There’s no sugarcoating it; the New York Knicks have struggled mightily against the top teams in the league. Against the Celtics, Cavaliers, and Thunder this season, they are 0-7, with nearly every loss being a blowout defeat.
The Knicks have struggled mightily against the league’s top teams
Their struggles against those teams became more profound last weekend when they suffered back-to-back blowout defeats against the Cavaliers and Celtics on the road. The gap between the Knicks and the top teams in the league is significant, and big changes need to be forthcoming if they want to close that gap.
Knicks’ superstar point guard Jalen Brunson didn’t hold back when discussing the situation on his Roommate’s Show podcast with teammate Josh Hart.
“The frustrating part about all this is we have what it takes, we have the personnel, we have everything we need in that locker room. We’ve just gotta put it together,” Brunson said (h/t New York Daily News’ Kristian Winfield). “The X’s and O’s and all that stuff. That’s an easy fix. But the amount of times we’ve been embarrassed on national television, that should ring a bell. That should be a wake-up call in itself, not just for those games, but for the rest of the season. We’ve gotta wake the hell up.”
The Knicks’ defensive problems have led to bad on-court results
To Brunson’s point, the Knicks certainly have the personnel to match up with the top teams in the league. However, they are still not fully in sync on either end of the floor, especially on the defensive end. New York has given up the highest three-point field goal percentage to their opponents this season at 38%, and that has been a big factor in their struggles.
Brunson and fellow All-Star Karl-Anthony Towns have helped transform the team’s offense, but neither player is intimidating on the defensive end. Despite having Mikal Bridges and OG Anunoby on the floor together, teams have exposed the holes in the defense created by Brunson and Towns, which has led to poor defensive results overall.
The Knicks have big aspirations this year, and if they want to reach those goals, they have to improve defensively. Luckily, their defensive anchor, Mitchell Robinson, is expected to return sometime this weekend. His return will give the Knicks more flexibility to play lineups with better defense, which will hopefully solve a lot of their current problems.
New York has their next game against a formidable Western Conference opponent, as they head to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies for a Friday night showdown.