In a metropolis known for its music, the Pelicans were sharp while the Knicks played a double-flat

John Starks had a pretty good 1994 Finals. Nobody really remembers anymore, but from Game 2 through Game 6 of that series, Starks made 49% of his shot attempts, including 45% from 3-point range. By ‘90s standards, a 49/45 shooting slash made you Steph Curry.

Nobody remembers those games because of their bookends. Those Finals began with the Knick guard shooting a pretty lousy 3-of-18 from the field and ended with his infamous 2-of-18 in Game 7, including missing all 11 threes. Nobody remembers Starks as the sum of those struggles because that wasn’t the end of his story. Six months later in his first game back at the scene of the crime, Starks shot 9-of-17 and made all three of his threes in a Knicks blowout win in Houston. Two seasons after, he was Sixth Man of the Year. He remains a beloved Knick to this day. If you bottom out but bounce back, you’ve shown strength.

Last night in New Orleans, the 2023-24 Knicks spent the first half shooting like Bad Bookend Starks. They were 2-of-17 from deep, and if you just woke from a 10-year coma, first all, welcome back! And secondly, 3-pointers are no longer icing on the cake for NBA offenses; they’re the flour, the eggs and the sugar. No single aspect of the game today seems to be as important as winning the 3-point disparity. 

Compounding the Knicks’ bricks was the Pelicans shooting like Good Middle Games Starks. The Bayou Boys made nearly half their threes in the opening half; New Orleans rookie Jordan Hawkins made more by himself than the Knicks — especially problematic given that the Pels’ Big 3 were all biggin’ it. Sometimes all together.

CJ McCollum, Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson combined for 34 points and nine assists in a hyper-efficient first half. McCollum’s tally included a couple of threes and three steals. Ingram looked a lot like the all-around star he was for much of last season. As for Zion . . .

Look at the combination of skills that go into this man discarding three defenders on that play. Dyson Daniels, guarded by Josh Hart, looks like he’s going to set a pick for Zion at the free-throw line. Instead Daniels slips the pick and Zion’s defender, Julius Randle, switches to Daniels, leaving Hart, a good defender, on Williamson. With a quick crossover, Zion leaves Hart in his dust, then leaps in the air. His back foot is literally only a couple of inches beyond the free throw line when he takes off, yet Randle in his wake; despite taking off with his back foot mere inches in front of the free throw line, Zion is airborne above the restricted area when Isaiah Hartenstein comes rising up like the Kraken from Hotel Transylvania. I-Hart can do naught but admire Zion’s finger roll as it swishes through the net.

The Pelicans were up 18 at the break. The Knicks cut it as close as six in the second half, but the continued weight of Ingram and Zion’s production plus one of the worst officiated games I’ve seen in 34 years watching the Knicks was too much to overcome. Plus the Knicks pretty much were a monolith of ewwww. Randle and Jalen Brunson combined to shoot 8-of-29; Julius gave new meaning to “eight is enough” with an octet of turnovers. Quentin Grimes continued to not break loose, if one can be said to continue not doing something. Donte DiVincenzo gives poor man’s Starks vibes when he’s good, but last night there were a few notes of Chaotic Alexey Shved in there. Nor was it Hart’s finest hour. The Knicks were ultimately the victims of what won them the game Friday in Atlanta, a night they could not miss from deep through three quarters. Last night they were 7-of-37 on threes. Halloween’s less scary than that shit.

It was a loss, one of dozens we’ll endure this season. Nobody likes being 1-2, and you can literally smell the panic wafting in from the wackier corners of Knicks Nation, where some have apparently never seen Randle play poorly for half a week while others think the league already has Brunson figured out. But the Knicks opened the season with three games in four nights – including a back-to-back, both on the road – against a title contender in Boston, a decent side in Atlanta and a plus team in the West (when healthy) in New Orleans. The Pelicans had the past two nights off; following an abbreviated preseason, the Knicks looked less springy from the jump. Their next three games will again be three in four nights, this time even tougher: a home-and-home with Cleveland followed by a trip to Milwaukee. After that comes the Clippers, the Wembanyama Spurs, the Hornets and a visit to Boston.

Last night was hard to watch, unless you’re developed enough as a Knicks fan to have spent your time admiring all the ways a healthy Zion warps the spacetime continuum. But it was a loss. Just a loss. All that matters now is what comes next. That’d be the Cavs, in Cleveland, Halloween night. Maybe a more rested Knicks team can stir up the ghosts of last spring and get back to winning. Until then, remember: early days, these are. There’s an ocean of games still to cross. The Knicks figure to bounce back and are nowhere near bottomed out. The season waits to be written. Hope lives. Keep dreaming.