What is going on with the New York Knicks defense?
By Adam Kester
The New York Knicks have cooled off in the first few days of November.
After a 5-1 start, two consecutive losses to the Toronto Raptors and Indiana Pacers have taken the wind out of the Knicks’ sails. It’s early in the season, but there seems to be a growing sense of urgency to make sure that the losing and lack of defense doesn’t start to become a trend.
New York Knicks: Where is the defense?
A full-blown panic mode overreaction isn’t necessary for this New York Knicks team, but fans have every right to question the team’s defense right now.
This is a team built on a defensive reputation that they established last season.
Tom Thibodeau, a longtime defensive guru in the NBA, brought the same intense defense he has been renowned for in his long coaching career to the New York Knicks in his first season as their head coach.
While New York’s offense started out on fire and the team sits at a solid 5-3, the defense has fallen off of a cliff… so far.
There’s no reason to believe the team won’t improve on defense, but we’re not talking about going from a top-3 defensive team to a top-5 — NY has fallen near the bottom of the league in certain categories.
So what is going wrong for NY’s defense? Can they adjust and get back to where they were?