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NBA Opening Night Reaction Part 1: Knicks vs. Celtics · The Stop and Pop

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to opening night of the 2024-25 NBA season.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: Today,
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: we had the Knicks going to Boston to face the Celtics on the eve of their
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: championship celebration.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not going to lie to you, it was not pretty.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: It was not pretty at all.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: The Knicks looked bad.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: Disgusting, confused.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: There's a lot of adjectives I can use to describe what happened tonight.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: And if you know me, I'm a Knicks fan.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: So this stings a little more.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: And on top of the fact that
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_00: I got the Knicks beating the Celtics in the playoffs.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like they have enough to compete with Boston with the wings that they have.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: And granted,
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: I do feel like losing Randle and DiVincenzo will still play a big factor on the
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: team's success.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_00: But ultimately, I was optimistic.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: I still am.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: But tonight was not a good indication of that.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: And it's only game one.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: I know.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: I get it.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: I totally understand.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: But the Knicks looked confused on the defensive end.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: They seemed out of place.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Too many players were trying to double-team in certain spots, leaving shooters wide open.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: Boston hit 29 threes, tying a record in a game.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: The Celtics out-rebounded them on the offensive boards, 11-5.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: And Boston only committed three turnovers compared to the Knicks' 11.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: The Knicks,
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: who are supposed to be a great defensive team,
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: coming into the season,
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: only committed three turnovers.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: That's not good.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: It was one possession that when Josh Hart was in the corner and he ended up getting
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: fouled on a jump shot.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: And it seemed like it was a bailout foul because it was a really bad offensive possession.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_00: McBride, Hart, and Mikal Bridges were all in the corner together, all three of them.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: And shot clock was winding down.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: And it resulted in Hart taking basically a shot over a double-team contested jumper.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: And Payton Pritchard ended up fouling him.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_00: So it was a bailout.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: But it just looked bad.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_00: It looked like it was a lot of spacing.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Players seemed like he was confused on where he was supposed to be at that point.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: And overall, the Knicks just didn't look too good.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_00: Mikal Bridges.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: His shot looks very different.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: He made a tweak this offseason where he ended up adding a hitch to his form.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: And he didn't have that hitch before.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_00: He did not have that hitch in Brooklyn.
• 3:50
  SPEAKER_00: He did not have that hitch when he came to the league playing in Phoenix.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: And
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: He shot two for seven from three, but some of the misses looked really bad.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: Some of them weren't even close to going in.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: The release is a lot slower.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: He seems a little reluctant to shoot that shot.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: It did look better off the dribble as the game progressed.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: He did get aggressive throughout the game where he started attacking the basket.
• 4:24
  SPEAKER_00: He ultimately finished with 16 points, 7-13 from the field.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: He missed his only free throw attempt.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not big on players making switches to their jumpers when they're already really good shooters.
• 4:45
  SPEAKER_00: Proven shooters in this league, Mikal Bridges is a well-known shooter.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: He's in the upper 30 percentile.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_00: in the league.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: So him changing his form just didn't make sense to me.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: If he takes this for the best,
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_00: I hope it translates throughout the season where we see that it actually works.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: But right now, it doesn't seem good.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't seem like a product that would be able to sustain over a full season as it should be.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: Karl-Anthony Towns, next topic.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: He finished with 12 points,
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: 7 rebounds,
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: only took 9 shots,
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: no blocks,
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: only one free throw,
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: and yeah,
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: no steals either.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: I was one person who felt really pessimistic about the trade, I should say.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like the Knicks gave up too much.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like if it was just KAT for Randle, even, just like that, it would have been fine.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not the biggest Karl-Anthony Towns fan.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like he is a little on the softer side as a big man.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like he...
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: isn't utilizing his skill set as he should as a player who can ultimately be an
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: inside threat with his touch around the rim.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: And he had some good looks around the rim.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: He had some nice finishes.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: I just feel like he wasn't being aggressive enough.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: He had Jrue Holiday guarding him.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: And granted, Jrue Holiday is an all-world defender.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: He's one of the best defenders in this league.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: But...
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: Karl-Anthony Towns is 7 feet.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: Jrue Holiday is 6'4".
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: So you have to utilize that matchup.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: You have to make the defense feel intimidated when you put someone like that on
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: them with the height difference.
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_00: With Karl-Anthony Towns, he is a player who's self-proclaimed the best shooting big man of all time.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: And I don't feel like the Knicks need a big man who's out to prove that he is the greatest shooter ever.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: We need someone who's gritty inside, someone who's willing to mix it up.
• 7:37
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, if we have somebody who can shoot, that's the cherry on the top.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_00: But we need somebody who can dominate inside.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: We have enough shooting on the perimeter that can sustain us over a season.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: And
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: We need somebody who can rebound the ball because we lost a lot of size this offseason.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_00: So we need somebody who can be inside presence.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: So for Karl-Anthony Towns,
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like we need him to show he can be the guy on the defensive end and be the
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: defensive anchor for our team.
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_00: as far as rebounding, blocking shots, and also making smart decisions on the defensive end.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_00: He is known for his proneness to foul players.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: You know,
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: away from the basket at that,
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: he spent times where he made some really questionable fouls and questionable
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_00: decisions on defense.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: And
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: We just need him to be disciplined on defense,
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: use his size,
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: use his athleticism,
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: and be able to be effective on both ends with that skill set and that size.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: I do feel like Boston took care of business.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: They had their opening night, ring night, and they looked really good out there.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: They capitalized on the moment.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: closing out the Knicks and hitting 29 threes.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: So they look like the championship team that they are.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I feel like they can make a nice run in the playoffs,
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: but I don't know if they will repeat because no team has repeated since the Kevin
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: Durant Golden State Warriors.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_00: But we will have to see how the season goes.