The New York Knicks fell short of starting the season off on the right foot with an ugly loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder 105-84.
This game became so ugly through the second half, the New York Knicks appeared willing to accept that they would lose by 20 plus points just as the trend was during the preseason. The Knicks played like two different teams and the one that was on the court in the first half was doing well. They even led the Thunder by four points well through the second quarter.
There were two real reasons for Knicks fans to tune into this one. To see if Kristaps Porzingis evolved from last season, and what we would see if at all of Frank Ntilikina.
Kristaps Porzingis was in tip-top form while Ntilikina had a terribly embarrassing rookie debut. A shocker for some fans may have been seeing Enes Kanter getting the nod to start at the 5 over Willy Hernangomez. It was certainly suspected after Kanter had a solid preseason with plenty of offensive production. But Friday night, the offense was not the problem exactly, it was and always has been defense.
The Knicks made the decision of placing Tim Hardaway Jr. at the 3 and Courtney Lee at the 2 and it yielded undesirable results. This game was a long shot at best against a big three in Oklahoma City, and it truly showed as the game progressed.
Here are 3 takeaways from the New York Knicks season opener against the Thunder.