The New York Knicks dropped their second consecutive game of the early 2018-19 season, but there were still takeaways from their performance against the Boston Celtics.
For the second time in two days, the New York Knicks dropped a game to bring their record to 1-2 in the 2018-19 season’s first four days. It’s early but a start that puts the Knicks behind in the Eastern Conference.
Saturday’s opponent was the Boston Celtics, who offered a host of all-star caliber players, including Jayson Tatum. The Duke product propelled his squad to this 103-101 win, with 24 points and 14 rebounds on 8-for-15 shooting and this game-winning shot.
This kid is unreal. https://t.co/RRrkmELJaa
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) October 21, 2018
Despite this shot, there were other points of emphasis for the Knicks throughout the evening and created the following takeaways:
3. No closer (for now) stings
The Boston Celtics can close with Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward and even Al Horford in certain situations. Tatum confirmed himself in this mix to give them a fourth player that ices games for this potential Eastern Conference representative in the NBA Finals.
This season’s New York Knicks won’t be mistaken for a title-contending team, but it’s still helpful to have players to turn towards in crunch time. Tim Hardaway Jr. is one option. After that, the cupboard is empty.
Sure, Kristaps Porzingis would become this guy if healthy, but that might not happen for the full 2018-19 season. So it forces the Knicks to play with what they have, which leads to this developmental year.
It’s valuable experience for Hardaway as the primary scorer the team turns to in late-game situations, but he’s not yet elite in this situation. With defenses focused on him, that may never happen in this incarnation of the Knicks.
The only other player that has closer potential is Allonzo Trier, given his isolation work, but just three games into his NBA career, that’s probably far from an official determination.
New York should have one or two closers by 2019-20 to help them clinch close games like Saturday’s. For now, it’s an opportunity to work with what’s in place.