yet, somehow, New York led by six points with less than four minutes remaining in regulation. Still, the Knicks would squander that lead, dropping the season-opener to Boston 108-104.

In years past, when Knicks fans were ecstatic if their team could hang around .500 until Thanksgiving, Wednesday night would have qualified as a "moral victory." This club is too good, and expectations are too high, to settle for "good game, nice try." However, there are positives to take away from the opener. 

First and foremost, the short answer to the question posed above ("How did the Knicks almost win?"), is two words: Immanuel Quickley. 

As I discussed in depth earlier this week, the Knicks organization may come to rue the decision to allow IQ to enter free agency next summer. Wednesday night was Exhibit A. Logging just 28 minutes off the bench, Quickley scored 24 points (7-of-11 FGs, 5-of-6 FTs) and chipped in six rebounds, four assists, one steal, and five 3-pointers. 

When Boston began to pull away in the first half, IQ hit several pull-up three-pointers to keep his club close. When the Knicks pushed ahead of the C's in the fourth quarter, it was often Quickley creating scoring opportunities for himself or his teammates. This shouldn't be surprising, considering the positive impact Quickley has had since the moment he arrived in New York. 

As a reminder, ​​here are the cumulative +/- numbers for IQ, JR and RJ dating back to the start of the 2020-21 season:
Immanuel Quickley: +762
Julius Randle: +146
RJ Barrett: -65

Fortunately for New York, (an extremely motivated) IQ will wear Orange and Blue for at least one more season.

Other Takeaways and Knicks Notes:

🏀 Speaking with the media after the loss, Randle told reporters: "I think we missed shots that we normally make…. We'll bounce back. I'll bounce back. We'll be fine." He's not wrong. The Knicks were just 11-of-33 at the rim and 1-for-10 on shots taken in the non-restricted paint area. And, of course, we know about the damn free throws. 

I'm not at all worried about Brunson. He didn't play much in the preseason and looked rusty on Wednesday. But he got good looks. He got to spots on the floor where he is comfortable and has proven he can score efficiently. He'll get back on track. 

Randle's game was a bit more worrisome. We saw some of the frustrating habits that led to issues last season. It wasn't Randle's misses at the bucket that were exasperating. Those will drop. However, there were occasions when he failed to sprint back on defense and others where he made poor decisions on the offensive end. 

This play in the middle of the third quarter is a prime example. RJ does a good job driving into the middle and sucking in the defense. He then kicks out to Randle, who attempts a contested three-pointer over the out-stretched hand of Derrick White, who closes out hard. As you can see, Quentin Grimes is wide-open in the left corner. 

Remember, Grimes shot a scorching 48.5% on left-corner three-pointers last season, nailing 47 of his 97 attempts. That was literally the highest percentage in the NBA among all players who attempted at least 75 shots from that spot. Those are areas of his games Randle needs to improve. That said, he did make the correct play on the next few possessions, setting up open teammates and finished with a team-high seven dimes. We know about the yin-and-yang of Mr. Randle at this point. 

🏀 Speaking of the aforementioned Grimes, he didn't attempt a single field in the entire first quarter. He didn't put up his first shot until there were less than four minutes left in the first half. Grimes would go on to make three of his subsequent four 3-point attempts, yet still ended up with just seven total FGAs. Meanwhile, despite their inefficiency, Brunson, Barrett and Randle each got up 20+ shots.

I'll repeat once again: The Knicks need to feed Grimes. Last night, with NY's top guns misfiring, was an ideal opportunity to switch things up offensively and run some plays for QG. Some pindowns or cross-screens etc. He's too good of a shooter to subsist solely on attempts off offensive rebounds. 

🏀 Speaking of offensive board work, it was also a primary reason why New York hung around vs. Boston. Last season, the Knicks did not shoot a high percentage from the floor or behind the arc, but they bullied opponents on the glass, giving them extra, valuable opportunities to score. That again was the case Wednesday night, when New York shot just 37.1% from the field but grabbed 17 offensive rebounds (10 more than Boston). The Knicks took 20 more shots than the Celtics, allowing NY to score 100+ points. 

🏀 Yes, the refs had a bad night. There were some very late whistles. And the flopping call on Brunson in the fourth, which should have been a technical foul and three FTs for JB because he landed on Tatum's foot, was an absolutely awful call. But, as you guys know, I rarely focus too much on the officials. Like players, they'll miss their fair share. However, the refs didn't make the Knicks miss countless layups. Boston and New York each took 26 free throws. The C's made 22. The Knicks made 14. 

🏀 Tough to grade RJ Barrett in this one. Yes, he scored 24 points but needed 20 shots to do so (8-of-20 FGs). Overall, it was still a positive showing from Barrett, who attacked the rim and kept his head up for the most part… With Mitch Rob struggling (let's hope he doesn't revert to his foul-prone ways), Isaiah Hartenstein stepped in and stepped up, as he often did last season. Hartenstein finished with seven points, eight boards and two dimes in 26 minutes... Donte DiVincenzo, who struggled in the preseason, failed to score a single point on Wednesday (0-of-4 from the floor). He'll be fine… 

🏀 Next Up: The Knicks travel to Atlanta to take on the Hawks Friday night. It will be the front end of a tough back-to-back for New York, as they take on the Pelicans in the Big Easy on Saturday. Atlanta disappointingly dropped their season-opener on Wednesday, falling to the lowly Hornets. Trae Young and Dejounte Murray went a combined 7-for-33 from the field. Expect the Hawks to come out hungry on Friday. Both of these teams came into the season with high expectations; neither squad wants to start the year 0-2.