New York Knicks captain Jalen Brunson convened a players-only meeting following Monday night’s home defeat to the Dallas Mavericks, sources told ESPN. The gathering addressed mounting concerns after the team dropped its ninth contest in 11 outings.
Brunson delivered a pointed message to his teammates that solutions to their January struggles must come from within the locker room, not from the coaching staff, sources tell ESPN. The directive came as New York’s early-season momentum has evaporated dramatically.
The Knicks opened the campaign with a 23-9 record and captured the NBA Cup, but have since tumbled to 25-18. Their offensive production has cratered in January, ranking among the league’s bottom five units during the month.
Madison Square Garden fans voiced their displeasure loudly as the home team entered halftime trailing 75-45. The lopsided deficit prompted Brunson’s frank postgame assessment.
“As a team we know what we have to do,” Brunson told reporters. “It’s either we do it, we care enough to do it, or we don’t.”
Brunson’s concerns ran deep enough to warrant the closed-door session. He stressed to teammates that reversing their fortunes required internal accountability rather than relying on adjustments from the sideline.
Josh Hart echoed the sentiment of urgency following the loss.
“We all need to do some soul-searching,” Hart said. “Right now we’re playing embarrassing basketball. We’re not executing on the offensive end. Defensively, we’ve been abysmal. We’ve been terrible defensively all year.”
New York’s defensive shortcomings have plagued them throughout the entire season, though their recent offensive breakdown has accelerated the decline. The contrast between their 23-9 start and current 2-9 stretch highlights the severity of their regression.
“What I’ve heard is they’ve got to make this work,” said Ramona Shelburne on NBA Today about the possibility of changing up the roster ahead of the deadline.