After the Boston Celtics ran roughshod through the NBA last season on the way to their record 18th championship banner, it became clear what the winning blueprint would now be league-wide.
The Celtics opened the 2024-25 NBA season by raising championship banner number 18 on Tuesday, October 22nd, 2024. IMAGE CREDIT: CHARLES KRUPA/AP
When Boston added Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis to a core already featuring stars like Jayson Tatum & Jaylen Brown, as well as elite-level role players such as Derrick White and Al Horford, they became a 2-way force of a unit. They gave opposing offenses hell with their elite 'switch-ability' defensively. More emphatically, Boston wreaked havoc with their potent offense, specifically beyond the 3-point arc.
Boston just barely missed the #1 spot on the list of the most three-point makes by a team in a single-season all-time, finishing 2nd behind the 2022-23 Warriors. Regardless, they sunk 1,351 threes last season, an unconscionable total. And, surprise, surprise: the C's picked up right where they left off on Ring Night.
On paper, the Knicks vs. Celtics matchup to open the season looked to be a tasty and delectable one. In hindsight, it looked very much like a matchup between a well-oiled machine & one that's still putting the puzzle pieces together.
Celtics' Jayson Tatum celebrates one of his 7 made threes on Opening Night vs the Knicks. PHOTO CREDIT: JOHN BAZEMORE/AP
The Celtics set even more NBA history right out of the gate, tying the NBA record with 29 threes made in their 132-109 rout of the Knicks on Oct. 22nd. That final score was not even fully indicative of just how much Boston dominated New York. But, I reiterate, with the power of hindsight: despite how dominant the Celtics were, you can understand why the Knicks looked so out of sorts considering what their offseason looked like.
The story of the New "Look" Knicks has been well-documented to this point. After their trade acquisition of OG Anunoby last January, they looked like a juggernaut on the court immediately following the deal. That is, until All-Star Julius Randle suffered a dislocated shoulder at the end of that month that he never made it back from. The loss of Randle opened up the injury floodgates for New York -- by the end of their East Semis Game 7 home loss to the Indiana Pacers, the Knicks had also lost Anunoby, Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, Mitchell Robinson, and Bojan Bogdanovic to season-ending injuries. If you're counting, that's six rotational players down in one playoff run.
Instead of the Knicks choosing to get everyone healthy and "run it back" with the same exact group, they proceeded to shake the table all summer long. They began with a monster trade just before free agency, acquiring Mikal Bridges from crosstown rival Brooklyn for a package including Bogdanovic & five first-round picks. After losing starting center Isaiah Hartenstein to the Thunder at the onset of free agency in July, the Knicks somehow made an even bigger splash at the end of September, dealing away Randle and sharpshooter Donte DiVincenzo for multiple-time All-Star & All-NBA big, Karl-Anthony Towns.
The Knicks' newest star tandem: team captain Jalen Brunson and first-year Knick Karl-Anthony Towns.
That's a lot of star-powered turnover on one team for one offseason. As talented as the Knicks now appear to be on paper, I've watched the NBA long enough to know that team chemistry & cohesion takes time to build. It's not just perfected at the snap of a finger. Just because it can work on 2K right away does not mean the same happens in real life. The Towns deal happened at such a late point in the offseason that KAT wasn't even present for the Knicks' media day festivities. It should come as no surprise that the Knicks don't look like, well... the Boston Celtics right away.
But for a team that was quite literally built to beat Boston, with its brand new 5-out offense and formidable tandem of wing defenders in Bridges and Anunoby -- there is a ton of pressure on this Knicks team to perform extremely well this season. Anything short of the Eastern Conference Finals would largely be viewed as a disappointment. With that being said, looking at their 1-2 start to the season with a road matchup in Miami to come next on Wednesday could be producing some sweaty palms in New York already.
After suffering that spanking at the hands of the Celtics last week, the Knicks bounced back with an impressive 25-point victory against the Pacers in an early-season playoff rematch, holding MSG "villain" Tyrese Haliburton scoreless in the process. Bridges, who set off sirens & alarm bells across the entire NBA with a tweaked, hitchy jump shot that did not look good in a scoreless first half in Boston, bounced back with an efficient 21-point night in his regular season Madison Square Garden debut. KAT was excellent as well, matching Bridges' 21 points in addition to grabbing 15 boards & hitting a couple of threes.
Monday's home loss to the now 4-0 Cleveland Cavaliers told a different Knicks story, however. Bridges was inexplicably not featured in the 4th quarter after 3 more excellent quarters of play to start the night, and Towns couldn't get comfortable for the entirety of the night due to foul trouble and the defensive excellence of the Cavs' bigs, Evan Mobley & Jarrett Allen.
Cavaliers' Darius Garland sinks a floater in the midst of his dazzling 34-point display at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 28th.
