"The New York Knicks, beautiful NBA Cup champions of December, have drifted toward the toilet. After winning the midseason trophy amid a 23-9 start, they have gone 2-9 in the weeks since. Monday night at Madison Square Garden, a severely undermanned Dallas Mavericks squad racked up 75 first-half points, and the home team, trailing by 28 points, was getting booed vigorously by their own fans."
"If we're playing crappy, boo. If I were in the stands, I'd probably boo too," said Knicks head coach Mike Brown, who seems to have lost control of a roster that he was orchestrating deftly in the first few months of the season. Brown is scrambling for answers, but there are suddenly far too many questions. The Knicks have fallen apart on both sides of the floor during this calamitous 11-game stretch, where they have the 28th-ranked defensive rating and 25th-ranked offensive rating."
"Karl-Anthony Towns has been a useful scapegoat, simply because his flaws are more conspicuous than his teammates', but even that doesn't tell the full story. He doesn't get up many threes despite being his entire value proposition; he has the worst understanding of the ref's whistle, on both offense and defense, of any player I've ever watched; and he is supine on the court more often than one would like."
The New York Knicks won the NBA Cup in December and began the season 23-9, then plunged into an 11-game stretch with a 2-9 record. The team ranks 28th in defensive rating and 25th in offensive rating during the skid. Injuries have been minimal, yet Josh Hart and Jalen Brunson have struggled even after returning. A 114-97 loss to an undermanned Dallas team featured 75 first-half points for Dallas and loud boos at Madison Square Garden. Coach Mike Brown publicly acknowledged poor play at halftime and demanded players "do your job." Karl-Anthony Towns has drawn criticism for limited three-point attempts, poor foul awareness and frequent passivity on the court.
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