The Knicks opened the NBA season with a blowout loss to the reigning champion Celtics and for New York, it was a basketball catastrophe in each approach possible.
“That’s championship-level basketball,” Knicks guard Miles McBride mentioned, by way of Ian Begley of SNY.television. “For us, it was a punch in the mouth and we gotta respond. Obviously, it’s a long year. Can’t overreact to one game but I don’t think that’s how you go into a year and set the tone.”
Granted, as Bridges famous, it was only one recreation. And there may be loads of newness to the Knicks, who not solely added star huge man Karl-Anthony Cities, however ahead Mikal Bridges. So it might take a while to gel.
However that’s simply on offense. Try to be locked in defensively instantly, and that’s one thing coach Tom Thibodeau mentioned was not the case. McBride agreed.
“I think it just comes down to effort on defense. I feel like we could have just made more effort plays,” McBride mentioned. “I feel like our first effort was there. But the second, third has to get better.”
McBride got here off the bench to attain a team-high 22 factors, tying All-Star guard Jalen Brunson. Everybody else appeared simply OK — at greatest.
“It’s not one guy,” Thibodeau advised reporters. “Obviously we have to be better. So we’ll look at the film and the adjustments we have to make.”
The Knicks return to motion on Friday, for the home-opener vs. the Pacers.
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