We know one thing is true about the first week of the NBA season, every season: the difference in quality of play between the teams that have been together for a while vs the teams that still have some pieces to integrate is very apparent -- palpable, even. So while the Knicks clearly have some things to figure out, the Cavs have kicked off 2024-25 in really good fashion.
Cleveland is now in Year 3 of the Donovan Mitchell era, with his co-stars: Mobley, Allen, and backcourt mate Darius Garland all returning, now under the tutelage of new head coach Kenny Atkinson. Cleveland looks to field an elite defense once again (they rank 4th in scoring defense through the first week of the season) and are hopeful that leaps from their two young franchise cornerstones, Mobley and Garland, will help take them to the promised land. Garland had his best game of the young season last night at the Garden, pouring in 34 points on an ultra-efficient 12-19 shooting.
Which other teams have made good initial impressions besides the 4-0 Celtics and 4-0 Cavaliers?
The only other unbeaten team remaining lies in the Western Conference, and it's no shocker to anyone who that team is.
The Oklahoma City Thunder were, last season, one of the most impressive young teams I had ever laid eyes on. With all my years watching basketball, there was just something impressive -- machine-like -- about OKC. Their young core of Shai-Gilgeous Alexander, Chet Holmgren, and Jalen Williams are the envy of the NBA. Due to some shrewd maneuvering from team general manager Sam Presti, the Thunder aren't set up for sustained success just due to those three young dynamos. Presti has stockpiled first round picks in historic fashion -- owning a laughable amount of them over the next 8 years. And, somehow, the Thunder were still able to add elite role player talent this summer without parting with a single first-rounder. You're thinking what I'm thinking, right? Presti absolutely has to have pictures on somebody at this point.
OKC's Chet Holmgren capped an incredible two-way sequence with this emphatic dunk in the Thunder's win in Denver on Oct. 23rd. PHOTO CREDIT: MATTHEW STOCKMAN/GETTY IMAGES
That's right: the Thunder not only signed Isaiah Hartenstein away from the Knicks, but traded for two-way mercenary Alex Caruso, too. All it took was parting with former first-round selection Josh Giddey, who didn't fit into the team's long-term plans any longer, anyway. While Hartenstein will miss multiple weeks to start the season with a fractured hand, Caruso has played in each of OKC's first three victories to open the season. OKC opened with a loud 102-87 win @ Denver, led by ultra-dynamic two-way performances from SGA and Chet. Two proceeding blowout victories vs the Bulls and Hawks have the Thunder at an impressive +19.3 average scoring margin early on, trailing only the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors had a very, very, very weird offseason. First things first, they had a messy breakup with franchise legend, dynasty cornerstone, and shooter-extraordinaire Klay Thompson to start the summer off, as the 4-time champion left for the Dallas Mavericks in free agency. It looked as if they would rebound quickly, though, as they found themselves in trade talks with the LA Clippers for Paul George's services. When that eventually fell apart, they entered trade discussions yet again for yet another Western Conference All-Star, this time attempting to poach Lauri Markkanen from the Utah Jazz. After weeks of negotiation, talks between the Warriors and Jazz crumbled, as Markkanen signed a max value 5-year extension to remain in Utah. The Warriors were reportedly unwilling to part with First Team All-Rookie guard Brandin Podziemski, which killed any chance for a deal.
So, after the Warriors spent the bulk of their offseason swinging-and-missing on their home run targets, they decided to pivot to singles and doubles. Golden State signed role players Kyle Anderson & DeAnthony Melton to short, cheap deals, and did the same with Buddy Hield, hoping that the veteran sharpshooter could replace what had just walked out the door in Thompson. The Warriors blitzed the lowly Trail Blazers in Portland to open the season and then enjoyed another blowout road win vs the aforementioned Jazz, riding some good momentum into Sunday's home opener vs James Harden and the Clippers. Golden State's night was soured due to not one, but two separate Stephen Curry ankle sprains as they suffered their first loss of the season. Golden State is not at all built to survive any Curry long-term injury this season, but thankfully it appears that Curry's injury is minor. He'll miss the Dubs' next two games vs New Orleans and be reevaluated Friday.
Warriors' star Stephen Curry limps painfully off the court after injuring his ankle on Oct. 27th. PHOTO CREDIT: JOSE CARLOS FAJARDO/BAY AREA NEWS GROUP via AP
I brought up Klay's departure from the Bay and arrival to defending Western Conference champion Dallas earlier; he has fit well alongside Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving's elite shot creation ability in the Mavs' first three games; Thompson's scored 18+ in each game with 15 threes made in-total thus far. The Mavericks struggled mightily shooting above-the-break threes throughout their Finals loss to Boston in June -- I could think of no player better equipped to fix that issue than Klay Thompson. Keep an eye on the Mavs once again this year.
Joining the Mavericks and Warriors as 2-1 West teams: the Minnesota Timberwolves. I detailed how the Knicks have looked following the big trade earlier, but how has Minny looked with the arrivals of Randle and DiVincenzo? I'm not just saying the following for the sake of being bombastic nor hyperbolic: despite the fact that the Wolves gave up the best player in the deal in KAT, I think this trade was an A+ move for Minnesota on multiple fronts.
