Knicks’ inconsistency continues to be glaring issue in loss to Celtics
After losing in last night’s matchup against the Boston Celtics, the Knicks have now lost four out of their last five games amid a rocky start to the season. This was a tough loss as most of the Knicks’ starting lineup played very well.
This was just one of those games where the opposing team was just simply better and there was not much that New York could do about it. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are both elite players that the Knicks simply could not stop.
Regardless, many disappointing factors in this game led to the loss regarding the team’s bench, which combined shot 11-for-27 from the field and just all around did not look very good.
Knicks need to be more consistent if they want to experience a high volume of winning
So far this season, we have seen the Knicks struggle with consistency, whether it be the starters or the bench. This has cost the team big time throughout their first nine games. The biggest culprits have been both Julius Randle and RJ Barrett.
Randle started the season off hot with some strong performances, however, he has since cooled down and has looked quite rough. He played much better against the Celtics last night though, dropping 29 points, nine rebounds, and two assists while shooting 10-for-19 from the field and 3-for-7 from deep.
The Knicks need Randle to keep this level of play up. He does not necessarily need to score 29 points every game, but just reach a level of consistency where he can drop 20+ points a game on solid efficiency. When Randle’s shots are not falling and he becomes the black hole offensively, New York struggles big time.
As for Barrett, he has kind of had the opposite start to that of Randle. He started the season cold but has been heating up. This was shown against Boston as Barrett dropped 27 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
We have seen Barrett go on runs of scoring a high volume of points on good efficiency, however, the biggest issue in his career so far has been how inconsistent he has been when scoring the ball. This, in a similar fashion to Randle, has really cost New York so far this season.
Both Barrett and Randle must be more consistent as the season goes on. I’m not blaming them for this loss, as they both played tremendously. However, the Knicks will not make it very far if these two can’t turn things around.
What has been causing the Knicks a lot of problems early on in the season has been their lack of a consistent starting shooting guard. While Evan Fournier was New York’s starter throughout the first seven games, his poor play caused him to be benched for Quentin Grimes. However, Grimes’ injury problem this season caused him to miss Saturday’s game against the Celtics, which led to Cam Reddish starting.
Reddish played some solid defense this game, however, his 1-for-6 shooting split in 37 minutes is unacceptable. That brings me back to the main point of this article, which is the lack of consistency.
In all honesty, the Knicks may be the most inconsistent team in the league. In one game, the team looks absolutely elite and unstoppable, and in the next, players like Randle, Barrett, and Fournier all struggle to hit their shots.
If the Knicks truly want to experience a high volume of wins this season, they must be more consistent. Obviously, this is hard to do, as it has always been the biggest issue with this team. However, great teams prevail when faced with adversity, and if the Knicks want to prove themselves, they must play better.
