Despite being the closest thing to a consensus pick to win the Eastern Conference, the New York Knicks just received a gigantic reality check: other NBA teams aren’t worried about them.
And Karl-Anthony Towns is one of the main reasons why.
But in reality, it seems to be the defense as a whole.
Speaking on the latest episode of The Zach Lowe ShowZach Lowe relayed some troubling opinions from across the league. “I don’t hear a lot of people from other Eastern Conference teams expressing a lot of fear about the Knicks,” he explains, around the 56:16 mark. “Their offense is unquestionably very good. It’s their defense and general lack of confidence in KAT to make smart decisions in high-leverage moments.”
Lowe goes on to note that he thinks the critics lean too heavily on Towns’ own flaws. He’s shown a higher level of skill over his last two postseasons, including last year’s lead-up to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Knicks.
Yet the broader aspects of this criticism hit hard, if not too narrowly. The Knicks defense is problematic. And while that can be fixed, New York is currently playing like a team determined to prove their detractors right.
The Knicks defense has reached a breaking point
Since beating the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Cup quarterfinals, the Knicks rank in the bottom five points allowed per possession. Their biggest problems are essentially the same as ever and manifest on a larger scale.
New York’s point-of-attack defense is shaky after Deuce McBride. Three-point fences are inconsistent. Overall perimeter rotations are lackluster. Everything, at any time, seems to depend on OG Anunoby reaching superhuman levels of disruption and cover for others. Opposing teams will deviate from fundamental offensive principles just to poke and prod not only KAT, but Jalen Brunson.
Watch the Knicks long enough and you can sense the lack of self-questioning they instill in other players. As Lowe also notes, their most recent loss to the San Antonio Spurs catalyzed external skepticism. Even without Victor Wembanyama on the court in the fourth quarter, they split New York, posting a 172.7 offense and winning the final quarter by eight points. These margins matter in a two-point game.
The Knicks have somewhat viable excuses to struggle outside of this marquee game. Josh Hart and Mitchell Robinson have each missed at least three games during this stretch. McBride recently returned home. Rotation isn’t just fraught with experimentation amid a rotating cast. Until these last few games, the focus was on the development of young players.
That doesn’t do much to assuage concerns, largely because the overall worry is the same as ever: New York is trying to see if it can reliably field a competent defense while being built around Towns and Brunson.
As hard as it may seem, the answer so far this season is no. The Knicks’ five most-used lineups are considered below-average defensive units. Only one of them ranks above the 31st percentile. Combinations with JB and KAT are in the 28th percentile of points allowed per possession and are scorched both at the rim and beyond the arc.
The last step is particularly disturbing. Only three of the Knicks’ last 11 outings have come against top-10 offenses. Their defense ranks in the bottom five anyway. Even if Hart and Robinson miss time, it’s not something anyone, anywhere can just write off.
New York can’t ignore the rest of the NBA’s message
Difficult periods are part and parcel of an 82-game schedule. The Knicks are in a rut. They are not damned for eternity.
Some issues will be resolved. New York isn’t a bottom-five defensive team, flaws and all. More importantly, Towns alone isn’t the team’s biggest problem. He has issues up and down the depth chart, including on the offensive end.
At the very least, this league-wide sentiment should be treated as a reality check. The Knicks do not have the margin of error to disengage defensively, and still compete for a title.
Whether it’s an internal roster move or a trade for another member of the top-eight rotation, something big needs to change. Otherwise, New York will continue to oscillate in this area between good and great, always better than most, but not compelling enough to be considered – and feared – as an inner circle title threat.
