Knicks Obliterated in Opener; A Fluke or a Sign of Things to Come?
The New York Knicks got obliterated in Boston on Tuesday night 132-109 to kickstart the NBA season. The Knicks were embarrassed, but was this a fluke or a sign of things to come?
The Knicks made some major splashes this off-season when they traded five first-round picks to the Brooklyn Nets to get wing player Mikal Bridges who has not looked so great to begin his New York Knicks era.
The Knicks traded their future thinking they were getting a guy who would score 20ppg and lock down the other team’s best defender. It looks like Bridges has changed his shot, and it doesn’t seem to be working out right now, trusting the process can be hard if the team isn’t winning. Bridges may be forced to go back to his old shooting form if the team can’t achieve significant success early on in the season.
The Knicks furthermore went all in when they decided to break up the chemistry that they had, which made them so great last year when they traded for New Jersey native Karl Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Knicks traded Donte DiVincenzo, who was one of their best players down the stretch last season and an All-NBA forward in Julius Randle, plus a first-round pick to acquire Towns’ services.
Towns is arguably the best shooting big man in the game today, but the chemistry with this type of team is very important. Towns will help space the floor, but losing DiVincenzo takes away the Knicks’ pure sharpshooter from behind the ark.
It’s still very early and it feels like this Knicks team is too talented to not at least make some noise, but as we have seen with the Brooklyn Nets, with stars come expectations and when you trade away your future for it, you are no longer the fun feel-good story you become the target for all NBA teams.
