The New York Knicks are having a very good season with a 40-21 record, but it doesn’t feel that way given that they are 0-7 against the top three teams in the league. Their struggles were amplified lam when they lost back-to-back games against the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics in blowout fashion.
The Knicks’ defensive struggles make them not as imposing to other teams
Their offense has been one of the best in the league, but their defense has been the polar opposite. They have allowed the highest three-point percentage to their opponents at 37.5% and the fifth-highest field goal percentage at 47.5%.
As a result, Bleacher Report’s Dan Favale considers them to be fraudulent.
“Nearly three-quarters of the way through the regular season, we know who the New York Knicks are: a really good team that’s eons away from genuine championship contention,” Favale wrote.
Favale highlighted the aforementioned defensive problems as well as Karl-Anthony Towns’ defensive woes at the center position. The Knicks were without Mitchell Robinson all season until last Friday, so the hope is that his return will help give their defense a boost once he gets his conditioning back to 100%.
The Knicks have a lot of work to do to become true contenders
The Knicks have a very talented roster with Towns and Jalen Brunson leading the charge. New York was the only team to have two All-Star starters. Furthermore, they have some of the top role players in the league in Josh Hart, OG Anunoby, and Mikal Bridges.
However, their lack of scoring off the bench is another issue for them. They are dead last in bench points this season, which has forced the starters to play a surplus of minutes throughout the regular season, which is not ideal for when the postseason rolls around.
Anything could change between now and the playoffs, but it is clear the Knicks have a lot of work to do if they want to be on the same level as the consensus title contending teams.