The Knicks opened the NBA season with a blowout loss to the reigning champion Celtics and for New York, it was a basketball disaster in every way imaginable. 
“That’s championship-level basketball,” Knicks guard Miles McBride said, via Ian Begley of SNY.tv. “For us, it was a punch in the mouth and we gotta respond. Obviously, it’s a long year. Can’t overreact to one game but I don’t think that’s how you go into a year and set the tone.”
Granted, as Bridges noted, it was just one game. And there is plenty of newness to the Knicks, who not only added star big man Karl-Anthony Towns, but forward Mikal Bridges. So it may take some time to gel.
But that’s just on offense. You should be locked in defensively right away, and that’s something coach Tom Thibodeau said was not the case. McBride agreed.
“I think it just comes down to effort on defense. I feel like we could have just made more effort plays,” McBride said. “I feel like our first effort was there. But the second, third has to get better.”
McBride came off the bench to score a team-high 22 points, tying All-Star guard Jalen Brunson. Everyone else looked just OK — at best.
“It’s not one guy,” Thibodeau told reporters. “Obviously we have to be better. So we’ll look at the film and the adjustments we have to make.”
The Knicks return to action on Friday, for the home-opener vs. the Pacers.
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