The New York Knicks opened their season with a lot of jitters, which was something to be expected from the NBA’s youngest team.  The fans were excited for it being opening night, Lance Thomas addressing the crowd and motivational videos from Coach Fizdale.  It was certainly an exciting start to this new regime.
However, the offense in the first quarter was very sloppy, but the defense kept them in the game.  Fizdale wanted the team to be tough on defense which in return would translate to fast breaks and easy buckets.  There was only tough defense in the first quarter, but no offense. The only highlight on offense was Noah Vonleh playing tough one both sides of the court.  Everyone struggled and the Knicks were down by two, and then the second quarter happened.
The jitters went away and the offense exploded, literally, scoring 49 points in the second quarter, highest second quarter in franchise history.  What team is this?!?  The Warriors?  Wow.  Leading the way was Tim Hardaway Jr.  After starting 0-4 from the field, he caught fire by taking the ball to the basket to get him going then poured in 22 points first half points.  Timmy is fantastic at taking it to the basket and that’s how he needs to start every game.  The questionable factor for him is consistency.
Trey Burke had 12 of his 15 points in the 2nd and Allonzo Trier came off the bench to add 9 of his 15 points.  Kevin Knox struggled badly to find the bottom of the bucket, but he wasn’t afraid to take shots since Fizdale wanted him to be aggressive.
But, the defense is what led the Knicks to those 49 second quarter points. They took any type of momentum the Hawks might have had in the first quarter and crushed it.  The defense was tough, gritty and in their faces.  Exactly was Fizdale wanted.  We had turnovers, hands every where, diving to the ball, I mean my god.  In return, all the rebounds and tip passes led to fast breaks and man did they like to push the ball and it got the Garden jumping.  Fizdale wanted his players to be conditioned to push the ball and they certainly looked in shape.
As for the second half, the Knicks came out in the third quarter a little sluggish and sloppy. Â The Hawks went on a run cutting a 26 point lead to 13. Â However, the Knicks quickly turned it around and regained their mojo on defense. Â Timmy remained hot finishing 31 points, Trier had a monstrous dunk, igniting the crowd. Â Clearly he was a crowd favorite this opening night.
Enes Kanter had a nice start to the season with a classic double-double, 16 and 11 Â Vonleh also has a double-double, 12-10, who had a impressive debut for the Knicks. Â Frank overall played solid, was aggressive and had solid defense as always. Super Mario Hezonja took over the fourth quarter with 12 of his 15 points. Â He was getting crafty driving the lane and had some impressive outside shooting.
Overall, that was fun.  The new look Knicks looked good and youthful, blowing out the Hawks 126-107.  Fans couldn’t have asked for more on this opening night.  The team did exactly what their new head coach wanted, they were aggressive on both sides of the ball, especially on defense.  The defense was intense, leading to fast breaks and a lot of points.  The Knicks made basketball fun again, at least for one night in New York.  Let’s see if it can continue Friday at Brooklyn.