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NBA: 5 Things We Learned On Opening Night

By Josh Cornelissen

Oct 25, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; General view during the ring ceremony and NBA championship banner raising ceremony before a game against the New York Knicks at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 25, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; General view during the ring ceremony and NBA championship banner raising ceremony before a game against the New York Knicks at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 25, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose (25) looks to pass in the second half against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. Cleveland won 117-88. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 25, 2016; Cleveland, OH, USA; New York Knicks guard Derrick Rose (25) looks to pass in the second half against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Quicken Loans Arena. Cleveland won 117-88. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports /

The New York Knicks Are No One’s Super Team

After three consecutive seasons in the lottery, the New York Knicks needed a change. Phil Jackson went out and remade the rotation with a variety of veterans, headline by former MVP Derrick Rose and two-time All-Star Joakim Noah.

Rose set the media abuzz  this offseason when he said that the NBA was trying to limit the formation of super teams, and that “they’re saying us and Golden State are the super teams.” While every NBA player should be confident in his team, Rose’s comments were a bit out of touch with reality.

If the New York Knicks could trot out the best version of each member of their starting lineup, perhaps Super Team would be appropriate. 2011 Derrick Rose terrorized teams by relentlessly attacking the hoop.

2014 Joakim Noah was an MVP candidate as he combined elite rim protection with savvy passing from the post. 2014 Carmelo Anthony dropped 27.4 points per game on stellar percentages while adding eight rebounds and three assists.

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    • But those players are long gone, overwhelmed by age and injuries. Kristaps Porzingis is only 21 years old, and their bench is Brandon Jennings and a collection of misfit toys (who are still some of the 450 best players in the world, to be clear).

    This team is not going to contend this year.

    Tuesday night showed that they may not even contend for the playoffs, as the Cavaliers blew them off the court.

    Although the Knicks rallied in the second quarter to make it a tight game at the half, they disintegrated in the third quarter and the defending champions rolled.

    None of the Knicks’ regular rotation shot even 50 percent from the field, and two starters — Noah and Courtney Lee — failed to score at all, shooting a combined 0-for-6.

    Overall the team hit only 36.8 percent of their shots.

    On defense they were equally anemic, allowing the Cavaliers to shoot 47.9 percent overall. If it wasn’t for J.R. Smith’s rusty jumper (3-for-13 from the field) the final margin of 29 points would have been even worse.

    On both ends of the court the New York Knicks were wholly unprepared to play NBA basketball.

    Super team? Not this year.