The New York Knicks opened the 2016-17 NBA regular season on Tuesday, October 25 against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Which players stepped up?
The New York Knicks have completed the unenviable task of opening the 2016-17 regular season at the defending NBA champions. It was an emotional night for the Cleveland Cavaliers, which accepted championship rings for the first time in franchise history.
Though New York may have lost 117-88, a brief number of Knicks players offered reason to be optimistic about the immediate future of the organization.
The Knicks encountered three of the most high-profile players in the NBA: Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, and Kevin Love. James is a four-time NBA MVP with enough hype to win a fifth, Love is an All-NBA honoree, and Irving was the NBA Finals hero in 2016.
That list doesn’t include rebounding machine Tristan Thompson or 2013 Sixth Man of the Year J.R. Smith.
Matched up against one of the most prolific groups in the NBA, a number of Knicks players stepped up with noteworthy performances. It was an encouraging start to the season for said contributors, thus implying that the 2016-17 season could be rewarding for Knicks fans.
The question is: which players stepped up during the Knicks’ 2016-17 regular season opener against the Cavaliers?