26 Oct. 2016– The 2016-2017 NBA season is finally underway. Cleveland hosted the new-look New York Knicks after dropping their championship banner, and receiving their rings. After a competitive first half, the defending champs pulled away to defeat the Knicks 117-88 thanks to Kyrie’s 3rd quarter surge.
Happy and healthy, Carmelo came in hot, scoring 11 of the Knicks 18 first quarter points. Derrick Rose, and Kristaps Porzingis got things going in the second quarter to bring it within two to close out the half after . The third quarter was all about Kyrie Irving. His 19-point explosion put the game away before the start of the 4th quarter. Add that to LeBron‘s triple double, who is no joke still in finals form, and that’s all she wrote. Kevin Love earned some love with a Minnesota-like performance with his 23 points, and 12 rebounds.
Now with that being said, there’s no need for panic in the Big Apple. This is a new team that coming into last night, hadn’t played a single game together. Plus, they were playing the reigning, defending champs in the Cleveland Cavaliers. They have the talent, and finally have a decent coach, all that’s missing is some chemistry. Joakim Noah still isn’t 100% healthy, Rose is fresh off a messy lawsuit, and Courtney Lee is still finding his place in this offense. Look for them to improve as the season rolls on.
Bottom line, Cleveland’s big three looked phenomenal last night. Love looked very comfortable, LeBron looked like LeBron, and Kyrie was beyond filthy. If Uncle Drew can play like this on a consistent basis, he can most certainly place himself in the mix for MVP. Meanwhile, New York will look to get their first win of the season as they host the Memphis Grizzlies in their home opener this Saturday. Cleveland on the other hand travel to Toronto on Friday to face the Raptors in an Eastern Conference Finals rematch.
Article by: Nick Husni
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