Knicks Stars Hit With Growing Pains in Debut

The New York Knicks found "some good, some bad" in their first game as a newly-conjoined unit.

Jan 29, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson (11) in a time out during the second half against the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images / Sam Sharpe-Imagn Images

The hype around the New York Knicks' eventful offseason makes it easy to forget that the team itself consists of relative strangers in the night, exchanging glances, and pondering their championship chances.

The new-look Knicks made their abbreviated, unofficial debut on Sunday evening, as Spectrum Center in Charlotte played host to the first metropolitan minutes of Mikal Bridges and Karl-Anthony Towns. Each took on relatively muted roles as the Knicks posted a 111-109 preseason victory over the hosting Hornets.

“First game, some good, some bad,” head coach Tom Thibodeau analyzed in the aftermath, per Steve Popper of Newsday. “Obviously, a lot of work to do. I figured it would be a little choppy. There’s a lot of areas that we need to clean up, but there was some good as well."

“They need time, obviously. We just wanted them to get their feet wet. That being said, the opener is right around the corner. We’ve got work to do and we’ve got to get to it.”

Considering that the past two seasons of Knicks basketball have been fueled by the power of Villanova-based friendship, it's easy to forget that New York (1-0) is replacing two major men in the wake of the late deal for Towns: Donte DiVincenzo and Julius Randle were shipped to Minnesota for Towns' services while Isaiah Hartenstein fled for big bucks in Oklahoma City. The longest-tenured Knick, Mitchell Robinson, won't be taking the floor until early winter.

With starters granted extensive minutes in the first half, the Knicks looked like a team still getting to know each other: Towns missed four of his last five tries from the field while Bridges mustered only four tallies. Towns, OG Anunoby, Jalen Brunson, and Josh Hart all finished with plus/minuses in the red before watching Miles McBride and the bench handle business in a narrow triumph.

New York's headliners appear ready to make a game out of the introductory process with the knowledge that sacrifices may have to be made on the road to a potential title.

"It’s definitely going to take time,” Brunson said in Popper's report. “But when people are willing to do whatever it takes to try to win, it’s going to flow at some point. We talk consistently and we’re on the same page and we’re excited that we’re teammates now.”

“We know it’s going to be a process,” Josh Hart added in the same write-up. “The thing that’s going to make this team good and can make it special, we don’t care who scores, and who gets the assist, who gets the statistical numbers. We all want to win. We’re all willing to sacrifice to make that happen. I think that’s something that the character of the team will be good.”

The new-look Knicks will take to Madison Square Garden's hardwood for the first time on Wednesday when the Washington Wizards come to visit for another exhibition (7:30 p.m. ET, MSG).

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