The Boston Celtics' dominant run is far from over

The big, bad New York Knicks didn't look so big and bad on Tuesday night.

New York spent its offseason putting together one of the league's most intimidating starting lineups, acquiring Karl-Anthony Towns from the Minnesota Timberwolves and Mikal Bridges from the Brooklyn Nets and putting them alongside Jalen Brunson, OG Anunoby and Josh Hart.

But the Knicks were completely exposed in their season opener against the Celtics, ending up on the wrong end of a 132-109 loss in which Boston hit 29 triples (on 61 attempts), tying an NBA single-game record.

Anunoby struggled the most, scoring just four points on 1 of 7 shooting from the field in 34 minutes of play. Bridges scored 16 points in his debut, while Towns had 12 and seven rebounds.

Chances are the Celtics had a little more momentum after watching an 18th banner rise to the rafters before the game began, but still, it was an embarrassing performance by a New York team that was once considered a title contender. Cities ended up in the Big Apple.

There will already be critics who say it's time for the Knicks to hit the panic button. As we know, many fans and analysts like to overreact, even though we haven't reached Game 2 of 82 yet.

The Knicks will be fine, however. What we really need to talk about is how good Boston really is.

If any team is capable of putting together a dynastic run right now, it's the Celtics. Beating New York like they did on Tuesday is one thing, but doing so with big man Kristaps Porzingis in a suit watching from the bench is next level.

Based on last season's title race and what we saw against the Knicks, it's really hard to imagine anyone being able to beat Boston in a seven-game series. Apart from that, a lot can still happen between now and April. Trades, injuries, other teams finding their rhythm – the Celtics won't just peacefully skip their way to the Finals again.

What makes Boston even more palatable is the fact that the front office is focused on keeping its core intact. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown could end up spending their entire careers in green and white, and they'll have Jrue Holiday and Derrick White by their side until at least 2026-27. Porzingis is under contract through the 2025-26 season.

And we have to appreciate what these five guys are doing right now.

Admittedly, all of this is very easy for me to say. I grew up in Massachusetts, now live in Boston, and once had to *try* to suit up for a 25-57 Celtics team in 2013-14 that relied pretty heavily on Gerald Wallace.

Although Boston never experienced a long, painful playoff drought, it always came close to the finish line until last season. So is it a real possibility to now have a window in which two, three, maybe even four championships take place?

Man, this is something special.

Of course, it's always easy to get elated after a bang on opening night. The next five-plus years will be a marathon, not a sprint.

But on Tuesday, the Celtics showed the league that they are still the team to beat. Not the Knicks. Not the Philadelphia 76ers. Nobody in the West. The Celtics. And they're not going anywhere anytime soon.