The New York Knicks' unofficial start to their title defense campaign certainly didn't go as planned after they were blown out 120-97 by the Philadelphia 76ers, but New York's biggest star isn't sounding the alarm bells yet. 

Preseason at it's core isn't meant to be reflective of how a team will actually perform during the regular season and beyond, as it's more about young players getting their reps in and veterans getting back up to speed.

But it's hard to look at such a lopsided score against the team that will likely give the Knicks the hardest time this season and not be worried.

Still, guard Jalen Brunson remains happy with what he saw out of the Knicks despite the disappointing result and is focused on what can be learned from the preseason matchup, rather than panic about the final score. 

"It's a good first step. Not a great first step, but as long as we're making strides in the right direction, it's something to be happy about. Still a lot for us to learn and be better at early," Brunson said (via SNY Knicks). 

True to the tradition of the preseason format, neither team's starting five were primarily involved in the game. Brunson himself played just 15 minutes, though he led the team in scoring with 12 points on 4-8 shooting from the field and added four rebounds and three assists. 

The Knicks with the lion's share of the minutes were instead fringe players like forward Mohammed Diawara and guard Tyler Kolek, who both tied for the team lead with 17 minutes played each. 

On the other side, the 76ers did involve more of their starters and upper-tier role players. Guard/forward Jaylen Brown played 17 minutes as he gets acclimated to his new team and impressed with a game-leading 22 points, shooting 8-13 from the field and adding two rebounds, two assists and a block. 

Guard Labaraon Philon Jr. tied for the Philadelphia lead in minutes played with 25 and guard Caleb love was close behind with 24 minutes played. Love made the most of his minutes with 15 points scored while shooting 4-10 from the field. 

The story of the game was Brown's breakout performance, emphasized even more by the absence of 76ers stars Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and LeBron James, but the way that the projected Philadelphia bench impressed says more about both teams than anything else. 

The biggest question surrounding New York's roster is the team's general lack of depth, which was made even more apparent by how much the 76ers bench outplayed the Knicks bench. 

Remaining effective when the starters are out will be the biggest challenge for the Knicks and for head coach Mike Brown as the season goes on and suffering such a blowout in the first game back will give the Knicks a lot of lessons to reflect on going forward. 

As much as Brunson isn't worried about the first game back, he and the rest of his team know that there is a long way to go before they're back in midseason form.