The New York Knicks kicked off their season with a loss to the rival Boston Celtics. Knicks forward Julius Randle identified one significant reason why his team fell 108-104 at home, and it's nothing something he sees as something that needs tweaking.

“We just missed shots. The basket had a lid on it. But those are shots that we’ll take and we’ll make,” Randle said in regard to New York's struggles to put the ball in the basket from up close, per The Athletic's Fred Katz.

It was a lid that was sealed tightly for the Knicks, who shot just 12-for-43 in the paint, a horrendous 28% clip.

Another obstacle to the Knickerbockers scoring from in close was old friend Kristaps Porzingis, who had a banner debut for the Celtics.

Porzingis, the Knicks' 2015 first-round pick (fourth overall) blocked four shots and grabbed eight rebounds for Boston and protected the rim exceptionally. He also poured in 30 points, the most ever in a Celtics debut, per ESPN Stats and Info.

The big man from Latvia broke a 101 tie with 1:29 to play, draining a three-pointer to give the Celtics a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Porzingis was happy to be back at Madison Square Garden in a different uniform, saying after the game that it was “an awesome feeling to come back now being a Celtic and play here. Even getting booed and getting all that, it’s still cool, I really like that and enjoyed that.”

If this is the sort of performance the Celtics can expect from Porzingis night in and night out, the NBA is officially on notice: Boston is a title contender.