The New York Knicks are in the midst of a potentially catastrophic midseason collapse. They have dropped eight of their last 10 games, the first time since the 2019-20 season that they endured a 2-8 stretch in the middle of the regular season.
The Knicks are falling apart
This is becoming more than just a prolonged slump. The flaws of this current group are being exposed with each passing game, and some of these weaknesses may not be fixable unless trades happen.
The Knicks are third in the Eastern Conference currently, but are only two games out of the play-in. Before this slide, they were poised to push the Detroit Pistons for a chance at the 1 seed. Now, they find themselves fighting to stay in playoff position,
The defense has been the most concerning part of this team over this stretch. Only the Utah Jazz have a worse defensive rating than them since the new year began, and they have had their ups and downs on the offensive end as well.
The Knicks lack consistency all around
Against the Phoenix Suns on Saturday, they showed some physicality on defense for once, but they couldn’t buy a bucket down the stretch. Against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday, their offense was clicking, but their defense was nowhere to be found following the midway point of the first quarter.
The team simply can’t find its footing on either end of the floor, and the trends are becoming more concerning as they continue to drop games. It isn’t panic mode yet, but it’s definitely time to start addressing the flaws of this team, as they are heading in the wrong direction.
Monday against the Dallas Mavericks needs to be a get right game for them. Hopefully they will have Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart back on the floor for that game, but they need to come out with greater energy in order to get themselves back on track.