Following their blowout victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday, the Knicks were given a taste of their own medicine in their crosstown rivalry game against the Brooklyn Nets in a 112-85 defeat.
In all honesty, this was a terrible game for just about everyone on the Knicks outside of maybe Julius Randle, who had a relatively solid performance.
Obviously, the Nets are a tough team to beat, but this was a straight-up embarrassment to watch as a fan. Not only could the Knicks not get it going offensively, but their defense was absolutely putrid. If the Knicks want any chance of remaining relevant in the Eastern Conference, they must turn things around.
3 takeaways from the Knicks’ tough blowout loss to the Nets
3: Kevin Durant is impossible to stop
This is obvious, as Kevin Durant has been one of, if not the best player in the NBA for years now. But Durant destroyed the Knicks, dropping 29 points, 12 rebounds, 12 assists, and two blocks while shooting 10-of-19 from the field and 1-of-5 from three.
The Knicks, like most teams, had no answers for Durant. To make matters worse, Durant was seen booing some young Knicks fans before the game, which I’m sure he is thinking about right now.
Durant has always been a thorn in the Knicks’ side ever since joining the Nets in 2019. The Knicks do not currently have any defensive player capable of coming close to stopping him, so it really makes sense that he dominated yet again.
However, it has not just been Durant, as the Knicks have had issues stopping most teams’ best players all seasons. Again, this is not surprising, as New York does not have a defender that is capable of doing that.
As the season goes on, the Knicks must find a solution to this problem, or they are going to continue to get torched by stars.
2: The Knicks continue to struggle against good teams
Prior to Wednesday’s game, the Knicks were 0-5 against teams above .500, as they have struggled against some of the better teams in the league.
The Nets may not have had a positive record prior to their matchup against the Knicks, however, this does not mean they aren’t a good team. Brooklyn is just off to a slow start like other teams in the league.
I have said in the past that I am worried about whether or not this Knicks roster is built well enough to contend with some of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, and through the first 11 games, it seems as if my worries are justified.
While the Knicks may have some of the best depth in the league, they simply do not have the star power to overcome some of the teams they have faced. The starting lineup may be full of talent between Julius Randle, RJ Barrett, and Jalen Brunson, but these three rarely all play well together at the same time.
This game was a great example of this, as while Randle had a moderately efficient 24 points and 11 rebounds, Barrett and Brunson really struggled. Barrett dropped 16 points, six rebounds, and three assists while shooting 5-of-14 from the field and 4-of-8 from three. Brunson put up 14 points, four rebounds, and two assists while shooting 4-of-14 from the field and 1-of-5 from three.
It is always going to be hard to beat a talented team when your top three players can’t work well together. This isn’t a knock on their on-court fit, but the three seemingly cannot have good games at the same time.
The Knicks have really been held down by their inconsistencies this season, and they must begin to pick things up or it could get very ugly very quickly.
1: The bench played very poorly again, and it’s starting to worry me
Following back-to-back disappointing games, the Knicks bench put up yet another stinker of a performance, shooting a combined 9-of-34 from the field and 5-of-22 from three.
The bench has always been the saving grace of the Knicks because when the starters disappoint, fans can rely on the bench to pick up the workload for the team. However, these last couple of games have worried me.
Most notably, Derrick Rose has really struggled this season, and these problems continued against Brooklyn, as Rose shot 0-for-4 from the field in 11 minutes of play. It is starting to become very apparent that Rose’s time on the Knicks may be limited.
Not only is Rose receiving a career low in minutes played so far, but his production on the court has really been lacking. While Immanuel Quickley has been struggling as well, it may make sense for the Knicks to prioritize his development and let go of the aging Rose.
As for the rest of the bench, Evan Fournier continued his poor play that we have seen all season, shooting 2-of-7 from the field and looking useless on defense as always. Obi Toppin struggled again, however, I am much less concerned about him than anyone else in the bench unit.
In addition to this, Quickley shot 1-of-8 and just didn’t look good at all. Quickley’s efficiency issues have really been concerning me, as this season he is shooting 33.7% from the field and 25.6% from three. That does not even include last night’s poor performance.
The Knicks simply cannot have the bench play this poorly if the starters are going to continue to remain inconsistent as the season goes on. With Tom Thibodeau’s apparent willingness to experiment with the rotation, we could see some changes be made soon if things do not improve.
Should Tom Thibodeau and Knicks be concerned about defensive woes?
After a promising start to the season, the Knicks fell back down to earth and had a bad stretch of games, mostly due to defensive struggles.