4 Knicks Concerns After Disappointing Loss vs. 76ers

Unfortunately, the Knicks' championship celebration Tuesday ended on a sour note, as the team fell 106-100 to the 76ers. Even worse, it wasn't the type of loss where everyone gave their all; in fact, there were a few players who contributed to the defeat with various miscues or flaws that ultimately hurt New York.

As a result, there's a few concerns the Knicks must grapple with as their title defense begins 0-1.

1. Karl-Anthony Towns' penchant for fouls

Fouls have long been a problem for Karl-Anthony Towns. The run to the Finals showed how much of an obstacle they can be, with Philadelphia previously targeting him and even third-stringer Ariel Hukporti needing to play a few key minutes during these past playoffs.

Unfortunately, despite an offseason to potentially work on this weakness, it was more of the same from KAT on Tuesday, as he earned two fouls in the first four minutes. This forced Mike Brown to go to Andre Drummond much earlier than he would've liked, causing Towns to play only 24 minutes against the Sixers, when every other Knicks starter was between 30-34.

Now, Drummond was good in relief of Towns, especially in the first half. Yet it's clear the energy he had to give much earlier than expected came at a cost later on, as the big man wasn't nearly as effective in the second half. If Towns' fouling was more reasonable to begin the game, Drummond could've been better set up to provide a boost in spurts throughout the contest.

Starting Game 1 with Towns' fouling headache taking front and center isn't great for New York, as other teams will follow this blueprint in order to make their task of beating the defending champs even more difficult. Assuming Drummond is better in short stints than long ones, that's going to cause problems if it's a season-long occurrence for Towns being taken out of games due to foul trouble.

2. New ring, but same old Mikal Bridges

Mikal Bridges had an enormous weight on his shoulders given the price the Knicks paid to trade for him, and every poor outing was a reminder of that. However, winning a title served as validation of the Bridges deal, given that he was a positive contributor during the march to the Finals.

This was supposed to relieve pressure from Bridges and allow him to be his best self. But instead, Bridges started the year on a terrible note, being the only starter to score single digits (4) against Philly while shooting an ugly 2-for-8 from the field and 0-for-2 from deep. He didn't make many peripheral contributions, either, with three rebounds, one assist, and one block. He also had the worst plus/minus of any Knick at -15.

One game won't change Bridges' future. And he's built up a reputation for being someone who performs in the playoffs, so what he does now isn't as important as April and beyond. But the Knicks are also facing real financial pressures with names above Bridges being due for extensions. If he's not going to change as a player post-title, New York would have to explore whether keeping him is worth it.

3. Miles McBride's problematic signs

Miles McBride spent the offseason reassuring fans that his poor playoff performance was, in large part, due to his return after core muscle surgery that held him back. That made it somewhat reasonable to look past his postseason drop-off.

However, McBride then had some eyesore-worthy performances in the preseason that raised some red flags. Though he exited exhibition play on a better note, all of his warts came into focus once again on Tuesday. His shot almost completely escaped him, going 1 of 5 overall. He only added a single rebound, assist, and block (and a turnover) in 14 minutes. He was -4, while Jordan Clarkson (+8), Landry Shamet (+11), and Jose Alvarado (+6) were all positive.

This lays bare the growing issue with McBride post-injury: if his shot isn't on point, he's not adding much to make him worth playing big minutes. This is quite unfortunate for New York, which needs its bench members to help take some of the huge pressure off the starters' shoulders.

This is also a concern due to McBride's status as the Knicks' best trade chip. When he's at his best, he's a shooting and defensive weapon who could help any team, which makes him capable of netting a useful player in return. But when he's like this, he looks like an extremely limited guard who can't initiate or score a ton and relies solely on good defense, which cuts his interest severely.

It'd be in New York's and McBride's best interest for him to truly return to form, but there's a reality where this could be his new normal after a major injury.

4. Andre Drummond being a little too shot-happy

As mentioned, Drummond was great in the first half against his old team, notching a double-double (10 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks) and helping the Knicks enter halftime with a slim lead. However, the wheels fell off in the second half. He made just one more bucket over the final two quarters, grabbed only two more rebounds, and didn't get another block.

More worrying, potentially, is the fact that Drummond was a bit too eager to operate outside his role. Drummond put up 13 field goal attempts on Tuesday, while the next-highest total on the bench was seven. In fact, no one among the starters shot more than the big man except for Jalen Brunson (19 FGA).

This doesn't just stand out in the box score. There were times on the floor Tuesday when Drummond was taking shots that weren't optimal, like a long floater over multiple defenders when kicking out to an open teammate as the defense collapsed would've been a much better move.

Now, this was a night where the Knicks, overall, had trouble shooting, so someone had to be aggressive. But coach Brown surely doesn't want Drummond taking the initiative, given that those are likely to be highly contested shots in the paint, as opposed to more open looks outside of it.

It's more than possible that his hot start got to him a little bit, and the fact that it was a revenge game likely provided some motivation as well to show the Sixers what they're missing out on. But New York doesn't need scoring from Drummond; it needs a big man willing to embrace the dirty work to get his teammates better shots on offense, and then make an impact in the paint on defense.

Guiding Drummond in the right direction will be key, and so is making sure the other Knicks aren't defaulting to him being a focal point of the offense.

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