Not only is it great for their cap sheet in the new world of this current CBA by getting Towns' large contract off the books AND simultaneously getting two players on two of the very best value contracts in the league, but the Wolves now field a deeper, more balanced roster following the deal. Randle has been great in his first three games with Minnesota, sporting averages of 24.3 PPG, 7.7 RPG and 4.3 AST on an exceptional 63% on field goals and 54% on threes (although the odds of those shooting splits being sustainable are... low.) DiVincenzo has yet to get going so far, but considering he's fresh off setting the Knicks' single-season franchise record for made threes, I'd bet on him to turn it around, and quickly.
Timberwolves' Julius Randle is no stranger to gaudy regular-season statistics -- he's picked up right where he left off with the Knicks for Minnesota.
The Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Lakers entered 2024-25 in similar boats: two expensive, star-laden rosters who are each ushering in new head coaches following disappointing finishes last season. Both the Suns, led by Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal, and the Lakers, led by LeBron James & Anthony Davis, bowed out in the first round last season as lower West seeds.
The Suns, though, as evidenced by their 3-1 start, look to be more formidable this season under new coach Mike Budenholzer, who brings along with him his championship pedigree from Milwaukee. Phoenix's player acquisitions this summer included new starting PG Tyus Jones and first-round draft selection Ryan Dunn. Those two players have fit in like a glove early on, as Jones' presence in particular has inspired a more creatively-run offense.
In July, I penned a piece to The Recess Bell following the Lakers' unconventional hiring of JJ Redick. The move was a risky one, but an inspired one. And Redick's impact has absolutely been noticeable through week #1 of the season. Anthony Davis has looked like a completely different player offensively, as he's asserted himself with will and force while averaging 33/12/4 with 2 blocks a game. Above all else, the Lakers have committed themselves to shooting more threes -- no surprise when you consider their new head coach is one of the greatest shooters in league history. The Lakers will be a fun team to watch this season. I'm not going to say they're contenders yet, but if this Davis surge is real & sustainable, Los Angeles' ceiling will go up a few floors. Plus, you have the whole Bronny storyline to follow along with too. Fun!
Let's stay with the West, because this conference could legitimately be 13-deep with good-to-great teams, with only 10 postseason spots up for grabs. The Houston Rockets improved on the same group that went on a serious second-half surge last season, the San Antonio Spurs added Chris Paul to a young, talented roster that should help lift Victor Wembanyama to a strong sophomore season, and the Memphis Grizzlies have their superstar, Ja Morant back. Memphis' front office has always been elite at finding the diamonds in the rough, and so far, it looks like they've procured some more gems, as unheralded youngsters Scotty Pippen Jr. and Jay Huff have each made good early impressions for the Grizz.
The Grizzlies hope that the return of Ja Morant can help propel Memphis back towards the top of the Western Conference. PHOTO CREDIT: JUSTIN FORD/GETTY IMAGES
The East is not nearly as deep as the West -- expect 2 or even 3 teams to qualify for the Play-In Tournament with losing records. The Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, and Washington Wizards all look like improved clubs, though, for what it's worth. How much those teams have improved will be made known to us over the coming weeks. Even the Brooklyn Nets have caught my eye at times so far, as I've begun buying stock in their rookie head coach, Jordi Fernandez. I'm not gonna look their way too often, though, considering that Ben Simmons is still deathly afraid of the lay-up.
The conference will be a top-heavy one, with the Celtics, Knicks, and Cavaliers among the conference's elite. Don't you forget about the Orlando Magic, though. They aren't asking for anyone's attention anymore; they're starting to demand it, kicking off their season with a 116-97 boat-racing of the Miami Heat. At the forefront of Orlando's early success is third-year superstar in the making, Paolo Banchero. He's led the Magic to a 3-1 record with averages of 28.5 points and 9.2 rebounds -- he just dropped FIFTY on the Pacers last night, and made it look frighteningly easy too.
Have the Magic passed up East playoff teams like the Milwaukee Bucks & Indiana Pacers? How early is too early to panic? Both teams sit at 1-3, and as far as Milwaukee goes, it was important for them to get off to a good start this season after their epic collapse in the second half of last season. A few more Milwaukee losses and those sparse whispers of Giannis Antetokounmpo's discontent will start to turn into shouts and screams.
What of the Philadelphia 76ers as well? They received a lot of preseason hype following their huge-money free agency signing of Paul George (4 yr, $212M). George has yet to make his regular season debut for Philly, and neither has Joel Embiid for that matter either -- which has drawn the NBA's ire. George and Embiid's shared absence has led to an outsized offensive load for the Sixers' third star, Tyrese Maxey; who's averaging upwards of 31 points-per-game on a nasty 35% FG.
Hey, it's the NBA. It's never too soon for drama & storylines.
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