The Knicks rallied late to make it close in Boston after falling behind by 12 entering the fourth quarter, but they dropped to 0-2 on the season with a 107-103 loss. It’s the first time they’ve started 0-2 in a season since 2020-21, the first season under Tom Thibodeau.
The Knicks’ offense struggled to score through the first three quarters, posting a 102.8 offensive rating, along with 16 turnovers. They woke up in the fourth quarter with a 142.9 ORTG, scoring 30 points on 21 possessions, while only turning it over twice. They got to within one point with 1:41 left, but then Jayson Tatum took over to take it home for Boston.
Remember, this was a top-five offense in the sport last season, and they haven’t looked the part this season so far. They have a 105.2 ORTG through two games this season, and the problem areas are only growing on that front.
Knicks struggled close to the basket
For starters, the Knicks weren’t making their buckets near the basket. Across the entire game, they shot 10-of-19 (52.6%) on rim attempts, which was much worse than their opponent with the Celtics making 16-of-25 (64.0%) of their rim attempts.
The Knicks were solid in their opener at the rim (17-of-29, 58.6%), but they struggled in the midrange game (7-of-32, 21.9%). Jalen Brunson has played a large part in those struggles.
Brunson was 2-of-7 specifically from within 13.75 feet (rim and short midrange) in the Knicks’ loss on Friday. He was 7-of-17 with a 48.4% TS% on Friday, as he’s shooting just 36.1% from the field with a 47.4% TS% through his first two games of the new season.
Knicks’ starters continue to disappoint
The starting lineup for the Knicks was once again a problem, recording an 87.0 ORTG and -40.3 net rating across 11 minutes and 27 seconds together. The lineup didn’t play another second together following the first four-and-a-half minutes of the second half.
It’s the first time since I began tracking lineup data at the beginning of last season that they’ve gone back-to-back games with an ORTG below 90. They only had one back-to-back stretch last season where they had a sub-100 ORTG: March 8-9 vs. the Lakers and Clippers.
Of course, the non-starters minutes were once again positive under Mike Brown, as they usually are. In the other 36 minutes and 33 seconds outside of the starting lineup, the Knicks had a 120.3 ORTG and +7.4 NETRTG.
Mikal Bridges was out of sorts on both ends
One of the biggest eyesores from the starting unit was Mikal Bridges once becoming a gigantic no-show, but this time it affected the team on both ends.
In the season opener, he was 2-of-8 from the field, but he had a block and the Knicks had a 97.2 defensive rating across his 32:50 on the floor vs. the Sixers. On Friday in Boston, Bridges was 0-of-8 from the field, and the Knicks had a 126.8 DRTG with him out there; he only ended up playing 21:37 in the defeat for the Knicks.
The Knicks were just all-around better without Bridges on Friday... on both ends. They had a 121.2 ORTG (60.6% TS%), 107.8 DRTG, and +13.3 NETRTG in the 26:23 that he sat.
The Alvarado/Drummond minutes continue to fail
Lastly, we have to point out how treacherous the Jose Alvarado and Andre Drummond minutes were as a pairing. The Knicks were outscored 10-to-3 (33.3 ORTG, -91.7 NETRTG) in their 4:13 together on Friday. That’s probably 4 minutes and 13 seconds too many anyway.
Mike Brown should try to have Alvarado play almost exclusively with Karl-Anthony Towns and Drummond play almost exclusively with Brunson. We saw a bunch of minutes with Alvarado and Drummond sharing the floor in the preseason, and it wasn’t pretty.
The Alvarado/KAT minutes were much better than that offensively (118.2 ORTG), but they struggled on defense (145.5 DRTG) in 6:17 together. The Brunson/Drummond minutes were also better offensively (150.0 ORTG), but struggled on defense (166.7) across 2:49 together.
We have a larger sample of Alvarado/KAT working well together... Brunson and Drummond definitely need to learn to play together; if they don’t, Brown could always turn to Wiseman, who saw the Knicks win his minutes on Friday.
If we’re looking for positives, it’s encouraging that Brown continues to not be afraid to sit guys who are struggling in favor of guys who are working with certain units. Whether it’s leaning on Deuce McBride more in Game 2, going to a smaller backcourt in the Finals with Alvarado, Mike Brown is NEVER afraid to go crazy. The offense was also flowing better in general in the second half, specifically in the fourth quarter when they made their little comeback.
Also, KAT was once again excellent on the offensive end. 22 points on 13 shots (78.6% TS% with 10 rebounds. The Knicks won his minutes by two. They lost his minutes by six. Couldn’t finish this off without giving the guy his props.
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