As the New York Knicks got trounced at home by the depleted Dallas Mavericks, more boos rained down on the players by their home faithful. It was the second straight game that there were very noticeable boos from the crowd, and it was perfectly symbolic of the way the team has played recently.
Knicks’ struggles have hit rock bottom
They are just 2-9 in their last 11 games, and each time they seem to be breaking out of it, they find a way to take another embarrassing loss. After starting off the season so well, they look like a completely different team. A broken team.
“I’d be booing us too. Straight up,” Jalen Brunson said following the loss to the Mavs on Monday (h/t SNY).
The energy is completely different than it was when they began the season 23-9 and won the NBA Cup. Players and coaches don’t seem to be on the same page, and there’s a clear disconnect about what each other’s role is supposed to be.
Knicks owner James Dolan never returned to his seat after halftime of Monday’s loss, when the team headed to the locker room facing a stunning 28-point deficit, their biggest halftime deficit of the season. That is usually not a good sign, and a big shakeup could soon be brewing.
Frustrations are at a peak
Right now, the Knicks seemingly have no answers for how to get out of this slide. Each passing game, they take another beating that didn’t feel possible given their recent play, but nothing on the court has changed over the past month.
They need to find some rhythm and energy fast, or else they will enter dangerous territory in the standings. As frustration continues to mount, they need to regroup and stick together as a team to find a way to get back to winning.
“It’s frustrating,” head coach Mike Brown said Monday (h/t SNY). “It’s frustrating to me, it’s frustrating to every person in that locker room. We all can’t get it back by thinking we’re gonna go score or go get this many shots. We have to embrace doing the little things. Right now, we’re not.”