New York Knicks: Who stepped up during the home opener?

Enes Kanter

Enes Kanter had the tall task of matching up against All-Star center Andre Drummond. Rather than crumbling beneath the pressure of playing a well-known peer, Kanter took it upon himself to put forth a strong showing of his own.

Knowing that he needed to redeem himself for his subpar performance in the season opener, Kanter ushered in his New York tenure with quite the performance.

Kanter tallied 17 points and 10 rebounds in just 24 minutes of court time. He recorded that devastating double-double by dominating the boards and shooting 7-of-10 from the field, and a perfect 3-of-3 from the charity stripe.

Kanter pulled down five offensive rebounds against Detroit, which is more than Drummond managed to corral in his 38 minutes—an encouraging anecdote, if nothing else.

In addition to posting ridiculous statistics on a per 36 basis, Kanter was a reliable player for the Knicks. His rebounding helped create opportunities, and his potent post play was a driving force during the brilliant first half.

New York will need to address its perimeter woes if the big men are going to be able to lead it into the future, but Kanter looked like a foundational building block against Detroit.