2 Studs and 3 Duds from Knicks' embarrassing loss to Celtics in season opener

The New York Knicks started the season full of optimism and hope, and it took the Boston Celtics only moments to rip that hope from their chests.

Sometimes playing the defending champions on Opening Night is an advantage, as they are often set off of their routine by the festivities. Instead, the ring ceremony seems to have set the hands of the Celtics on fire, as they rained down 3-pointers early and often on the heads of the New York Knickerbockers.

The Celtics couldn't miss in the first quarter, blitzing the Knicks to the tune of a 43-24 advantage after 12 minutes. Boston hit a record-tying 29 3-pointers in the game; no team has ever hit 30. They shot 0-for-13 to end the game trying to beat the record and still shot 47.5 percent from deep for the game. The Knicks had no answers. and the final margin of 132-109 understates the beatdown.

Who stood out in the game as a stud trying to carry his team against a foe who can't win? Who was a dud, wilting under the pressure? Let's take a closer look at how the roster performed in the dispiriting loss.

Mikal Bridges was a dud

The New York Knicks traded a true bounty of draft picks to the Brooklyn Nets for Mikal Bridges, whose two-way play was supposed to scale to the contending Knicks and help them raise their ceiling. Perhaps he still does that, but his first game for the franchise was something of a dud.

Bridges started out missing every shot, continuing the shooting woes of his preseason that are under a microscope after he reworked his shooting form. He then got hot in the third quarter, finishing the game 7-for-13 for 16 points, a fine scoring line.

It was every other area of his game where Bridges was extremely disappointing. His defense was not good, and multiple times he rotated inside or hedged toward a driver and was slow to get out to a shooter on the perimeter. He also did very little else to help as a connector, with just two assists and no rebounds, steals or blocks. Bridges finished a game-worst -33 for the night.