The Knicks horrific 48 minutes of basketball last night was not due to fatigue. It was not due to it being the end of a long road trip. It was not due to Karl-Anthony Towns not touching the ball enough or Jalen Brunson’s inability to successfully read double teams. It was the very essence of what this team has been for the last month or so. They have not looked like the effective on both ends of the floor championship level contenders they were since early March, where they steamrolled the blazing Spurs and the strong Nuggets.

To give the Knicks credit, they have been very good at one thing over this stretch of games which was something we’ve seen dating back to last season. They have been consistently terrible at starting games. So terrible in fact, that it is starting to seem like a skill. Last night’s game was no different. They found themselves down 12-1 and then proceeded to make a run to cut it to 22-5. This was due in part to another consistent skill they have had dating back to the Thibs Regime, the awful three point line defense. It was a coming out party for the Rockets role players, who saw Tari Eason and Reed Shepard light on fire early on. And they seemed to never let up.

Knicks were able to cut it to 4 early in the second quarter due to the two man game of Jose Alvarado and Karl-Anthony Towns. Especially, due to the lack of shot creation once Kevin Durant went to the bench for Houston. However, the lead ballooned back up to almost twenty points and the Knicks were running up hill the rest of the game. Brunson was inefficient, KAT was moping, OG and Mikal weren’t defending or scoring, and Mr. Mike “Hands In His Pockets” Brown never adjusted. An overall stinker performance for the struggling so-called contenders.

The Knicks have six games left in the regular season and it seems that the bad habits that have plagued this team for the last two to three years are intensifying. We have our second best player being benched in games as well as speaking out many times throughout the year and even now about not knowing his role on the team. At times looking unstoppable and super capable of a championship run, and at others, struggling to a few possession game wins against draft lottery competition. On paper, a Superstar guard in Brunson, All Star big man in KAT, supposed Two-way wings in OG and Mikal, and an ultimate role player in Josh Hart along with strong bench depth would be more than enough to be a successful contender. However, they show us time and time again: maybe it’s not?!

While there are basketball reasons due to the inefficiencies and weaknesses of this team, one can’t help but thin: What stinks in that locker room? Maybe it’s KAT’s attitude and unwillingness to buy in fully to his apparent “unknown” role on this team. Or it could be Mikal’s entitlement and lack of an ability to be coachable. It’s possibly OG’s wanting of a larger role in the offense, or Josh Hart’s unwillingness to come off the bench. Maybe Mike Brown hates Karl-Anthony Towns? But most of all, something that has become apparent in this season has been the disconnect between our star players. Jalen Brunson and KAT are not clicking. 

Perhaps, the only one-two punch in NBA history that are better playing separately in a game than together. Almost 150 games together, and they still have not developed a pick and roll/pick and pop game that they can form to memory. A lot of questions are surrounding this team right now, and they all start with those two. Can the Knicks turn it around and “flip a switch” for a championship run? Well that remains to be seen, but if this stretch of games and especially last night are any indication of what’s to come then that “championship window” is officially sealed shut.