Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Knicks to see future of East in Cleveland

NEW YORK -- LeBron James' much-anticipated return to the Cleveland Cavaliers will have an All-Star Game feel to it.

Kendrick Lamar and Imagine Dragons will perform pregame. Comedian Kevin Hart will provide the jokes.

And then the New York Knicks hope the laughs won't continue after they jump ball.

The Knicks looked like a joke in their season-opening 104-80 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday. Only two Knicks players (Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire) reached double figures in scoring as the team managed to turn the triangle into a punch line on Twitter.

Now with James on deck, readying to make up for all the hard feelings from his departure to Miami from Cleveland, the Knicks might as well be walking right into a buzz saw.

If Anthony was the slightest bit curious to see what he passed up on with the Bulls on Wednesday, he may not like this upcoming glimpse at what he will be chasing for the next several years in the East on Thursday.

“I am anxious to see myself and how I am going to bounce back and how we are going to bounce back,” Anthony said Wednesday night. “I am not worried about Cleveland and what LeBron and them guys have going on over there.

“I got to figure out what is going on over here with the New York Knicks.”

The harsh reality that Anthony and the rest of the Knicks will figure out is that they are already several laps behind the Cavaliers in the title race, for years to come.

By the time new team president Phil Jackson can get Melo some legitimate help, LeBron, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving could already have a championship ring or have at least gone through the necessary growing pains that title-contending teams often need to experience.

And assuming that Jackson is able to overhaul this roster next season and finds some difference-making reinforcements, Melo's new cast will have to learn the triangle and the Knicks will have to figure out how to play together in it all over again.

Think about how hard it is just learning it right now. You could actually see the Knicks thinking and overthinking when they were on offense against the Bulls. J.R. Smith said the Knicks stopped competing in the second half and “we put our heads down and tucked our tails” when they could sense the Bulls sinking their teeth in.

Now they try to match effort and desire with the best player on the planet on what figures to be an emotional night for him.

“I don’t think we should watch the news because it’s going to be everywhere, [stay] off the Internet,” Smith said on Wednesday about playing the Cavs. “It’s just a matter of staying focused or locked in. ... I don’t think we should get caught up in the hoopla.”

“Honestly, I don’t know [what to expect],” Smith said. “This is something I've never seen before. I mean, it’s almost like the Super Bowl for them, first game of the year -- so many acts, start the season off, comedians coming. I don’t know what to expect to be honest.”

It’s still very early. The Knicks have 80 more games after Thursday to figure out the triangle, get better and try to make the playoffs. And then from there, Jackson will try to earn his fortune by reshaping the roster.

With the Bulls and Lakers, Jackson always had the benefit of having the best player on the planet on his roster. Thursday, the Zen Master will see what it's like on the other side of those matchups.

The Knicks’ rebuilding process feels like it will be even slower and more tedious than expected. It feels like it will take years to get to where they want to be.

Meanwhile, James starts his new dynasty Thursday night in Cleveland. The Knicks just hope they won’t play the role of the Washington Generals on his big night.

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