The New York Knicks have hit rock bottom. Possibly. As if the losing couldn’t get any worse, they fell to a team that was without several key players on Monday in embarrassing fashion, losing to the Dallas Mavericks at home 97-114.
They have now lost nine of their last 11 games, and this stretch is becoming increasingly alarming as the skid doesn’t seem likely to end any time soon.
The Knicks came out completely unprepared against the Mavericks
The effort level of the Knicks has been a concerning trend over the course of this past month, and it was as poor as it could be against Dallas. From the opening jump, they had no juice on either end of the floor, and they got pummeled as a result.
Dallas couldn’t miss in the first half, mostly because New York played bad defense, again. The Mavericks carried a 28-point lead into halftime, and at one point pushed the lead to 30.
Max Christie gave the Knicks problems from the perimeter. He finished with 26 points and shot an absurd 8-for-10 from three, just crushing New York with his shot-making and giving no mercy.
New York didn’t trim the deficit below 20 until the fourth quarter, but by then it was too late. They didn’t do their job in any facet, and they have a lot that needs to be fixed heading into their next game.
The Knicks’ offense had no life
Despite having a fully healthy roster, the Knicks couldn’t generate anything on the offensive end against the Mavericks. Their offensive attack was bad from start to finish, with virtually no creativity occurring.
The Knicks didn’t make a three-pointer until the second quarter, and they shot just 9-for-31 from outside the arc on the night. Only three Knicks scored in double figures, and they were just 40% from the field.
Shooting woes have been a problem during this recent skid. The ball movement has stalled, and turnovers continue to hurt them. Whatever the issue is, it has to change quickly.
The Knicks are in serious trouble
New York is in some bad territory right now. With the way things are looking, a massive shake up could be on the horizon, which is unprecedented given where they were at the start of the season.
The Knicks have not been clicking in any way recently, and while it is still too early to panic, there is real cause for concern. Nothing has worked for them over this stretch, and they couldn’t even get the job done with a fully healthy roster.
They have the Brooklyn Nets up next, and things could potentially look a lot different leading up to that game.